IT DRILLDOWN
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Social Responsibility's Strategic Benefits

December 15, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Ed Granger-Happ, CIO of Save the Children, for a discussion of how creating an organization that is socially responsible improves staffing, retention, leadership development and overall corporate health.

Working With and Communicating to Your Board of Directors

January 13, 2009, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-5)

CIO panelists who will share tips and experiences working with their boards: Twila Day of SYSCO; Jeff O'Hare, West Corp.; Marc West, formerly with H&R Block.

IT's Role in Growing Mid-Market Companies

January 14, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET (GMT-5)

Mid-market Council members will share their companies' stories and challenges in driving or coping with growth. Panelists represent Veterinary Pet Insurance, Medicis Pharmaceutical, and Intrax Cultural Exchange.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 
SUBSCRIBE TO CIO
 
Are you involved in setting the direction for your company's IT budget or strategy?

Apply today for a FREE subscription to CIO Magazine!

 
 
 

Kenya Rolls Out Digital Villages Project

 

April 02, 2008 — IDG News Service —

Kenya on Tuesday kicked off an ambitious Digital Villages project designed to connect the whole country, from rural to urban areas, and accelerate growth of information communication technology (ICT).

The project is a government and private-sector initiative, mapped out using political districts. Every constituency represented in Parliament will get a minimum of eight workstations, either PCs or monitors hooked to PCs, grouped within a 15-kilometer radius.

The first Digital Villages are expected to go online by the end of June. The Ministry of Youth Affairs' Youth Enterprise Fund (YEF) is financing the project, rolling it out in 40 constituencies before moving to other areas. The experiences of the first constituencies will inform implementation in other areas.

Telecommunication costs and the need to develop local content and software applications will challenge the initiative, but officials have high hopes.

"Each Digital Village will have a VSAT base station and will be expected to form the basis for e-commerce in the country," said Bitange Ndemo, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication.

Ndemo expects young entrepreneurs to borrow from the YEF. The Ministry of Youth Affairs is financing private microfinance institutions, and prospective businesspeople are expected to invest at least 100,000 Kenyan shillings (US$1,550) to set up a "digital village" with two PCs. The ministry says it will provide training in entrepreneurship, and the microfinance institutions have existing training programs.

The project will have far-reaching effects for online activities in agriculture, health, education and commerce, according to Ndemo. For example, instead of nurses and doctors from rural areas going to the city for education, the project can deliver the courses online.

Remote hospitals have not been attractive to doctors and nurses because opportunities for career development there are limited. With the online courses, the remote hospitals may be more attractive.

The major contribution to the health sector will be the ability to deliver health services to remote areas through online consultation. With the computer and Internet connectivity, a doctor can take a photo, scan it, and send it to a doctor in the referral hospital for expert opinion.

The plan has some critics. Joseph Kamau, a 22-year-old Nairobi businessman, does not think the project will benefit relatives who live in a village. He argues that most people walk long distances to the hospital and may not have the time to wait until a local doctor's e-mail is answered.

Ndemo argues that once people get used to Digital Village technology, they will design appropriate mechanisms to make it a success.

Loading...
 
 
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
 
Infrastructure
» Outbound Email and Data Loss Prevention
This report shows the findings of a recent Proofpoint and Forrester Consulting study on e-mail security, data loss prevention, and includes statistics on electronic risks.
» A Modern Approach to On-Demand Email and Data Security
Learn how Proofpoint delivers a dedicated, hosted e-mail security solution that combines state-of-the-art anti-spam and virus control.
» A Proactive Approach to e-Discovery
Learn about the key e-discovery challenges facing legal and IT departments today and how businesses can develop an e-mail archiving strategy to deal with e-discovery requests.
» The Advantages of Identity Based Encryption
Download this paper to learn why e-mail encyrption is critical to an organization's overall security architecture and the advantages of identity-based encryption.
» Global Best Practices in Email Security, Privacy and Compliance
This whitepaper discusses the latest global regulations that impact the e-mail security policies and strategies of today's enterprises, universities and government organizations.
Center sponsored by

 
 
ABCs
 

Just the basics, please. Sometimes we all need a refresher or we need to make sure our team and our colleagues are all on the same page.

Over 25 tutorials on everything from business intelligence to virtualization.

 
 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Operational Excellence Is Key to Maximizing IT Investments

Quest Authentication and IBM Tivoli Identity Management

Get IDC's take on one company's foray into storage virtualization.

White Paper: Centralized Data Backup and Your WAN

White Paper: Accelerating the Next Phase of Virtualization

The Right and Wrong Master Data Management Strategies to Start Small and Grow Big

Find out why IDC thinks virtualization is changing operating environments.

Explore the impact virtualization can have on your bottom-line.

Save with 0% Lease Offer on HP Servers and Storage

How RFID Improves Data Center Efficiency

Find out how to manage virtualization's risks and reap the rewards.

Conquer the realities of managing virtualization

Improve Web-Enabled SAP Performance

Gartner on Data Deduplication Cost Savings

Data Protection Options Explained

Webcast - "Into the Wild: Managing Laptops Outside the Office"

5 Steps to Successful IT Consolidation

High-performance computing is no longer just for Big Business

Leading university calls on Nokia for mobile unified communications.

Mobility is Growing: Survey Shows Why CIOs are Concerned

Learn what it takes to build a holistic digital collaboration platform

The ECM Paradox: Extending Local Flexibility to Strengthen Central Control

Customer Insight Yields Sales, Marketing Gains

7 Requirements of Data Loss Prevention

Put Enterprise Communications on Autopilot

Integrating ActiveRoles With IBM Tivoli Identity Manager 5.0

Quest Authentication Services: Simplify Identity Management

Data Protection: Challenges for the Traveling User

Learn how wide-area data services can help deliver the benefits of virtualization

Learn how companies are changing how they reach out to their most profitable customers.

Learn how to leverage virtualization for a 74% savings in TCO.

Find out how you can affordably consolidate applications with VMware.

ESG Research on Server and Storage Virtualization

Data Center ROI with RFID Asset Tracking

Get help navigating the management challenges of virtualization.

Narrow the gap between virtualization's benefits and the management risks.

Cash in on the promise of virtualization

Determine the ROI of Web Application Acceleration Managed Services

Achieve a 50:1 Data Deduplication Ratio

Remote Infrastructure Management - What Your Peers are Thinking

Complementary BI: The New Approach to Business Intelligence

Expand High-Performance Computing (HPC) Capabilities

Power the Platform of Choice for Virtualization in the Enterprise

Boost your top- and bottom- lines.

Unified Communications & Collaboration: Game-Changing Business Results

Best Intel Info for IT Pros/Intel Premier IT Professional Program: Stay up to date with roadmaps, technologies & best practices

Make Hidden Trends, Inter-Relationships and Influences Visible.

Improve delivery of product information to customers.

Prudential Financial Protects its Brand with Symantec

Mission Impossible: Building the Right Project Metrics