The AppLab commissioned Gamos, an international development research firm, to conduct needs assessment research in Uganda. Gamos surveyed over 400 mobile phone users to discover how users employ phones, evaluate information needs, explore user preferences for information delivery, and assess the perceived value of potential mobile applications.

This quantitative research found that rural community members have a strong demand for health, agricultural, and transportation related information. The research further revealed that people place a highest priority on information related to HIV/AIDS. In addition, the poorer an individual was, the more importance that individual placed on agricultural information.

The study found that people would be most likely to pay to use an information service if the information offered a tangible and immediate financial benefit. The poor reported being less likely to pay for a service that would offer future benefits. Finally, the report illustrates that mobile applications that provide accurate, timely information specifically targeted at the user have the greatest potential to impact poverty.