e-Strategies - Best Practices and Lessons Learnt

ICTs are among the driving forces of globalization.African countries are facing new challenges to their socio-economic development as a result of this globalization process and the impact of the emerging new information age. While there has been global progress in improving access to ICTs and awareness of their potential, access to these technologies remains extremely uneven as evidenced by ICT-related growth and productivity, which are, to a large extent, confined to developed economies.
The digital divide, characterized by highly unequal access to ICTs, manifests itself both at the international and domestic levels and therefore needs to be addressed by national policy-makers as well as by the international community. Emerging evidence indicates that ICTs are central to the creation of a global knowledge-based economy and can play an important role in accelerating growth, promoting sustainable development and eradicating poverty in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition. This in turn facilitates effective integration into the global economy.