Bridging the Digital Divide-Uganda's Case Study!

Enterprise/market development in BDD.

A comparative Analysis:

A Detailed Copy of this Report has been submitted to the the Diplo Foundation in Malta as part of the Internet Governance Capacity Building Program by this author who was an IGCBP7 Fellow of Diplo Foundation.

Abstract:
"Access" for all is thought to be necessary to tackle social exclusion and promote equality in the "new knowledge economy' by ensuring that the gap beween the "haves" and 'have nots' does not widen as ICT becomes increasingly influencial in relation to educational standards, economic competitiveness and citizenship(1). As Manuel Castel says “Information Technology(IT), together with the ability to use and adapt it, is the critical factor in generating and accessing wealth, power and knowledge in our time. The digital divide in Africa at the dawn of the information age may be the most lasting wound inflicted on this continent by new patterns of dependency”. (2) "The rise of informationalism in this end of millennium is intertwined with rising inequality and social exclusion throughout the world" (Castel 1996, p. 70). Castells traces the phenomenon of exclusion(social or digital divide) across different social and geographic contexts and concludes "the evolution of inter/intra-country inequality varies, what appears to be a global phenomenon is the growth of poverty, and particularly of extreme poverty" (Castel 1997, p. 81).

This project compares enterprise/market conditions in two localities in Uganda in the prism of interventions to bridge the digital divide.The project, comparatively analyses the impact of enterprise development in simple micro enterprises such as the Lawlyn Telecenter,Tororo Uganda and the relatively complex and larger humantarian funded Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter. The research critically analyses entire project cycles identifying key models or blend of model elements with a visibly high potential of rapid replication level of success in bridging the digital divide in Uganda. The study analyses key elements of success as well as challenges and limitations; structural and policy of both models. It also emphasies the importance of enterprise and market development as the key motivational factor of success in bridging the digital divide through the adoption and intergration of technology in production and supply chains in socially and digitally excluded communities. Finally, the project highlights key circumstances that require affirmative action strategically where markets are limiting. The object often is to stimulate enterprise and market development through adoption and intergration of technology in production and supply chains.

Background: The potential for ICT to transform society is well documented. Universal access to computers and the internet is considered necessary to avoid social divisions and offer opportunities for all by ensuring that future "knowledge economies" include everyone (HM Treasury 2000). The failure in bridging the digital divide threatens to result into powerful digital communication tools exacerbating and entrenching societal disparities. As ICT continues to proliferate, the development of 'digital divides' may require the whole concept of poverty itself to be re-examined. The 'digital divide' will need to be incorporated as one characteristic in a new conception of social exclusion(Damarin 2000; Jackson etal 2000).

The proliferation of ICT in education and expansion of internet-based information and services further amplify the chasm between the information 'haves' and "have-nots'. Those on the wrong side of the divide(s) will have less opportunity to participate and engage with both formal and informal education, training and information( Damarin,2000). Social inclusion and economic development in the 'information age' are mutually reinforcing, and for people in low income communities gaining and exploiting ICT skills leads to opportunities to participate fully in local and national economies(PAT 15 2000). Social exclusion therefore as manifested by the 'Digital Divide' requires a well coordinated multi-stakreholder approach in order to facilitate a process of equitable distribution of opportunities in a globalizing world.

Introduction:
The project was focused on two case studies in Uganda to compare project cycles from conception,execution and sustainability protocols. Uganda is one of the poorest countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Relative to the UK, Uganda as a country is digitally under developed. It neighbours Kenya to the East,DR.Congo to the West, Sudan to the North, Tanzania and Rwanda to the South. Seated at the top of the Nile Valley, it faces strategic security challenges that it grapples with to advance. The entire Sub-Sahran region faces immense economic challenges in meeting the social service demands of her people, thus regarded the poorest region in the world.

Lawlyn Telecenter ,Tororo is located 250km East of Kampala the capital of Uganda. Tororo town is approximately 12km from the Uganda Kenya border of Malaba. There has been an influx of donor funded projects on health, agribusiness, education, human rights and also a growing business community due to cross-border trade. Mobilie telecom infrastructure has been built in this township and across the country. There has been an influx of tourists and other cross-border travellers. The town has a large hinterland which is largely rural based with Subsistence agriculture as the major economic activity.

The Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter on the contrary, is located approximately 50km North of Kampala in a relatively rural community. Despite its closer proximity to the capital,Nakaseke community is mainly subsistentially agro based and infrastructurally inaccessible. Comparatively the community is much poorer than Tororo town which is peri-urban. Nakaseke is actually about 20km off the Kampala-Gulu Road defining the centrality of its inaccessibility in infrastructural terms. What therefore defines the feasibility of government extension of infrastructural services lies in the economic activity of the community and therelies the power of market forces which is a key highlight in the project in BDD in Uganda. Lawlyn Enterprise Telecenter in Tororo township is a small communications shop built purely on an enterprise model offering Internet Services, Email, faxing, scanning, photocopying at costs determined by the market and sound business decisions while Nakaseke Multi-Purpose is much larger more complex in terms of physical presence, equipment and general capital investment. The Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter, has the hallmark of an affirmative action initiative built on donor funds as a result of the international convention on universal access.

Discussion: Lawlyn & Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenters in Tororo town and Nakaseke Community are classic examples of public-private efforts in bridging the digital divide. Tororo, like many towns in Uganda, in 2002 did not have a single internet shop but now has a total of 4 internet cafes' taking advantage of the prevailing business opportunities in the communications sectors. The enterprise initiative was visibly built on a prevalent and gradually growing market for internet/Data Communications services. The enterprise development initiative of the Lawlyn Telecenter also is exhibit of the prevalent policy initiatives in government. Uganda today prides in a total of 4 Licensed National Operators since the collapse of the Duopoly agreement between government and MTN/UTL. It also points to the regulatory framework under the Uganda Communications Commission(UCC) under whose jurisdiction these Telecenters operate. The presence of 4 active National Operators in the Country means competition and market penetration in areas that were previously untapped, better services, price wars and better access by the public. UTL, Celtel,Warid Telecom and MTN have rolled out WIMAX technology to reach more rural communities such as Nakaseke, services that were previously the exclusive preserve of the urban elite in the capital.

The government policy on building a National Fiber Optics backbone radiating out of the capital Kampala to all remote Local Government Points will bring on board more actors in the market since it stimulates market divelopment as well as enterprise development. There are also challenges such as taxation that can be addressed by policy to encourage enterprenuers invest in this sector to stimulate the economy through improved access to information. There is the energy problem in the Country. While physical access to the national power grid remains a problem in the country side, high power demand has resulted into increased unit costs of utility and thus increased overhead costs for enterprenuers in the internet kiosk business. Governemt is addressing this through promotion of reneweable energy and alternative energy sources such as solar, thermal generation for immediate mitigation during load-sheding hours. This is collective policy action. A hydro electricity dam at Bujagali is under construction,other smaller dams as well as enforcement of energy saving technologies is underway. All these are public policy approaches that are geared towards not just providing free social services but stimulating productivity so that people can harness their environments with the right technology tools. It is a sound reason why Telecenters have sprung up in all townships in Uganda since 2002. All telecom operators have mobile internet services on mobile phones. It is all pointing to policy and market development therefore.

Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter had the hallmark of affirmative action. Being a rural community with no visible cash economy to talk about. Investment in this project by a private entreprenuer would not be feasible. Considerations such as relevance of internet service to a population that relies entirely on susistance agriculture comes in. How many people actually need access and can afford the service? What is the cost of installation, support and mantenance of the facility? How accessible is the community? What is the level of ICT literacy/general literacy of the community? What public infrastructures are available that can reduce cost of installation? Nakaseke community lacked the ingredients that can stimulate a local enterprenuer to invest in such a project justifying affirmative action from a collaboration with good objectives under the Universal Access Declaration between the government of Uganda through its policy framework and its International Development partners.

