We live in a rapidly expanding technological world. There is one more innovation coming out everyday to make life better and contribute to human development on earth.
On a global scale, the rate of growth could be measured in terms of the number of people that have both access to the internet and can utilize it for their own benefits. That percentage is at 40% and growing. Putting this into further perspective, the number of social media users is currently at 2.65 billion people which is 31 percent of the global population. This numbers are encouraging but not encouraging enough due to the the percentage of the people yet to experience the benefits the internet has to offer.
However like any other growing system, there are factors we have to contend with but not to be confused with being comfortable with them. The challenge of infrastructure and not reaching the last mile rings loudly. This is one of the challenges faced in a lot of countries , especially in the African continent. Accessibility and or lack thereof of internet to those in the rural communities is something that is yet to be solved in bigger scales.
One might argue that individuals to those communities are okay with not having access to internet but when you flip the coin and looking at human rights, you will realize the need for retraction of that statement. Access to internet is a human right. In 2016, a report from the Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly declared access to the internet to be a basic human right, integral to allowing individuals to “exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression.” This is why we should not be comfortable with statements that although made in good faith, do not reflect the rights that humans should be accorded globally.
However, all is not as we are seeing more organizations working towards ensuring that inclusivity within the countries they are operating in are felt. Organizations such as starlink are working towards providing communications to governments across the globe and especially for their populations in the rural communities. What we are sure of is that the more innovations we experience in delivering to the last mile, the more individuals become bold enough to innovate around those areas despite the bottom line. When you dissolve it further to back home, you have various institutions focused on capacity building and impacting knowledge about technology to young people. Young people from the ages of 15 to 25 yrs old make up the majority of the population in the African continent and its important that we do well by them. Providing access to opportunities and skills to enable them to contribute fully in their various economies.
One of the key organization I am recognizing on today’s post is Identic Foundation. With the risk of sounding biased, i am fronting Identic Foundation because i believe in its potential. This is further informed by my Pan-Africanism and the desire to speak on the progress that is being made in the African continent in the technological space. It is also my attempt at speaking about nascent markets such as Equatorial Guinea and why their potential is important in the CEMAC region.
Identic being the pioneer Technological foundation born out of GITGE CSR projects, we get to see its impact at scale now that it is a legal entity as a Foundation.
Identic boasts about 340 volunteers who dedicate their time and effort in ensuring that our activities are moving smoothly. As a foundation focused on impact amongst the young people. We serve and are being led by two pillars. Inclusivity and gender equality. These two pillars speak to our work and how our projects are organized.
An example of one of our project is women in technology, which is a project to mentor and train young people on digital skills. Women are as important as men in pursuing sciences and identic is seeing to it. The foundation boasts various other projects that are enabling us to reach far and wide in the delivery of knowledge and skills to the young people of Equatorial guinea. Even a single life transformed is fundamental to us because we believe in snowballing effects and paying it forward.
We are inviting those who are bold like us to join us in building Malabo as a technological hub in CEMAC region. We can assure you of solid infrastructure as the backbone towards launching your company in a safe environment with accessibility to other countries through short and long flights.
We are looking forward to collaborate with potential individuals who believe in our cause at identic foundation and sponsors who believe in young people and want to support them to succeed. We succeed when we put our resources together for the good of everyone.
I will conclude by stating the famous words: “Technology is a means to an end and not the end”. May we support one another to do better and be better.
