IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Eight African countries have begun setting up Internet exchange points as part of an ambitious project by the Internet Society and the African Union Commission, aimed at improving interconnectivity between countries and reducing connectivity costs.

The 5th annual e-Governance Africa Forum, attended by some 150 delegates from twenty countries spread across the world, especially Africa, ended today in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with both public and private sector stakeholders resolving to intensify all efforts to improve governance and service delivery through the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). Organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), and hosted by the Government of Cameroon through its Ministry of Posts and Telecoms and the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (TRB), the conference was under the theme “Governance, Service Delivery and Democracy through the use of ICTs”.

The African leaders gathered in Rwanda's capital, Kigali, yesterday (29 October) at the 'Connect Africa Summit' — convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — to discuss ways of ensuring better access to ICT.

This year’s Pan African Digital Initiative Summit & Expo, themed ‘Infrastructure Protection, Cybersecurity, and Connectivity as Growth Drivers in the Digital Age, has in attendance the influential players in the African information and communications technology (ICT) markets as speakers.

The event was organised by TechTv in partnership with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licenses Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Zoho Technologies, and others to explore how the widespread deployment of digital technology infrastructure is both creating opportunities for socio-economic development and causing the rise of attacks, both physical and cyber. The consensus among experts is that digital transformation, combined with a rapid explosion of technologies, has paved the way for greater vulnerabilities and newer forms of threat to enterprises.

The information society which encompasses information and communication technologies, including Internet, medias, broadcasting and postal services, represents one the most vibrant social and economic activities of this century”.

It is against this backdrop among others that, African Ministers of Communication and Information Technologies gathering today 3rd September 2015 in Addis Ababa in their first ordinary session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and ICT (STC-1 CICT) will discuss the significant strides and innovation in societal transformations in the last decade.

A critical mass of countries are signing on to a plan for India to invest 1bn in the Pan-African e-Network satellite project, a joint initiative with the Africa Union aimed at developing the region’s ICT infrastructure.

The African Union last year entered into an agreement that calls for the Indian government to supply funds for the project. The Indian government will finance the project over a period of five years through a grant to the African Union. Ethiopia for example, has been given a grant of2,13m from India for the project.

The African Union last year entered into an agreement that calls for the Indian government to supply funds for the project. The Indian government will finance the project over a period of five years through a grant to the African Union. Ethiopia for example, has been given a grant of US$2.13 million from India for the project.

Most African countries have embraced technology in education, according to the eLearning Africa 2012 report, the first significant attempt to provide a snapshot of how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and better connectivity are believed to be changing the face of education in Africa.

The report by eLearning Africa, an organization based in Germany, is based on a detailed survey of almost 450 education professionals across the continent. The report, launched by Benin Minister of Communication and Information and Communication Technology Max Ahouéké in Cotonou, Benin, last week at the eLearning Africa conference, shows that 71 percent of those surveyed are now using ICT enhanced learning in their classrooms and 48 percent use mobile phones for education.

“Such developments have not helped Africa to come to the forefront of e-government development,” said Richard Kerby, Inter-regional adviser on e-government for the UN Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM).

"The Africans are using their mobile phones in a very entrepreneurial way, because it's their lifeline, and small businesses depend on them," said Pertti Johansson, president Middle East and Africa region at Qualcomm.

The first service Johansson mentioned is mobile payments and transfers. M-PESA ("M" for "mobile" and "PESA," the Swahili word for "money") in Kenya is the most famous such system in Africa, with about 2 million users a year after its launch.

African governments, private companies and international donors are investing in ICT for education across the continent. Why? As Paul Jhin – CEO of UN Global Initiative on computer for Schools stated: “Our studies revealed that countries that have the more computers will perform better and improve their economic developments compared to those that have less.”