The Barriers faced by Nakaseke Community were addresed by:

• Auditing the disadvantages of the community to establish their needs and requirements in terms of content, and promote initiatives that involve them in directly creating materials. This was carried out through a baseline protocol.
• The initiators allowed plans and the entire project to evolve organically from the people they aim to help, but provide support mechanisms to scaffold the development of sustainability. A multi-stakeholder approach helped reduce fragmentation that can create barriers to community participation. An example is the local government requirement that all students in the community contribute to the sustainability of the project.
• Development of better policy and delivery design by identifying clear lines of responsibility for coordination of advice and help through a single communication channel to all those who wish to develop community based initiatives in the community such as the Donors of other projects, district local government and the private sector.
• Identifying and working with recognised information leaders with in Nakaseke Community such as district information managers, local ICT personnels through social mapping to find key individuals, community needs and interests (Benton Foundation 1998).
  The Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter is physically much larger and more complex than the enterprise telecenters across the country due to the investment capital put in by the donors,government and the community. The rapid replication rate of the micro enterprise telecenters is built around their simplicity and innovation of mobilizing refurbished hardware, skills out of business decisions that help sustain the projects. Because donors are not easy to come-by, complex projects of this nature are not easy to implement. In otherwords the difficulty the private entreprenuers finds in investing in undeveloped market niches combined with the scarcity of committed donors complicates the problem of socially excluded communities.
  
  A summary of factors contributing to the digital divide in a Liberal Economy.
  
  Shortcomings of the Markets:
  There is an arguement that commercial providers target the most profitable segments of society first and unconnected sections last. There are no guarantees that market provision will deliver affordable ICT to all groups in society. Thus while Lawlyn Telecenter saw an enterprise opportunity in Tororo Township due a growing market, Nakaseke community needed a strategic public intervention to stimulate enterprise and market development.
  Market-led provision may reach 'natural' saturation levels and inequalities may be exacerabted following new technical waves and inventions (Booz-Allen & Hamilton 2000). This can be explained from the evolution of the broad band boom and bandwidth intensive applications, the disucssion of Net Neutrality legislation and the threat of internet fragmentation.

Costs:

• The cost of purchasing equipment, telephone costs, tuition and perceptions of costs have been reported as barriers for non-internet users(Motorola 2000). From an enterprenuers perspective, the cost of credit access, interest rates, cost of business, lack of power and overhead costs become apparent. In Tororo this was addressed by the existence of credit service providers , enterprenuers because of feasible market conditions. Because of the remote nature of Nakaseke Community, ineccessibility, lack of or inadequate telecom services, poor business environment and energy problem would hinder a private investor come in leaving public intervention the only option.
• Cheaper calls(26%), unmetered free access(17%) and cheaper subscriptions would encourage greater internet usage among existing home users( OFTEL,2000a). This calls for greater liberalization of the economic sector as well as the telecom sector to bring in more players in the market. Because of their relatively large investment capital chest, they would break into areas where small entreprenuers can penetrate untapped markets like Nakaseke and Tororo. Uganda's policy direction in this direction is impressive but more liberalization of other sectors of the economy has a strong bearing on market stimulation.
  Lack of relevance, interest and aspirations
  The percieved lack of relevancy has socio-economic dimension. A significant number of people in communities like Nakaseke believe ICT is not relevant to their lives (DTI 1999). They are poor and do not know the relationship between information and economic activity.Many people still largely associate ICTs to the 'economic domain' (Hochschild,Benton Foundation 1998). Individuals in higher socio-economic occupational strata are more likely to use ICT at work (DTI 1999). In 2003, when Lawlyn Telecenter was set up, most NGOs and the local government did not any ICT policy in their operational manual. Lawlyn Telecenter served this cohort of the market as well as travellers, tourists, cross borders and local entreprenuers in search of information. As the telecom sector grew, NGOs started establishing data links in their offices and employees enjoying the internet. More players joined Lawlyn in the business bringing on more competitions, price fluctuations, better services etc. But the issue of relevancy goes further among more remote communities like Nakaseke where the population is largely illiterate and engaged in susistence agriculture.
  Poverty aspirations and opportunity are factors that lead to the development of self exclusion and further inequalities. Perceptions of the utility of computers is mediated by individual family discourses, wider learning communities, and particular software environments( Dowes 1998; Tobin).
  Lack of Access & Support:

Many of the non users lack confidence and skills necessary to use the internet (ONS 2000b) as well as total lack of access to infrastructure. This fact is not exclusive to rural or the peri-urban environ. The market did not address the needs of the hinterland of Tororo which is equally largely rural and agro-based. This community is largely composed of the elderly, low literacy rates and poor vulnerable groups simulating the Nakaseke community. A majority of the people can't read or write in English so access to ICT and its use calls for training, affirmative action through strategic public-private interventions.

