Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Can Technology and a Business Approach Make Globalization Work for the Poor?
. They are not leaving because they are the best and the brightest. But they are becoming the best and the brightest because they have left. So how can brain drain be reversed? Let me say, without any equivocation, that a physical reversal of the outflow of professional expertise from the continent is impossible in the near future. It is not feasible to bring back to Africa all the professionals who have left, even if jobs would be given them. To make this worse, physical repatriation, even when possible, only ensures the return of the individual and not the knowledge or personal networks to which he or she may belong. It is also not likely that further exits can be discouraged or even prevented. The job market has gone global, and the probability of a truly skilled professional to migrate to a richer country is indeed very high. It is hopeless to believe that the continent's manpower shortages can be solved by an immediate return of skilled Africans. The reality is this: A generation of Africans is gone forever. Every scheme initiated by the public sector on the Continent to bring skilled Africans back home has failed, and will continue to fail. Not because Africa is not a good place to live and work, but because the professionals who have left have been eternally absorbed into a culture and a lifestyle powered by the best technologies. Returning to a culture devoid of technology will just not work for the vast majority. Though a reversal by way of physical return does not appear on the horizon, there are two ways of reversing brain drain. The first is by enabling a return of capital held by Africans outside the Continent back into Africa. African governments need to come up with innovative policies that can pool funds and capital resources held overseas together to fund projects back home. Second, Africans everywhere can be encouraged to share their expertise and knowledge by participating in projects back home without necessarily undertaking a permanent, physical return. Knowledge and intellectual capital does not have to leave the Continent, as the indigenous African worker living abroad can share his (or her) knowledge directly - via specific projects, or indirectly - by passing on their skills to the next generation of Africans back home. Each African expatriate can be reconnected to the continent, at little or no cost. Policies that would mobilize the skill sets of individual Africans and avail them to the continent via short exchanges and visits, email web collaboration and advisory services, mentoring, etc, may reverse brain drain. In the near term, businesses on the Continent may find that the only option to employing a non-African expatriate (if the need arises) may be employing an African expatriate presently living thousands of miles from home. Fola Odufuwa [EMAIL PROTECTED] is Executive Director, eShekels Limited, one of Africa's foremost technology research firms. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Cyber-Security and Human Rights
Dear Colleagues, Richard Downing's contributions on the subject of anonymity made very interesting reading. In Nigeria, as in much of Africa, secure, nationally acceptable, authenticated identification for individuals (both for private, business and regulatory purposes) in the real world is highly undeveloped. Matching individuals to fixed locations for transaction purposes is well near impossible in the near term for many developing nations, making the question of web world identities for real world peoples even more complex. The populations of Africa, to a large extent and in many respects, are mobile and culturally nomadic, both in the cities and in the villages. Even if it where possible to identify and match a specific web transaction to an online personality, how then will you match that online figure to his (non-existent) real world database? If real world identities can be changed or even recreated (for any number of reasons), how would you be able to link the transactions (positive or negative) on the Internet to the real world people behind them? Regards, Fola Odufuwa ED -- eShekels Limited West Africa Office 13th Floor, Left Wing Nigeria Stock Exchange House 2/4 Customs Street Lagos, Nigeria Tel: +234-1-8116899 Fax: +234-1-2642852 Web: www.eshekels.com __ On Monday, September 27, 2004, Richard Downing wrote: I wanted to comment on the discussion of anonymity security. I would like to suggest that the question is really quite nuanced, not a black and white issue. The question of anonymity is a difficult one, and one that we have not quite worked out in our own society. There are certainly some things that we agree people should be able to do anonymously (pay for things with cash), and others that shouldn't be done anonymously (driving a car, opening a bank account). ...snip... It should also be clear that we, as a society, have long since decided that it is a necessary power of the government -- with appropriate restrictions and safeguards -- to have the authority to intercept communications. I would also like to point out that anonymity is a relative term that takes into account a broad spectrum of activities or regulations. For example, I understand that in order to obtain an Internet