By: Aashi By: Aashi Nasim, James Nasim, James

Foresto, Foresto, Syeda Syeda

Rahman, Rahman, Michael Michael

OlaworetanOlaworetan

Africa’s news Africa’s news headlines currently headlines currently deal with Political, deal with Political, social, and social, and economic distress.economic distress.

Economic Conditions in Africa

Top 10 and bottom 5 performers in Africa, 1998-2005 (% average annual growth) – Overall Average was 5.4%

Poverty

While African countries have achieved higher growth rates than in previous decades, they still fall short of the threshold required to accelerating poverty alleviation .

Job Growth

Growth rates have not been high enough in many countries to generate enough demand for labor.

Source:http://www.uneca.org/cfm/2006/survey_africa05.htm

One way for Africa’s political struggles to One way for Africa’s political struggles to diminish is through improveddiminish is through improved INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

Information Technology Information Technology deals with the deals with the use of electronic and computer use of electronic and computer software to convert, store, protect, software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve process, transmit, and retrieve information.information.

What can be done about these Economic Conditions in Africa?

Information technology training can:

1. strengthen a community, 2. create new economic programs,3. influence new political leaders,4. Improve the Economy: which

includes production, growth, and job outlook

-Case Study--Case Study-Information Technology has Information Technology has improved India’s economic improved India’s economic

conditionsconditions

10 years ago in India, Information technology was almost non-existent, and their economy was also

struggling at this point.

But today India is the leading IT exporter on earth. This industry has granted their country with billions of new

dollars.

It is estimated that over 3 million jobs have been created from India’s IT industry

The total number of IT and ITES-BPO professionalsemployed in India is estimated to have grown from

284,000 in 1999-2000 to 1,287,000 in 2005-06,growing by over 230,000 in the last year alone.

India’s Common Service Centers

--Like Africa, India is a rural country with almost two thirds of its population living in villages – --As a result, India has formulated a proposal to establish 100,000 Common Service Centers which will serve for government services, but also as a means to connect the citizens of rural India to the World Wide Web– The ultimate goal however for these centers is so that India’s rural community can have their “government at their doorstep” sort

of speak.

Given India’s great example,Given India’s great example,what is Africa Current IT condition?what is Africa Current IT condition?

--The use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has grown relatively rapidly in most urban areas in Africa. In 1997, only a handful of countries had local Internet access, now it is available in every capital city. --In the same period more mobile cell phones were deployed on the continent than the number of fixed lines laid in the last century. -- ICTs is still at a very early stage of development compared to other regions of the world. Of the approximately 816 million people in Africa in 2001, it is estimated that only: 1 in 4 have a radio (205m)1 in 13 have a TV (62m) 1 in 35 have a mobile phone (24m) 1 in 40 have a fixed line (20m) 1 in 130 have a PC (5.9m) 1 in 250-400 use the Internet (5m) 1 in 400 have pay-TV (2m) [1]Sources: ITU, UNESCO, own stats

The Internet The use of the Internet is a good indicator of the availability of ICTs as it

requires the integration of many of individual components of ICTs – computers, telecommunications infrastructure and the skills to use them. the As the graph below shows, both the number of Internet users and the

amount of international bandwidth is still growing strongly across the continent.

Countries with more than 10 000 Internet subscribers

Internet UsersAbout 1 user for every 250 to 400 people in Africa. This compares with a world average of about 1 user for every 15 people, and a North American and European average of about 1 user in every 2 people.

Internet Usage in Africa

# Currently, the average total cost of using a local dialup Internet account for 20 hours a month in Africa is about USD 60 per month According to the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development# In fact, 60 USD per month is higher than the average African monthly

salary. This limits individual use of the Internet, creating demand for public access facilities

# Most recent estimates for the number of personal computers in Africa put the total at about 7.5 million for 2001 — an average of about 1 per 100 people.

… More Statistics

# Also, most of the existing telecom infrastructure cannot reach the bulk of the population - 50 percent of the available lines are concentrated in the capital cities, where only about 10 percent of the population live. In over 15 countries in Africa over 70 percent of the lines are still located in the largest city.

http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/wsis-themes/UNMDG/jensen-icts-africa.doc

Who is Helping to Improve Africa’s Information Technology?

TWO EXAMPLES:

# Cisco Networking Alliance

# Shuttleworth Foundation

# The Cisco Networking Alliance has partnered # The Cisco Networking Alliance has partnered with 25 African countries to establish IT training with 25 African countries to establish IT training academies at 75 institutions throughout the academies at 75 institutions throughout the continent. continent.

# According to tracking data from those # According to tracking data from those academies, 77 percent of their graduates have academies, 77 percent of their graduates have found jobs in a field that can help accelerate the found jobs in a field that can help accelerate the growth of the IT industry in Africa and provide a growth of the IT industry in Africa and provide a critical tool for economic development.critical tool for economic development.

# Cisco Networking Alliance

A man named Mark A man named Mark Shuttleworth has started a Shuttleworth has started a non profit organization to non profit organization to accomplish these goals.accomplish these goals.

Mission:Mission: ““If we are to lift Africa from If we are to lift Africa from

her current circumstances, her current circumstances, we will need a generation of we will need a generation of learners that are gifted with learners that are gifted with curiosity about the world in curiosity about the world in which they live, and the which they live, and the tools to understand and tools to understand and shape that world.”shape that world.”

Over 80 new computer training labs have been provided Over 80 new computer training labs have been provided which are going to be used to do the following: which are going to be used to do the following:

# Improve the quality of education in South Africa. # Improve the quality of education in South Africa.

# Teach the necessary skills to develop new information # Teach the necessary skills to develop new information technological idea.technological idea.

# Teaching is focused in the areas of: # Teaching is focused in the areas of:

# Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Maths # Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Maths (STEM)(STEM)

Technology Laboratories

1.Establishes a platform for 1.Establishes a platform for gifted teachers and talented gifted teachers and talented individuals from other individuals from other nations to infuse that nations to infuse that experience and knowledge to experience and knowledge to AfricansAfricans

2. Fosters the development 2. Fosters the development of micro-businesses, of micro-businesses, empowering the local people empowering the local people with new tools to run with new tools to run existing organizations, and existing organizations, and encouraging vital encouraging vital relationships.relationships.

Job Market for Information Technology Job Market for Information Technology students is not very good.students is not very good.

Like other developing regions, Africa is Like other developing regions, Africa is facing the problem of brain drain, facing the problem of brain drain, where talented and trained people where talented and trained people leave the region to work in developed leave the region to work in developed countries in the West or in the USAcountries in the West or in the USA

Hopefully this will improve over timeHopefully this will improve over time

Downfall of Early Implementation of IT in Africa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imformation_and_communication_technology

http://usinfo.state.gov/utils/printpage.html http://www.state.gov http://internationalbusiness.suite101.com/

article.cfm/it_in_africa2 http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/http://

internationalbusiness.suite101.com/article.cfm/it_in_africa2

http://www.tsf.org.za/