Victor Mbarika ICT Weblog

ICTs Prescribed As Catalyst For African Development

By George Arrey Agbor (Originally published in Cameroon Post Monday, April 05, 2010)

Experts in Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs, drawn from some countries across the world have agreed that ICTs are not only necessary but important to stir development in Africa.
 
Cross Section of ICT Conference Participants
 
This was the overriding outcome of an international conference on ICT for Africa that held recently at the Djeuga Palace Hotel in Yaounde. The conference which was jointly organised by the Southern University, USA and the Department of Mass Communication of the University of Buea was placed under the theme: "ICT for Development - Contributions from the South."

International Conference on ICT for Africa 2010

It is quite opportune that Africa has something to contribute to the information age.  First, with innovations like mobile phones, we can say that Africa has not been left out. Africa is reported to be the world's single fastest-growing regional mobile market. Second, some researchers have noted that there tends to be mismatch between the realities for developing economies and assumptions of Western models of enterprise, thus as business practices evolve with their changing business environments, more research is needed to redefine existing knowledge to be consistent and applicable with the dynamic nature of the environment.