This write up presents works that are done in the field of ICT for the development of Africans. Based on the vast array of development challenges faced by the African continent, the paper presents research areas that have attracted African researchers but also defines open development issues that need to be addressed for the transformation of African societies. These open issues include law enforcement, development of IT infrastructures, the training of African youth in the use of ICT tools to tackle development problems, the adoption of ICT in African daily life and the development of ICT tools based on the African context. If these challenges are seriously taken into consideration by African researchers and policy makers, the development of the continent will be a matter of time associated to the achievement of the goals of launched activities. For this to become true there is a strong requirement that Africans defeat corruption. This editorial piece presents corruption as one of the most important impediment to the successful implementation of IT projects.
Since 2015, the government of Cameroon has challenged stakeholders nationwide to move toward a network economy also known as the digital economy; aiming to foster the development of the country. This ambition of the government has been a source of many discourses with not always the same vision on what is supposed to be done in the implementation of this new economy. Different structures are mainly involved in this project following government organization, which recognizes certain attributions to each public or private institution. But they lack a clear vision of what are the prerequisites for such endeavor. Hence, without a clear roadmap, time and resources would be wasted, while other countries with clear roadmap and vision would make a difference and leapfrog in growth and development. This reality seen in many African developing countries in their conceptualization of digital economy has pushed us to ask the following questions: What is the digital economy? In what conditions can a developing country claim readiness for the digital economy? The purpose of this paper is to attempt to answer these questions in the context of the digital transformation of Cameroon. The study examines the readiness of Cameroon to develop its digital economy, by exploring some key factors such as the civil society, services and goods, the policies, regulations and underlying technological infrastructures that are known as salient metrics related to the development of this economy. Practically, the study investigates qualitatively how Cameroon integrates these metrics in her ongoing projects and initiatives taken since 2010-1015, to become emergent and digital by 2035. The study presents challenges and perspectives of the Cameroonian case and provides in the framework of a roadmap, necessary measures and actions that should be considered in order to guarantee a successful development of digital economy in the country and in similar economies. The contribution of this paper is the definition of a roadmap for the implementation of digital economy in Cameroon. This roadmap can then be used as a guideline in the implementation of the digital economy in developing countries, with mere consideration of their socio-cultural context as there is no universal strategy for a digital transformation. The proposed guideline is based on policymakers as in these countries most innovations are government based.
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