As cell phone networks increase dramatically in the developing world and mobile devices become ubiquitous, one company is making it its goal to provide organizations around the world with mobile and data analytic tools to drive social impact for their target communities and consumers.
access.mobile (AM) offers mobile technology solutions that enable organizations to interact, communicate, retrieve and analyze information more efficiently. Josef Korbel School Adjunct Professor Kaakpema Yelpaala (KP) founded access.mobile in 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The current project launched in 2011 and also has an office in Kampala, Uganda.
“I met with local officials in Uganda and was told that these solutions are what they needed,” KP said. “It became clear to me that mobile technology is an essential component in the way forward and I wanted to be a part of that process.”
The Health Initiatives in the Private Sector (HIPS) project is one of AM’s customers. HIPS is a project funded by USAID that works with approximately 110 Ugandan businesses to ensure access to vital health services for company employees their dependents, and the surrounding community. In January 2012, HIPS deployed AM's amHealth solution, which allows clinics to track and enter over 90 indicators on mobile forms using a cell phone, eliminating the need for paper-based reporting.
Diana Gravallese, the Global Program Manager and Josef Korbel School alum, said that HIPS deployed amHealth in the 70 clinics across Uganda that do not have access to the internet, which has reduced cost and time spent on data entry, as well as increased data quality.
Both Gravallese and Josef Korbel School MA candidate, Alyssa Om'Iniabohs, the Global Operations Manager, took KP's Practical Applications course. After successful completion, Gravallese joined AM as a Summer Project Management Intern in Uganda and Om’Iniabohs joined as an Intern in Denver the followingfall. As the business began to pick up, both Om’Iniabohs and Gravallese were hired full-time. Now the two split their time between Denver and Uganda.
AM also offers amSupply, a near real-time mobile inventory tracking and management solution. amCommunicator is a two-way, multi-channel communication platform that includes SMS, voice and email capabilities. It allows organizations to create automated communications without the need for technology developers or significant technical support.
“Technology diffusion is happening in a major way,” KP said. “But it's all about the user. Technology is just the enabler.”
