ICT4D and Enterprise Development
From IT
Conclusion
In the next ten years the unemployment rate for the poorest 1 billion people will reach a staggering 70% (28). Jobs and work oppourtunities are available now but are not usually reachable by the poorests of the poor. Technology can bring these jobs to the poor and unemployed using the internet. ICT4D projects, some shown in this paper, demonstrate that improvement can be made and change for the better can be acheived.
Employment raises economic conditions for the better. The worst human conditions such as crime, hunger and violence are caused by poor economic conditions and we must use every tool necessary to bring workers closer to the available jobs.
ICT4D and its many facets are making progress in resolving these world issues. Failures do continue but each step is a learning step. New businesses ideas have sprung up from ICT4D roots like Samasource and M-Pesa that are enabling marginalized persons to take control of their finances, their homes and their desire to work. New ventures such as these will continue to develop thanks to open source software and improvements in education. The work of organizations like infodev, researchers like Dr. Cliff Rogers and the evolution of technology as seen with Ushahidi give us hope that we will one day have the right formula to resolve global poverty.
