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Economic Commission for Africa African Development Forum '99 Discussion List Summary, 19/6-25/6 1999 |
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Economic Commission for Africa African Development Forum '99 Discussion List Summary, 19/6-25/6 1999 |
| This week we initiated debate on what promises to be one of ADF’s most important themes: Africa and the Information Economy. Most discussion list participants attempted to respond to Catherine Nyaki Adera’s challenging questions, so the summary below follows her guidelines. We look forward to having these questions and topics expanded on and further debated in the coming week. Implications of the Information Economy for Africa One contributor felt there was still no good definition of the Information Economy. Because of dynamic developments in ICTs, this week’s discussion leader pointed out that the perceptions, and consequently, the working definitions, of the information economy are constantly changing. African countries do have their own information economy already. In order to move forward in terms of generation, processing and use of information, African economies must work based on the current transformation in network technologies. Despite the hype, the Information Economy as a whole has been slow to show truly substantive developments anywhere – witness that it still relies on traditional credit card settlement set-up, a contributor notes. Implications for Africa could be potentially huge if problems of access to financial systems such as credit cards and banking were resolved. Although global use of ICTs is novel, they operate on top of the existing social and economic structure. They present the possibility to overcome a lack of material resources by investing in human, organisational and social capital. One participant asks if we are all suffering from a case of "historical amnesia" wherein every technological breakthrough is heralded as a destroyer of existing hierarchies but in reality, as in information capitalism, there is merely another shifting of the economic goalposts. Contributing to this view, one person cited the example of the advent of the telegraph and railroads, to demonstrate how the primary effects of the introduction of new technologies is usually to strengthen the power of those organisations investing in technology. Potential for Africa’s participation Sectors for participation include:
But all the potential depends on readiness of countries based on their vision, infrastructure and skills. As small- to medium-sized firms are usually the source of new marketing solutions, they are potential sources. However, although many SMEs feel technology will enable them to compete globally they don’t feel they have the expertise to take advantage of it. African firms must focus on innovation, it was echoed, and be an ICT producer. In the words of one contributor: "We should resist being ICT consumers and strive for being ICT Exploiters and Maximisers." Keeping in mind that "no miracle or flood of money will turn any odd place into a Silicon Valley in a fortnight." Policy changes needed A participant requested models for understanding policymaking in Africa as a critical element to understand and create policy in the field of global knowledge. "If we are to recommend ICT/AISI policies to African governments, we must have a conceptual framework to help us understand and articulate the dynamics of policymaking in Africa... I am trying very hard to resist the temptation of using western models." Some suggestions included facilitating credit card transactions over the Internet, encouraging a build-up of human and physical infrastructure and, as always, providing a secure, conflict-free environment to encourage growth. Sectors The primary sector identified to target was the youth. Once the youth have been enabled to join the "revolution in interaction" and have a grasp on empowering technologies, they too will lap their parents on the information track, as their more fortunate fellows are doing elsewhere in the world. Old folks watch out: "We will just have to let the older generations catch up as best they can," says one discussant. Constraints/Social Costs A caveat: Africa’s participation in an information economy may not happen without a strong local vision and vibrant ICT institutions. The private sector will not necessarily invest in problems of considerable importance to society in the Information Economy. Markets do not respond to need but demand (i.e. need + money to pay). Beware of the hype: different players have vested interests in painting a positive picture of technology. An individual cannot share in the hype surrounding the information economy until technologies make it easy to use applications in every day life – and not many ICT meet these criteria, a contributor notes. ICT is a sector where the rich can make a fortune but the poor have little chance to participate, merely increasing economic disparities. Other social costs cited included displacement of workers and perceived/real loss of national sovereignty. As always, conflict is a constraint: "Even a minor conflict can have far-reaching consequences for investment," writes a participant. E-Commerce One participant cited Kate Wild of the IDRC and ADF program director who said in the African context e-commerce should be understood in the same strict terms by which it has been defined elsewhere. The presence of Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Sudan at the "Working Group on Electronic Conference" which took place in Vienna in January 1998 represents their governments’ interest in the sector, contributed a discussant. See http://www.uncitral.org/english/sessions/unc/unc-31/acn9-446.htm#top for more on this. One suggestion was locating telecentres at/near Chambers of Commerce offices in provincial African towns to promote e-commerce and concurrently discourage capital flight. Examples of African firms competing/participating Government-sponsored programs in Morocco and Tunisia were cited as good examples of a national-guided effort. Almost all African countries share examples of private firms making the best out of the transformation. Some examples provided by discussion list participants:
Despite daunting challenges, Kenya is now firmly on the e-commerce and information economy track, writes a Kenyan contributor. On 17 May, ITU in Kenya held a workshop to assess e-commerce and established a national task force to harness all the efforts at e-commerce development. Though infrastructure in country may prevent national exploitation of the information economy, ICTs can be used for international trade and tourism. See sites below for samples of emerging e-commerce in Kenya. There was a request for more information on Mauritius as an example of an information economy success story.
Internet Sites Information on Upcoming conference, "Bamako 2000: Internet et le plurilinguisme" http://www.anais.org/Fr/activities/bamako2000/index.html International Institute of Communications – a network of interdisciplinary communications "decision-takers and thinkers" Information on IIC’s conference "Emerging Knowledge Society – Commerce, Culture and Communities in Cyberspace", 7-9 September, Kuala Lumpur http://www.iicom.org/services/conferences/kl99/index/html Paper addressing social development paradigm http://www.unrisd.org/infotech/conferen/castelp1.html Africa Online E-Touch Centres http://www.africaonline.co.ke/e-touch/index.html For a taste of emerging e-commerce in Kenya try: Properties - www.reallynyce.com Artefacts - www.africaonline.co.ke/thevillage Flowers- www.kenyaflowers.co.ke Safaris- www.venture-africa.com Hotels- www.africaonline.co.ke/trisanhotel Job hunting/search- www.africaonline.co.ke/prefer Disadvantaged - www.eastafrica.com Online advertising - www.nation.co.ke IT Francophone initiatives
This summary was prepared by Dawn Blalock, a graduate student in International Affairs and African Studies at Columbia University in New York and ECA intern this summer. If you have any requests or questions regarding the summaries, please e-mail to deblalock@hotmail.com. Thank you. |
