The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced a strategic partnership with Mobile Accord for the processing of mobile-based surveys throughout Africa.

The announcement made by Mr. Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist of the AfDB, comes in the wake of discussions at the Bank on the need for better engagement of technology to support the Bank’s initiatives around the continent, which includes the “Youth Employment” and “Transforming Africa” projects.

Mr. Ncube, who disclosed this to stakeholders in Arusha, Tanzania, said “through this partnership with Mobile Accord, we shall feel the real pulse of the youth and the development impact of AfDB because, we would gather more accurate information in real time.”

Mobile Accord’s service, GeoPoll, the polling platform that uses text messaging to collect substantial data from mobile subscribers, is the engine of this AfDB-Mobile Accord partnership.

A GeoPoll survey was recently used to ask Tunisian youth for their views on employment, entrepreneurship, and on the country’s progress since the Arab Spring; 62 percent of Tunisian youth said they would like to become entrepreneurs.

Mr. Ncube said it was the intension of AfDB to continue polling across the African continent with GeoPoll as for the first time the concerns, hopes and aspirations of African youth would be heard on such a large scale.

“GeoPoll is changing the way information is collected, reducing the time it takes to gather information from months to a single day - and at a fraction of the traditional cost,” said Mobile Accord’s Founder and Chairman, James Eberhard, who pioneered GeoPoll.

“We are excited to be collaborating with the AfDB. Through this partnership, GeoPoll would enable the voices of Africa to be shared with the world.”

Mobile Accord is a mobile telecommunications platform services company founded in 2005. It has operations on four continents, providing enterprise level solutions focused on driving positive social change through the mobile phone.

Mobile Accord’s products and services empower 500+ international aid organizations, non-governmental organizations, non-profits, universities, charities, and governmental entities to change the world through mobile technology.

Among its achievements, Mobile Accord has been responsible for watershed mobile phone donation campaigns in the United States, raising more than USD $50 million for charitable organizations through its mGive platform, as well as mobile social networks connecting millions in developing countries.**