Abstract

The role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been identified as an important factor by the United Nations in achieving the millennium development goals (UNAPCICT, 2012)1. The potential for ICT has been identified as a means to reducing poverty, creating global communities by providing access to the internet and mobile networks to rural communities, improving education services, medical services, and information availability. As of today, significant amounts of funds have been invested by the governments and donor organizations in ‘Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D)’ projects by establishing telecenters, e-villages, e-health, electronic and mobile banking, and e-government systems for citizens in general, and more specifically, rural communities to bridge the digital divide (Heeks & Molla, 2009). However, the effectiveness and impact of these initiatives are still questionable. In a report published by (IEG - Independent Evaluation Group, 2011) it was identified that projects focusing on global accessibility have achieved only a 30 percent success rate in developing countries. The key issues identified by the literature on ICT4D success and failure include inadequate understanding and consideration of local culture (Simpson & Hunter, 2001), lack of political support, infrastructure issues, community acceptance, and sustainability of these projects post-funding stages (Heeks & Molla, 2009; Kasigwa, Williams, & Baryamureeba, 2006). The inability to see the whole system was identified as one of the 7 reasons of ICT4D project failure (Rogers, 2011). Lack of understanding of a holistic picture, community involvement and need for training and capacity building before implementing an ICT solution for sustainability projects were further emphasized as critical factors by Pade et al., (2009).

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