The Impact of Connectivity in Africa: Grand Visions and the Mirage of Inclusive Digital Development

Abstract

Corporations, development organisations and governments have launched ambitious programmes to 'connect the unconnected', reasoning that this creates economic growth and inclusive development. This paper contrasts these actors' discourses with evidence from academic research. The evidence suggests a highly uneven economic impact of Internet connectivity across geographies and social strata. The analysed sources of discourse (African ICT policies and reports by international organisations) instead propose Grand Visions of connectivity, attributing a self-evident positive, widespread, and transformational impact to the Internet. We discuss technological determinism, acontextual modernism, and optimistic simplism as underlying this contrast, calling for more reflexivity towards the opportunities of 'digital development'.

Self-Sovereignty for Refugees? The Contested Horizons of Digital Identity

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Hope and Hype in Africa’s Digital Economy: The Rise of Innovation Hubs

“…Nairobi's role model hub promoted the idea that a single organization, physically embodied by not much more than a space with hot desks, could be a catalyst for the economic development of an entire low-income nation. iHub's leadership deftly connected its own context-dependent visions (meso-level discourses) with paradigmatic notions of entrepreneurial and technology-led development (Avgerou 2010;Friederici, Ojanperä, and Graham 2017;Steyaert and Katz 2004), forming a narrative with a wide appeal for a large and diverse set of audiences, including media, development organizations, and governments.…”

“…Ultimately, this chapter warns against the supply-side focus and functionalism that is implicit in donors' and the media's accounts of hubs: the fact that hubs have diffused quickly does not say anything about the local demand for hubs, nor does it speak to hubs' impact or success. Instead, the diffusion of hubs appears to have been the result of a match between what hubs have been envisioned to do and contemporary paradigms of entrepreneurship-and technology-led economic development (Avgerou 2010;Friederici, Ojanperä, and Graham 2017;Steyaert and Katz 2004). For policy and practice, it will be necessary to move beyond the hub hype, and to think through limitations and negative side effects.…”

The Impacts of Digital Infrastructure Transformation on Livestock System Sustainability in Rural Communities

“…In Africa, digital infrastructure investments (ICTs and other technologies, including revision of old and adoption of new regulatory frameworks) have increased over the years (Batuo, 2015;Friederici et al, 2017). Governments and other actors such as NGOs and international organisations are committing to change the digital infrastructure landscape in developing countries (Batuo, 2015).…”

“…Rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa are characterized by high levels of poverty and poor access to infrastructure, both physical and digital (IFAD, 2016). Even though there are contestations on the contributions of digital infrastructure 1 towards the development of rural communities (Friederici, et al, 2017), the lack of digital infrastructure can act as a poverty trap. For instance, the lack of digital infrastructure in rural communities precludes the rural population from participating in the growing digital economy, exacerbates information asymmetries and perpetuates social exclusion.…”