❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now
Mid-day Update

Facebook coming to non-smartphones in Africa

Adriene Hill and Jeremy Hobson Feb 16, 2012

In its filing with the government announcing it was going public, Facebook said it had a problem with its mobile business.

Specifically, that it hasn’t found a way to make money with its mobile applications and mobile customers.

Well, a French wireless phone company says it may have found one way to help Facebook out.

Find new users in Africa.

The company, Orange, is introducing a technology that will allow African customers to access Facebook without an iPhone or other expensive smartphone.

In today’s Mid-day Extra, we’re joined by the BBC’s technology correspondent Mark Gregory.

It seems as though we may soon have a lot more people in the world spending their time social networking… perhaps in place of more important things we should be doing.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.