Lack of local technical capacity to support new users learn about ICT (DTI 1999) both in formal and informal settings. Rural communities like the hinterland of Tororo and Nakaseke itself lack local capacity to support new users. This is where the Nakaseke Telecenter model comes in handy.
Lack of Literacy:

Many people are largely illiterate to use ICT at all or effectively(PAT 15,2000). The internet is predominantly English while computer key boards are mainly in English inhibiting use by people/communities whose first language is not English like the Nakaseke Community.
Lack of Joined-up Approaches:

Community groups still struggle to find from 'one-time-limited initiative to another'. The private sector is still largely absent from debates surrounding ICT and social inclusion in deprived communities such as Nakaseke and Tororo (Leach 2001).PAT 15(2000) found that there is often little collaboration or communication between local projects, or strategic thinking acrosss organizations and few mechanisms for sharing experiences.

The 'digital divide' represents one aspect of wider inequalities. The 'joined up' nature of social problems is one of the key factors underlying the concept of social exclusion.
Barriers to community access:

Learning in mixed groups at community access points can make some groups feel uncomfortable. Barriers exist to locations, opening times, lack of adequate child care, security, facilities for the disabled, ethnic minorities and the elderly.

Unsustainable, inconsistent, unsuitable and partial funding are barriers to community based initiatives such as the Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter.

ICT access points may be poorly promoted and marketed, and their role and content may lack local focus (PAT 15 2000).
Conclusion:

'Digital Divide(s)'s have no single, identifiable cause or effect. Many public or private initiatives therefore, are intergrated alongside broader concepts and policies that aspire to tackle deprivation and exclusion. While Lawlyn Enteprise Telecenter took advantage of the general liberalization investment climate in the country, it is possible to note that the Nakaseke Multi-Purpose Telecenter was a public-private response to a general understanding that market forces have limitations. It had the hallmark of the affirmative action initiative geared towards finding a model that helps achieve the ambitious declaration of universal access. Presented below are recommendations and suggestions that propose methods for Bridging the Digital Divide(BDD). Many are in thrusting forward a government framework that addresses policy issues that facilitate enterprise development while also strategically intervening in areas to stimulate market development.

Increasing Access and Support:

Develop the use of existing community resources and locations, including schools, in order to help offer further free or inexpensive access and training for communities that need affirmative action.

The provision, extension and development of home-loan laptops should be considered and supported by other forms of support service. Examples of such initiatives are the One-Child-One-Laptop Project of Nicholas Negroponte and African Governments.

Meeting the information needs of non-english speakers should be promoted and content should be readily available in languages other than english.
Supplementing/enhancing provision from markets:

Raise awareness about the extent and dimensions of the divide to industry sectors. This will help them to identify specific areas of product development and marketing as sales levels out due to saturation.

Create further competition to provide cheaper services among telecommunications, software and resource companies through strategic liberalization of the economy.

Promote the concept of corporate social responsibility with in the ICT industry to raise awareness and involvement in the needs of socially and economically excluded communities that can turn out to be future markets for the private sector.

Further promote and develop the market for resale and refurbishment of used IT hardware. Computer AID international has refurbished and shiped out computers to Africa for use in schools and private companies, NGOs which has been a good initiative. This is a private humantarian initiative that government can facilitate through tax exemptions so that the equipment becomes even more affordable.
Reducing Costs:

Government must continue to develop a national infrastructure of low-cost or free access points in under-served communities through strategic public-private interventions. The National fiber optics backbone and a well grounded regulatory and enforcement apparatus in Uganda is starting point. Linking Local Governments(districts) to the national ICT grid will bring on board more players and extend services to the disavantaged communities.(Booz-Allen & Hamilton 2000).

Coordinate, develop and indentify a range of low-cost technical solutions to access provision for all types of ICT. This would help to reduce the numbers who percieve ICT as unaffordable.

