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The Internet's future in Africa
At i4c we believe that the Internet is not going to go
away, but will continue influencing humanity's way of living on this earth
until all of us, everywhere are connected - even in Africa. Bridging
the Digital Divide between Africa and the rest of the world is inevitable:
people on both sides of the divide will make it happen. They already are.
The opportunity for Africa's people to join the Digital
Economy of ideas and entrepreneurs, opens up enormous possibilities for
innovation in how consumer services are delivered using online technologies.
In Africa, the services consumers demand most widely are services for local
development.
As connectivity points continue to spread across the
Continent, we
believe the day will come when micro-financial services, school-fees
sponsorships for orphans, agricultural advice and all sorts of other resources
for local development will be available to African consumers through the
Internet.
The Internet in Africa
today
What's clear today is that Africa's economic
infrastructure is not equipped to facilitate African participation in most of
the online consumer market. Because s/he doesn't have a mailing address or a
credit card, the ordinary African can't easily buy or sell online. Most local
development organizations are unsuccessful at raising funds online. The cost of
online time is high, and effective internet-marketing skills are in short
supply.
However, online infrastructure does exist today which can
be used in Africa to overcome these constraints. Globally available free
financial services such as egold.com, and
specialized sites developed especially for Africa's needs like
PeopleAfricaSearch,
are just two examples of the many practical tools available to Africa, which
Africa underutilizes.
Internet4Change is about finding the useful
resources that are out there, training people how to use them to benefit
grassroots local development, and educating the public about resources
online and the results of Africa's online activities.
Helping the ordinary African consumer to understand
and access these resources affordably will lead to sustainable, demand-driven
development of internet infrastructure across the continent. Spreading the effective use of online resources in Africa will also facilitate the
creation of a more powerful African voice in how the Digital Economy
continues to develop into the future.
Building the local market
We foresee that a number of key local actors will
be profitably involved in the process of "selling" the Internet to
Africa's grassroots. The ordinary African consumer of resources for local
development can access low-cost services and receive global transfers of
development resources through offline interaction with the web of
local actors below:
- webcafes and rural connectivity points can play
a larger role in providing intermediary services for their clients (an example
would be egold exchange services that enable their local customers to buy,
sell and save online for free)
- skilled individuals can provide webdesign
and online promotion services to local community projects and their
beneficiaries, as well as to businesses in the informal African economy.
- Local community development organizations can
deliver additional benefits to their stakeholders through the Internet, and
invite global participation in their initiatives.
- Local business and micro-business can take
global orders for local delivery to specific local organizations and
individuals.
In other words, even if you don't
read or speak English, an Agent can help you find and register for an
online program to find school sponsorship for your children; link your
product sales page to a story about a local football team who needs the
shoes you can produce; or help your organization ask a global audience for
building materials from a local supplier. Your Agent represents you and your needs in the
online world. Internet4Change
helps you and your Agent learn what you each need to know to get the results
you are after.
Or at least... that is the kind of Agency for grassroots
African development we intend to create.
From vision to reality
Step by step, i4c and other Life in Africa Network
programs are laying the foundation for a new kind of participatory local
development process to occur on a global scale.
Internet4Change programs and
initiatives planned for 2005 and beyond include:
-
offline educational
information about the Internet
-
training programs & sponsorships
-
skilled employment opportunities
-
online fundraising innovations
-
country-specific resource directories
-
local service directories 4 Africa
For more information about the status of these
initiatives, see i4c Now or
subscribe to i4c rEvolution
for updates.
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