ICT in Africa: Boosting economic growth and poverty reduction

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Africa and the international community can address the remaining challenges, characterised by their complexity and diversity which demands specific interventions rather than “one-size-fits-all” approaches. The paper takes stock of the numerous initiatives and stakeholders, including the G8, NEPAD, UNECA, ITU and many other agencies, networks, research centres and private actors.

The paper provides the context, describing how ICT can be used to boost economic growth, its role in poverty reduction efforts and the current situation of ICT in Africa. It summarizes the key commitments of the various stakeholders with a focus on multilateral development partners and African institutions. Finally, the situation is assessed and a number of recommendations are set out. Africa is on the move, and information and communications technologies (ICT) are a powerful tool to boost economic growth and poverty reduction.  ICT increase efficiency, provide access to new markets or services, create new opportunities for income generation and improving governance and give poor people a voice. Taking into account Africa’s complexity and diversity, specific interventions are required rather than “one-size-fits-all” approaches. Isolated investment in ICT does not permit leapfrogging to higher growth rates. However, as a key part of a development strategy, mainstreaming ICT in the productive sectors is a matter of economic survival.  Maximum mobilisation of private investment, including from the African Diaspora, is vital.
 
African leaders and their development partners share alike the vision and commitments of the World Summit of the Information Society resolutions regarding the key role of ICT for inclusive, globally competitive and knowledge-based societies. The following recommendations follow on from that vision. Africa’s success story with mobile telephony graphically shows that when ICT become affordable to low-income users, new employment, micro-entrepreneurial and social development opportunities emerge. ICT-induced growth should be reinforced by targeted policies for effective poverty reduction. The key bottlenecks to progress are rooted in infrastructure, access and the enabling environment.
 
It is recommended that African governments and their international partners make an unprecedented effort to address infrastructure bottlenecks regarding access, operational capacity and maintenance requirements of ICT infrastructure, transport and electricity. In particular:

• Assign highest priority to advance NEPAD’s broadband initiative, by mobilising funding and investment, and providing the necessary regulatory and legal frameworks;
• Ensure and support regional co-ordination in the planning of new infrastructure and in assuring maintenance of existing infrastructure.

It is recommended that African governments and their international partners prioritise ICT access and effective use at all levels, including the provision of public access facilities, relevant content, and increased capacities. In particular:

• Invest in and support  community public access facilities such as telecentres or local radio stations in order to ensure access for all and the creation of locally relevant content;
• Include and support capacity building components in all ICT activities, starting from infrastructure, its operation and maintenance, to  government and regulatory authorities, private service providers, and end-users.

It is recommended that African Governments and their international partners create and support enabling environments, consisting of both ICT-specific regulatory frameworks and an overall policy framework that promotes sound economic and political governance. In particular:

• Improve ICT governance and affordability by ensuring freedom of expression, providing a competitive framework for the application of ICT, ensuring compliance through independent regulation and favouring low-cost, technology-neutral and open source solutions;
• Link the creation of an enabling ICT environment to national planning and strategic frameworks, including performance monitoring and dialogue processes.