Modernity in material form? Mobile phones in the careers of Ghanaian market women

Recent research on mobile phones in market exchange activities in the Global South has tended to dematerialise the phone, narrowing its application to accord with disciplinary concerns rather than to its full range of material possibilities. This article seeks to expand the model of the mobile phone in socio-economic development by examining its uptake and adaptation among Ghanaian market women. The analysis considers development in terms of market women's own self-defined notion of progress. Rather than leading to more impersonal and calculative trade relationships, their uses reflected deepening relations with trade partners and opportunities for enhanced affiliation at all levels.