Movement in the information technology for development debate: How can it meet the challenges of global competition?

There is an awareness that the developing world needs to build up its resources of skills and experience as they relate to Information Technology [8,10]. This awareness in not new. The transfer of technology has been the concern of development experts hoping to bridge the “North-South Divide” for over two decades [3]. Debates have since taken place suggesting that Information Technology (IT) is relevant to development objectives on the one hand and there are real issues that constrain the impact in Information Technology’s ability to meet development objectives [2,4,6]. In part this debate has been facilitated by the rapid growth of electronic networks across the world and the opportunities that have emerged as a result. There was a sense that the disparities between infrastructures of wealthy and poor countries could be overcome by developing electronic network infrastructures [9]. It has been suggested that electronic communication networks could provide a general resource and a means to exploit information, skill and expertise which are so greatly lacking in areas such as sub-saharan Africa [11]. In more recent years, the use of Internet infrastructures and the World Wide Web has changed the nature of the IT for Development debate. The growth of the Internet has brought about the creation of an on-line “marketplace” which brings together people and organizations from different parts of the world [5]. New opportunities have opened up for companies in the developed world to work with developing countries. These include, 1) sourcing strategies enabling access to skill and expertise, 2) provision of critical services such as Health Care and 3) better management of natural resources such as land. Outsourcing strategies using high speed Internet connections have given western companies access to cheap highly qualified skill and better standards of living for the people in developing countries. Web based access to health care professionals and medication enables the provision of health services in rural communities. Farmers in India are able to access new developments in land management through the web and order seeds through a village internet enabled village computer [10]. Yet, it is still uncertain