Digitizing Rural and Peri-Urban Kakamega

If our Future is Digital. How will it change the world? By 2050 THERE will be 9 billion people to feed, clothe, transport, employ and educate. We’re committed to a growth driven economy that must inflate for centuries supplying limitless consumption to everyone. With new tech can we add a digital world that helps everyone succeed and prosper while working together? Can we become a successful world where greatness is normal? We shall create Smart Villages and Smart Cities through our Digital Villages Program. A Digital Village is basically a public place where people shall access computers, the internet and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential 21st century digital skills. 

We stand before the open door of the future, yet it is so difficult to see inside and harder still to know how to take the first step across the threshold. Advanced technology solutions are critical to alleviate poverty. One underlying cause of poverty is the asymmetry of information between the poor and the rich, including the middlemen. Commitment to building a framework for empowerment of the poor must therefore start with access to information and connectivity. We know that the internet has brought the potential for empowering even the most marginalized groups in our societies. We know that it will benefit all of us if we can unleash their entrepreneurial energy and creativity. Among the first steps is surely the challenge of how to achieve access to the internet for the groups at the bottom of the pyramid, so that they can participate fully in shaping their own future. Computers and connectivity are still too expensive for private ownership by the poor. The people at the bottom of the pyramid need to have reliable, affordable access to technology and connectivity. 

Our topography of services shall include: Informational services- computer training(basic computer skills, software development, call center agents training) which shall be either funded with vouchers or provided for a fee; education, job listing, government schemes and procedures, news, market prices, computer-aided education (e-content related to school curriculum), internet browsing, utility bill payment, computer-based services (digital photography, desktop publishing, data entry), Skype, PayPal, disability empowerment, land records, photocopy for birth registration, book publishing, newsletters, promotional materials for businesses,  graphic design for politicians/businesses, web design etc. We shall disseminate generic (non-customized) information, such as agricultural practice, health, weather forecasts, and contact information. We shall offer transnational services such as internet access (e-mail and web browsing), word processing, printing, lamination, binding, scanning, photocopying, which shall be offered at a fee. Courier services, sending fax, community health mapping, community resource mapping and biodiversity mapping. Obtaining loans & insurance, entertainment/ringtones, e-banking/remittances, e-commerce transaction etc. On the other hand we shall offer e-government services; this shall be transnational services that involve local, state or national government, providing land records, submitting complaints to local officials, and confirming a user’s presence on electoral rolls. Downloading and submission of forms, status of pending work, land records, ration cards, government certificates etc.

Rural Internet penetration in Africa lags behind that in urban areas, with 90% of Internet connections in Africa occurring in its large cities. This can largely be attributed to poor rural telephone and power structure. There is a significant unmet demand for Internet access; IT based services and IT education among rural Africans despite lack of prior exposure to computers or other aspects of the IT world.In the current digital revolution, there is a growing effort to promote social activism and community development among young people through electronic communication, cyber participation and e-citizenship. Today ICT and new media are becoming a major component of youth civic engagement and activism. Given the existing connections between new media, the internet and young people, it can be inferred that new media and ICT can enable young people’s activism at a general and influence the diverse forms it has taken. Most directly ICT shall be used for communication and co-ordination of youth movements, contributing to a sense of e-solidarity among individuals and groups with different agenda’s. The technology shall also increase locals’ awareness of issues, problems and shall arise to other part of Africa. Such tools shall be commonly used by young people to prepare and contribute their submission to political process and international meetings. When available, ICT Shall have the potential to improve young people access to better education. The technology shall change the way classroom operate through integrating multi-media textbooks, online research and student presentation that shall make the learning process more interactive and participatory. Digital opportunities shall particularly be effective in reaching rural dwellers that lack large libraries and other educational resources. Local e-commerce shall open shall open significant livelihood opportunities for locals and other small networks professionally without having to relocate from their families and support networks. Local e-governance, e-learning, e-agriculture, e-health and e-commerce platforms shall revamp the rural economy. Many youngsters in rural Africa have been excluded from the information revolution. Others are affected by the way ICT may challenge traditional forms of socializations. Others are affected by the way ICT may challenge traditional forms of socialization. Others struggle to balance influence exerted by family and local community while others by the global and cross-cultural influence of ICT. The increased use of mobile phones for instance has affected the daily interaction of youth almost everywhere. In this sense ICT creates a new landscape of socialization. The succession of generation as one of the central means of transmission of traditional practices can thus be eroded. In fact, the direction of socialization can be reversed as the younger generation teaches its elders to use the emerging technologies. However, ICT and the media do not prelude influences of such traditional actors as parents and schools. The emerging global media driven youth culture as propelled by ICT thus create condition for directional socialization between generations and may overturn the common assumption that young people are not full members of society until they complete the process of socialization. Some critics argue that ICT implicitly carry a cultural package of values associated with Western populace culture. Yet it should be emphasized that youth culture is much a local phenomenon as well as a global one. Young people use, adopt and interpret global experiences, and forms whose meanings vary with local circumstances.

ICT provide new opportunities for those who are literate, have a good education and adequate resources. Disadvantaged and marginalized groups have little chance to automatically benefit from tools such as the internet. This further increases social divide, widens the gap between men, women and individuals. For the poor, the real issue is not whether ICT is desirable because the technology is already part of their broader context. The issue is whether we accept that the poor should in addition to the existing deprivation of income; health services etc also are further deprived off new opportunities to improve their livelihood.

