Voice-operated smartphones target Africa's illiterate

The goal is to address the 'frustration' illiterate people feel with technology that requires them to be able to read or write or spell effectively, said Cerco president Alain Capo-Chichi, a Benin national. — Image by mamewmy on Freepik

ABIDJAN: Voice-operated smartphones are aiming at a vast yet widely overlooked market in sub-Saharan Africa - the tens of millions of people who face huge challenges in life because they cannot read or write.

In Ivory Coast, a so-called "Superphone" using a vocal assistant that responds to commands in a local language is being pitched to the large segment of the population – as many as 40% – who are illiterate.