'e-Missionaries' such as teachers and students should be encouraged, or recruited, to train the 'unconnected'.

Develop 'taster' courses that link ICT directly to other aspects of life relevant to the communities involed.
In summary, ICT development stimulates markets and markets act as incentives for enterprise development. While affirmative action(public intervention) is important in socially excluded communities, it must be geared towards enterprise and market development since there "aint anything like free lunch' at the end of the day. Sustainability of ICT projects in bridging the digital divide can only be possible when direct project beneficiaries have stake in keeping it affloat. The Lawlyn Micro Enterprise Telecenter and it survival in the market despite the replication of its model and stiff competition meant that the market all over the country had developed. Entreprenuers simply saw an opportunity to play their role in responding to the market. These simple telecenters are the face of comunication in all townships in Uganda and their role in bridging the digital divide is enormous. Thus the primary objective of public intervention even in socially excluded communities must strategically be aimed at helping the community build economic capacity and establish more access points to spread the service.
References:
1.http://llk.media.mit.edu/papers/aera2000.pdf
2.http://www.isoc.org/oti/articles/1100/benjamin.html

3.http://felix.openflows.com/html/netparadigm.html

4.http://www.svpww.com/tc_training1.html

5. http://www.idrc.ca/wsis/ev-86365-201-1-DO_Topic.html

6.Benton Foundation 1998 Losing Ground bit by bit: Low-Income Communities in the information age. http://www.benton.org/library/Low-income/

7.Booz-Allen & Hamilton 2000 Achieving Universal Access.Consultation Report for the UK Government on Internet Access. http://www.number-10.gov.uk/default.asp?Pageid=1203

8. Damarin,S 2000. The 'digital divide' versus digital differences: Principlces for equitable use of technology in education. Educational Technology. Vol 40(4).

9.The Rise of the Network Society, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vol. I. M. Castells (1996). Cambridge, MA; Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 556 pp., ISBN 1-55786-617-1

10.The Power of Identity, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vol. II. M. Castells (1997). Cambridge, MA; Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 461 pp., ISBN 1-55786-874-3

11.The End of the Millennium, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vol. III. M. Castells (1997). Cambridge, MA; Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 418 pp., ISBN 1-55786-872-7 5.http://www.gurusoftware.com/GuruNet/Interviews/Internet.htm

12. HM TREASURY 2000 Britain and the knowledge economy. Speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Smith Institute in London. Feb 16th 2000

13.MOTOROLA 2000. The British and Technology.Slough

14. Policy Action Team 15 (PAT) 2000. Closing the Digital Divide:Information and Communication Technologies in Deprived Areas: London. DTI. http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/seu/publications/pat/pat15.doc

What happened to Tony Blair's Commission on Africa?

In early 2004, the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, established the Commission for Africa, commonly known as the Blair Commission by many political commentators. The 17 members of the Commission, 9 from Africa and all working in their individual and personal capacities, published their report "Our Common Interest" on 11 March 2005 addressed to the leaders of the G8 and to the wider international community. It was also addressed to the African people and the world as a whole. The measures proposed by the Commission constitute a coherent package to achieve the Commission's goal of a strong and prosperous Africa. But as the cynics have always said, the the Blair Commission for Africa was strategically designed to rebuild Tony Blair and Labor’s image for taking his country, in 2003,to war in Iraq based on sexed up intelligence.

As strategically worked out with all the publicity the commission got, Blair and Labor swung back into power and an intra-party transition has just seen Mr. Gordon Brown come on board as the new Prime Minister of G.Britain.Key members of the Commission included Tony Blair, Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Bob Geldorf, Melees Zenawi of Ethiopia, my fellow old Budonian Simon Kalema from Uganda and others as the new ambassadors of Africa's development needs. But the Blair Commission, after Bob-Geldorf’s much hyped up media Rock campaign for the drenched of the earth, is no more like the world-cup has come to an end. Like Tony Blair, George.W.Bush, a man who did not know the location of Nigeria on the global map, also whose election in 2000 against Albert Gore had all the farcical characteristics of a typical African election, announced the $15bn July,2003 to save ACP countries from the ravage of HIV/AIDS thus dubbed the "compassionate" Republican President by his Washington's politburo.

