The present but non-existing ICT in Ethiopia

by – Timo Deresu (timotazu@gmail.com)
As a tech-savvy person I always follow whats the current buzz in the tech world from the famous technology affiliated blog, TechCrunch. This week there was a piece about the vaporous Information Communication Technology sector of Ethiopia from a blogger who visited the country and had discussions with some people in the field. [1] I have to say given the small window of opportunity to make a career in the field, the profiles of some of the Ethiopian IT gurus and the activities of the infant IT groups awed me a lot.[2] I believe the writer, like any other western visitor, expected a better ICT infrastructure that matched the construction boom he noticed. But the reality fell far from his expectation and after discussing with the IT professionals there, he pointed the finger at the guilty party: the government. I don’t want to echo the ideas of the blog, but I agree with his conclusion and in this piece I want to talk about where in the government is the gigantic
roadblock and what are the solutions according to my view. More…