NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

With information and communication technologies (ICT) spinning off new industries in Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) today called on the continent’s governments to commit themselves to policies that create information and knowledge economies.
Already Africa’s ICT environment was leading to the creation of technology parks, globally-operating call centres, cyber-cities and a growing software development sector that was seeking a share of the global $260 billion software industry, ECA Deputy Executive Secretary Josephine Ouedraogo told the opening meeting of the fourth session of the Committee on Development, “CODI IV,” held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Some estimate that African software companies could become the single largest contributor to their countries’ gross domestic product (GDP), she said.
Story found here.