Black Star Ghana Information Technology and Development in Africa

This paper examines how Accra, the capital of the West African country of Ghana, adapts to technological change, to gain a better understanding of how people in poor African cities use technology and what they want from it.

Abstract

"Accra is technologically marginalised by any measure. But over the past ten years, the introduction of the Internet, wireless technology and freer radio broadcasts have vastly expanded communications and information. The Internet is widely available. E–mail usage is soaring. Wireless telephony is growing rapidly. Radio stations are proliferating. Once mired in information poverty, the people of Accra now face the challenge of using information and connectivity to their best advantage.

In examining how Accra adapts to technological change, we gain a better understanding of how people in poor African cities use technology and what they want from it. Debates over the so–called "digital divide" can be enriched by close studies of lived experience in parts of the world where the revolution in information technology remains more prospect than reality."

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Source: Eldis website