In a similar pattern, Bush had attacked Iraq without UN authorization shoulder to shoulder with Britains Tony Blair. The 2002 election has bruised Bush public standing in the US and the World. Attacking Iraq after the 9/11 rallied some domestic support around him. But his trip to troubled Africa gave him a higher moral latitude thus the $15bn HIV/AIDS initiative. The object was to rally public support back home after the terrorist attack. Compare $130bn the EU uses for agricultural subsidies distorting global agricultural markets and Mr. Bush’s $15bn for fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa, Blair's romantic Africa commission and you will understand the comedy better.

Question is: Does Africa or Uganda ever learn from these acrobatics from the West? Right now Trade negotiations that have been going on between the European Commission(EC), Brussels' EU Executive and representatives of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) governments under the Economic Partnerships Agreements(EPAs) are aimed are further creating more market access for European firms in the ACP trading block. The European Commissioner Mr.Peter Mandelson is a hawkish bully threatening ACP Countries with export tarrifs if they do not sign the EPAs by 31st December. The unfortunate bit is that the African people do not share ideas with their governments on important issues of this nature. Government negotiate on behalf of their people but the negotiations should have public input. There is need for national sensitization for people to understand their short, immediate and long term strategic threats from the trade agreements.

Is Africa actually at the same competitive level in economic infrastructural terms to have a constructive partnership under the EPAs? I have watched the Ugandan government and its donor partners in a long poverty eradication crusade since the late 1980's with progress in the post-war reconstruction phase in the early 1990s due to humanitarian dollar inflows and public frugality of a young political regime. But the romantic figures rightly do not seem to translate into tangible economic benefits for a rapidly growing population. Overtime also the regime in Kampala has consolidated power and gradually grown complacent with the support from its development partners, with representatives of the EC in the diplomatic service in Kampala. On the 11th September 2007, the European commissioner for trade Peter Mandelson, a former political strategist and confidant of former British PM Tony Blair-of the Blair Commission fame, told members of the European Parliament (MEPs) that he would not consider offering more preferential treatment to ACP countries than the EU's general system of tariffs if the Dec. 31 deadline cannot be met. Typical gun-point diplomacy proper, Thank you very much!

Africa faces an acute energy problem that has crippled production in the manufacturing sector. As many countries including Uganda resort to thermal generation, there is a problem of increased international prices of carbon fuels. Because most of the countries are land-locked importation of these carbon fules has a strong bearing on inflation. Cummulatively, the cost of a unit of energy and other utilities has sky rocketed just as transport costs translating into increased inflation across the continent. Strategic Public intervention is curtailed by the WB/IMF policy of non intervention in the market. This approach has compromized the state in Africa translating into an instrument of colonial imposition.

What about public administration? Have government embraced e-governance? Always lagging behind due lack of a critical national vision. The fear for political backlashes as a result of re-engineering business, restructuring of public infrastructure and automation of operations is another problem as Africa's big men consolidate power through industrial revolutions structures. The impact of an archaic public structure in the relationship between Government, Citizens and the Private sector is manifested by the high incidence and prevalence of public corruption. All these hamper economic competitiveness.

The decay in the road sector, poor regulatory regimes in the telecommunications sector is another hiderance to economic competitiveness of the continent. This also has a direct relationship on the financial sector.But above all the impact of poverty and deprivation as a result of an imblanced global trading regime is Disease,illiteracy and conflict. African leaders need to look at the options in their possession which are not very many anyway. Build accountable public institutions and make use of all available resources for public good as a means of stimulating productivity. EPA discussions are just one of those indicators that indeed "there aint anything like free lunch". The entire humantarian infrastructure that is the backbone of the donor community policy instrument in Africa is aimed at crippling innovation, productivity as a cushion to their crude trade agreements forced on to Africa.

Africa’s leadership needs to share its challenges with its people in the prism of global economic management rather than posturing as agents of the capitalist elite in Europe and America as it currently seems. This can be achieved through professional Think Tanks and promoting vibrant public policy debate in institutions of higher learning so that the cause of our burden is undertood collectively as Africans.