Lack of infrastructure hampers investment

Information and communication technology (ICT) experts say a lack of funding and infrastructure is posing a hurdle to rural telecenter investment in Africa.

Private companies and donor institutions are not mobilizing funds to finance telecenter development, according to experts meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, last week at a conference on the subject.

Although telecenters facilitate access to ICT and the sharing of relevant content and information, investments in infrastructure at continental and national levels are not being carried out, said Oumy Ndiaye, the manager of the Technical Center for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA)

Telecenters are aimed at providing access to ICT and providing business and market information service to the rural population.

Telecenters pilot projects have been carried out for many years but there are no efforts being made to scale up telecenters, with real ownership by the community, Ndiaye said.

"The importance of information and communication in development is no longer debatable," Ndiaye said.

Ndiaye said the lack of sustainability has been caused by poor access to connectivity infrastructure, as ISPs (Internet service providers) and mobile communication companies are concentrated in urban areas.

Officially opening the meeting, Zambian Minister of Communications and Transport Dora Siliya said for rural telecenters to be sustainable, they must be responsive to the needs of Africa's rural population.