Aber das sind nur Durchschnittszeiten in den Cybercafes zwischen Addis Abeba und Kinshasa. Im Büro verlangsamt sich der Datenverkehr des überteuerten Breitbandanschlusses plötzlich auf Dial-up-Niveau. Da hilft nur abwarten, es wird schon irgendwann wieder schneller gehen. Und auch wenn das Modem nach sekundenlangem nervösen Flackern den Geist aufgibt oder ein Stromausfall den frustrierten Nutzer stundenlang "offline" zwingt, ist das eben afrikanischer Internet-Alltag.

This is according to telecoms research firm Frost & Sullivan, which attributes the massive gap to the fact that fixed-line communication services are offered solely by state-owned entities across African countries, with limited funds for infrastructure development and investment.

Medikamentenfälschungen sind in Entwicklungsländern eine große Gefahr. Da mit ihnen die Sicherheit und auch das Vertrauen der Patienten in die Medizin auf dem Spiel steht, setzt Nigeria nun das Handy als Waffe gegen Produktpiraterie bei Malariapräparaten ein. Bei dem System mPedigree wird ein Rubbelcode auf der Verpackung als SMS versandt und gibt in Sekunden Klarheit über den Inhalt. Mehrere weitere afrikanische Länder testen die Übernahme des Systems, Nigeria wird es in Zukunft sogar auf alle Medikamente ausweiten.

Internet is a key component in Africa’s economic development but it is not serving to its potential and a lot more has to be done, a new Internet Society Report indicates.

The report, “Promoting the African Internet Economy,” was released last week. It shows that there is need to address the lack of local content infrastructure in African countries, such as data centers, routers, servers in order to drive wider and deeper internet usage.

The pilot aims to provide increased value to ISPs by issuing certificates based on public key cryptography. Public keys are widely distributed but private keys are secret -- messages are encrypted with the public key and can only be decrypted with the private key to ensure confidentiality. AfricNIC officials discussed the project last week at the AfriNIC-12 Public Policy Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

In South Africa, the vision of smart cities is more than just an aspiration – it’s a potential solution to some of the country’s most pressing urban challenges.

From traffic congestion to unreliable water supply and waste management inefficiencies, municipalities are struggling to deliver essential services to a growing population. While some regions have made progress with isolated projects, such as public bike-sharing schemes or ‘smart’ waste bins, these piecemeal efforts fall short of the true potential of smart cities.

From South Juba to Entebbe, from Marrakesh to Accra, on the cusp of technology in Africa, the need for responsible AI development and ethical data practices has never been more pressing. As technology continues to advance and shape the global economy, Africa is taking steps toward positioning itself as a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Investments and innovations in AI are on the rise across the continent, with a growing number of countries beginning to develop policies and strategies to harness the power of this transformative technology. Although only a few countries have officially adopted AI strategies and policies, many more are actively working towards defining their AI policies. As philosopher and economist Amartya Sen noted, ‘Development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom that leave people with little choice and little opportunity of exercising their reasoned agency.’ By creating policies and fostering innovation in AI, African countries can empower their citizens to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this innovative technology and make meaningful contributions to their communities and the world at large.

This week, hundreds of activists, technologists and policymakers are gathered in Tunis for RightsCon—the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age. Among the items on the agenda will be a proposal for a Bill of Data Rights by our colleague Martin Tisné.

Ahead of this, it’s important to explore what this could mean in the African context, and how a Bill of Data Rights could help to prevent governments and corporations from overstepping their boundaries by articulating the rights and freedoms of people in digital spaces. This is vital given the accelerating pace of technology adoption across Africa, from mobile money, the digital economy and online entertainment options, to biometric registrations for digital identity systems and voters’ rolls.

African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Dr Elham Ibrahim told journalists in Naivasha that the switch will allow African countries to reduce the current high poverty levels.

“One of the targets of the AU is for the continent to make the transition to a knowledge based society, so that all citizens have access to equal education and employment opportunities,” Ibrahim said during a workshop on Knowledge Society Development in Africa as part of the African Leadership in ICT Course (ALICT).