Achieving e-Inclusion: Building an African digital agenda

ICT proficiency is a crucial element to national development empowering individuals, institutions and society as a whole. A strong digital agenda strategy which a) educates people on the importance and benefits of embracing ICT as part of their daily lives; b) improves access to ICT and c) provides channels to acquire digital literacy skills will result in improving socio-economic benefits, reducing digital divide and enhancing social inclusion. The European Union has embarked on the i2010 strategy to develop Europe into a competitive knowledge based economy. The implementation of the strategy has seen improvement in the digital proficiency of Europeans since 2005, providing the platform to formulate a more effective strategy beyond 2010, the Digital Agenda for Europe. This paper will examine how the European strategy serves as a valuable illustration for African stakeholders to devise a Digital Agenda for Africa.