We have been currying out a feasibility for many years as we rally communities to our idea through online communities. For instance, we interact with locals through our web page https://www.fb.me/theictyacade... and  a network of Village Investment Funds web pages. Currently, we have managed to convince our donor https://www.labdoo.org who will be supplying to us laptops as we enter into the pilot phase.

We shall convert this project into The ICT Academy which shall be a multi country digital hybrid nonprofit created to bridge the global divide and the digital divide in rural and peri-urban Africa & beyond as it advocates for digital financial inclusion in the people at the bottom of the pyramid. The ICT Academy shall seek to guide/influence global and regional bodies so that they are more open and receptive to the needs and interests of our target group.  We shall target to inspire attitudinal and policy change among  people, governments, nonprofits and corporations towards our target group. We shall target to try innovative and new ways to influence globally and regionally. We shall create a Global Online Communication Systems at The ICT Academy; establish a well-equipped inquiry help desk Center and link the communication system throughout the globe and identify Country Chapters Coordinators, Regional Coordinators for each country with a target to set up a global presence. Forging partnerships to build on strengths and work together toward a common goal through a Global Public Private Partnership model. Political scaling up; shall involve efforts to engage in the political process and build relations with governments.   Our future dream is to use the Digital Villages and rally ther public towards the establishment of Innovation Parks, Business Parks, Industrial Parks, Residential Parks and Tourists Parks at community level enabling them to utilize small portions of land as we reserve large portions of land for economical use.

We aspire to reach out to more than 2500 locals per Digital Village and thus reach more than 200000 through this grant. Our beneficiaries shall include emerging civic leaders who shall use our digital villages to attend online courses, to apply for fellowships, boot camps and incubators. These emerging civic leaders shall comprise of social innovators, social entrepreneurs, civic tech leaders, changemakers and social change agents who shall create nonprofit and businesses that shall aid people at the bottom of the pyramid and reach out to the poor. On the other hand students shall use our Village Internet Outposts to attend online courses and to carry out research. Job seekers shall use our Village Internet Outposts to hunt for jobs in addition to participating in online jobs program. Business people shall use our Village Internet Outposts to prepare business plans, to approach lenders and to attend online courses etc. Retirees shall use our Village Internet Outposts to search for investment opportunities. Researchers shall use our Village Internet Outposts to prepare their submission to international contest. We shall have a social objective and invest the little we earn in less fortunate members of the society.

Indicators are central to any impact assessment. As measuring devices, they define what data to collect and at what time intervals. Is the Digital Village a positive force for community development? Does it benefit some people more than others? Does it act as a catalyst for other positive initiatives and innovations at the local level? Does it help people help themselves? These questions convey the assumptions and vision of the promoters and funders of Digital Villages programs. Other questions shall be narrower and more practical. Is the Digital Village more beneficial to some economic sectors than others? For every user who comes to the Digital Village, how many others are indirect beneficiaries? Are there drawbacks to the Digital Villages, and who suffers as a result? What features of the Digital Villages are responsible for the greatest number of benefits and their most equitable distribution? How can these features be strengthened and replicated? Digital Villages shall focus on social and economic impact. What is the local awareness of computers? We shall find out computing ability, internet awareness and internet users. What are the opportunities available in the local area arising out of Digital Villages? Are people using Digital Villages (No. of active users by age, gender, occupation, frequency)? What do people use the Digital Villages (Internet use, total and pattern of traffic, user connect time, number of user, usage logs, user available online time at the Digital Village)? 

We have an ad hoc board of 11 tech savvy young intelligentsia's and a network of Smart Community Council Members plus a network of Digital Village Patrons and Local Tech Champions. 

Everything we know is being threatened by the increasing networked, stressed and disrupted world. Fast and furious change is creating new possibilities and new pain for every organization and every leader. As a team we aspire to expose ourselves with everything we need to thrive in this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) environment – enabling and empowering us to drive constant change, that ensure our products, plans/processes and people fit and forge the future. I Mr. Mapesa Lwanga Bitonye I am The CEO & Founder of this noble cause. I am an Electrical Engineer & an Electrical Engineering Trainer who turned into a social Innovator, a Social Change Agent, and a Civic Tech Leader, a Social Impact Leader, a Trisector Leader and a cross boundary leader. I am tech savvy, alliance savvy, cross culturally savvy, market savvy, a network builder, a negotiator, a mediator, and a game changing visionary, a big picture visionary, a diplomat, an excellent story teller and an honest broker, a recognized global changemaker and a social change agent who has won various international fellowships, accelerators and incubators. The Secretary to the Board is Mr. Brian Malika a global changemaker, a social change agent, a civic leader and a social innovator who has won international fellowships, accelerators and incubators. 

We shall create a Global Public Private Partnership online Platform and partner with changemakers across the globe who are passionate about using ICT as an enabler of social economic development of resource poor communities.We shall create a Global Online Communication Systems at The ICT Headquarters; establish a well-equipped inquiry help desk Centre and link the communication system throughout the globe and identify Country Chapters Coordinators, Regional Coordinators for each country with a target to set up a global presence. Through Telepresence we shall create a Global Public Private Partnerships and launch a Global Digital Villages Project Network. TheGDVN Project shall be a mega community initiative coordinated by The ICT Headquarters to support and sustain a network of Digital Villages in rural and peri-urban Africa & beyond. It shall bring together locals, rural vendors, service providers, development partners, donors, non-profits, foundations, community based organizations, civil society organizations, faith based organizations, medical facilities, educational institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Banks, corporations, governments, angel investors, impact investors, venture capitalists, equity funds,  International Development Organizations, ICT4D organizations etc to ensure the success and sustainability of the program