account in Australia, you need to provide certain sorts of proof of identity (as you would when applying for a driver's license). There is also the question of how much traffic information Internet service providers retain, as this information can, in many cases, allow the identification of the source of communcation after the fact. There are also questions of how to deal with wireless networks or Internet cafes that are open for use by anyone without any authentication or identification. There are lots of policy choices that law makers and Internet engineers can make that serve to increase or decrease anonymity. Finally, it is worth noting that the primary problem with solving all sorts of Internet crime -- from hacking credit card databases to sending child pornography over the Internet to using the Internet to communicate with terrorists -- is identifying the perpetrator. Very often WHAT has occurred is fairly clear, but figuring out WHO the person is is the most difficult part. Without the ability to identify the perpertrator, there is no way to deter this conduct or bring those responsible to justice. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
[GKD] Learning from Nigeria's eCommerce Success Stories
subvention. However, the sites have brought about new sources of income for these organizations. The Internet as a revenue generator may not be an issue for business concerns when placed against traditional sources of revenue. But it may be the means by which fresh revenue can be created. Fresh revenue may serve as a supplement rather than a replacement for traditional revenue methods. In other words, it may be too early in the day for a business to depend entirely on the Net as the primary source of revenue. Four, develop alliances that work in order to delight the customer The sites are a result of a public-private sector partnership. Components of this ³partnership² include: the exam body, the financial institution (typically one or more banks), the technology partner (including hardware suppliers, database managers, bandwidth providers, web designers, etc), and the target market (students and their loved ones). For any public or private institution to succeed in an increasingly digital world, alliances with nimble tech- and market-oriented organizations on a project-by-project basis are critical. No one organization is able to provide for and meet all the needs of its customers. Collaborative competition (coopetition) among businesses and institutions plus networking are today¹s buzz words. Without a doubt, the bottom line is the user. His life needs to be made more efficient. His tasks need to become more effective. His options need to be broadened by innovation. If he is not satisfied, the web project has failed. Nigeria needs more eCommerce success stories. --- Fola Odufuwa is Executive Director, eShekels Limited, Nigeria¹s premier technology research firm and is based in Lagos. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This article may be reproduced free of charge. Kindly credit and copy the author at mail address above. ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD-DOTCOM] Improving Access Via Mobile Telephony
With minimal fixed line infrastructure, and virtually no backbone for Internet traffic, African mobile operators will (and cannot afford not to) come up with solutions and applications that are novel to the West. These new mobile technology solutions (and derivatives) will enable companies doing business in Africa to inter-act seamlessly with their workforce using any platform or device. Mobile will ensure that Africans are able to connect with each other anytime, anyhow and using any device. GSM networks will be pushed to operational limits and driven far in excess of intrinsic abilities as Africans derive new and unique methods of staying connected. So how can the Rest of the World catch up with the West? Simply by replicating the lessons learnt from the Mobile Miracle in all sectors of their economies. These lessons include: * Opening up of the economy to full participation by local and international private companies. * Elimination of monopolies and their abuse of market dominance. * Minimal, but transparent, regulatory intervention. * Locating and satisfying the demand for services by the populace. * Encouraging the use of open standards, protocols and technologies. * Protecting the consumer from ill-treatment by operators. * Reducing rural-urban migration by encouraging geographical spread of services. * Removing bureaucratic bottlenecks relating to trade and imports. * Making technology a front burner issue. African countries can catch up with the West, maybe not as producers of technology, but definitely as distributors and consumers of the most innovative technology solutions. Africa can utilize the power of the Last Mover Advantage to leapfrog and reach the heights already attained and taken for granted by developed economies. It appears that the sun has begun to shine on Africa. Yes, the continent missed the agrarian revolution. Yes, she missed the industrial revolution. But she earnestly longs not to miss the information revolution. Would you help her? Fola Odufuwa is Executive Director, eShekels Limited, Nigeria's premier technology research firm and is based in Lagos. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
