A continent goes mobile.

• Position: Africa - Brief article

The next Angry Birds or Instagrain just might come from Africa, where a new breed of innovative apps is sprouting up to serve local needs, iCow helps farmers predict birth rates for calves, and mPedigree checks pharmaceuticals to see if they're counterfeit (a big problem in Africa). It's just one of the ways the world's poorest continent is making great strides (see "The Africa You Haven't Heard About," p. 8). Africa has lagged in technology, but it's now home to about 700 million cellphones, making it the largest mobile market after Asia. Basic non-touch-screen phones are linking even the poorest people from remote villages who once walked miles to...