We don’t hear enough about African localization and technology. I’ve said this before, I know. So, here are a collection of links to investigate further and get you thinking.

So many possibilities to explore: the role of mobile technology, development, micro-entrepreneurs, innovation, community translation, machine translation, new markets, and more. We know there are problems on that continent, but we need to think about more than poverty and consider how Africans are helping themselves. In some ways, they’re ahead of the rest of us in thinking about the possibilities offered by technology. They have to be.

• Google nudges into new territory with voice search for Africa (“Africa needs Google but in the same way, Google needs Africa…”)
• Google Africa Community Translation (Showcase and shared insights from volunteer translators and reviewers across Africa)
• SlimTrader (Leveraging the African cell phone network for e-commerce on that continent)
• Mobile money transfers in Africa to exceed US$200 Billion (Mobile money transfers projected to approach 8% of continent’s GDP by 2015)
• A Village in Africa (Irish Times blog)
• Shopping via Text Message (E-commerce startups are targeting emerging economies where cell phones, not browsers, rule)
• SXSW2011: Beyond the Hype: Mobile App Opportunities In Africa

Really love the last one. I’d also love to see Africa as a section in a future localization conference. Seems pretty hollow all this talk of information poverty there without hearing it from the people themselves, or indeed holding the event on the continent itself – with easy access for all.