:: What are e-Strategies?

AISI states that although African countries are equally placed to take advantage of ICTs to facilitate their socio-economic development processes, they cannot hope to move their industrually weak, subsistent and agriculture based economies towards information and knowledge based economies unless they develop and implement comprehensive and integrated ICT-led socio-economic development policies, strategies and plans. The NICIs are sets of steps to be undertaken by governments to harness ICTs for development and to implement the objectives outlined by the AISI. These steps include:

1. e-readiness assessment - to undertake base line studies and to define the general problem and policy areas
2. e-policy - to detail government commitment and strategic direction.
3. e-strategies and actions - to detail how policy commitments are translated in concrete programmes and initiatives for implementation

ECA, working in partnership with key partners, has asssisted over 28 African Countries to develop ICT national strategies for accelerating their socio-economic development and is also working with a number of these countries to embark on implementation. The following outlines the core NICI implementation modes and sets parameters for focus areas:

National Information and Communications Infrastructure Strategies 
What are the elements of a NICI strategy?

• A mechanism to implement the global vision of AISI at national level
• A national response to facilitate the digital inclusion of Africa and its integration into the globalization process
• An exercise for developing national ICT policies and strategies and implementable progammes
• A guiding framework for integrating ICTs into national development programmes
• A monitoring and evaluation tool of the role of ICTs in national development - SCAN-ICT
  
  Click here for more information and to start reviewing NICI strategies by country.

Sectoral Information and Communications Infrastructure Strategies 
What are the elements of a SICI strategy?

• A strategy to enable various groups and sectors identify their ICT needs and devise the appropriate and corresponding applications.
• It is a step closer towards implementation on a micro-scale and because it focuses on a particular sector targets are manageable.
• It provides a framework for programme planning, project development and implementation at the level of a sector.