By: Aashi Nasim, James Foresto, Syeda Rahman, Michael Olaworetan

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

Economic Conditions in Africa Top 10 and bottom 5 performers in Africa, (% 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:

 One way for Africa’s political struggles to diminish is through improved INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.  Information Technology deals with the use of electronic and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve 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- Information Technology has improved India’s economic conditions

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 professionals employed in India is estimated to have grown from 284,000 in to 1,287,000 in , 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, 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 use the Internet (5m) 1 in 400 have pay-TV (2m) [1]Sources: ITU, UNESCO, own stats [1]

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 Internet subscribers Internet Users About 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.

Who is Helping to Improve Africa’s Information Technology? TWO EXAMPLES: # Cisco Networking Alliance # Shuttleworth Foundation

¼# The Cisco Networking Alliance has partnered with 25 African countries to establish IT training academies at 75 institutions throughout the continent. ¼# According to tracking data from those academies, 77 percent of their graduates have found jobs in a field that can help accelerate the growth of the IT industry in Africa and provide a critical tool for economic development. # Cisco Networking Alliance

 A man named Mark Shuttleworth has started a non profit organization to accomplish these goals.  Mission:  “If we are to lift Africa from her current circumstances, we will need a generation of learners that are gifted with curiosity about the world in which they live, and the tools to understand and shape that world.”

Over 80 new computer training labs have been provided which are going to be used to do the following: # Improve the quality of education in South Africa. # Teach the necessary skills to develop new information technological idea. # Teaching is focused in the areas of: # Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Maths (STEM)

Technology Laboratories

Ë1.Establishes a platform for gifted teachers and talented individuals from other nations to infuse that experience and knowledge to Africans  2. Fosters the development of micro- businesses, empowering the local people with new tools to run existing organizations, and encouraging vital relationships.

 Job Market for Information Technology students is not very good.  Like other developing regions, Africa is facing the problem of brain drain, where talented and trained people leave the region to work in developed countries in the West or in the USA  Hopefully this will improve over time Downfall of Early Implementation of IT in Africa

qhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imformation_and_communication_technolo gyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imformation_and_communication_technolo gy qhttp://usinfo.state.gov/utils/printpage.htmlhttp://usinfo.state.gov/utils/printpage.html qhttp:// qhttp://internationalbusiness.suite101.com/article.cfm/it_in_africa2http://internationalbusiness.suite101.com/article.cfm/it_in_africa2 qhttp://  