Internet Adoption and Tech Development in Africa
Guest: Karen Rose
Internet and Internet-related technologies have not had the same adoption cycle in the US as elsewhere in the world. Nowhere is this gap wider than in Africa. According to a 2019 ITU report, 28.2% of Africa’s population is considered an Internet user, compared to 86.6% for the rest of the world.
What has been the evolution of the Internet in Africa? Which technologies have made inroads and which ones have failed? And why? And what can we expect in the future?
Our guest in this podcast brings a unique perspective to these questions. Karen Rose is an internationally recognized expert in Internet policy, technology, and development with extensive experience in Internet development in Africa. She is the recipient of a gold medal by the US Secretary of the Department of Commerce for her work to globalize and privatize the Domain Name System. These days she is also known as Madame l’Ambassadrice, wife of the US Ambassador to Algeria. In this position, Karen uses her platform to encourage emerging young tech talent in Africa and especially Algeria.
Hosted by: Alexa Raad & Leslie Daigle
Related material:
- https://riskmagazine.nl/article/2019-10-15-mobile-payments-sub-saharan-africa-is-the-number-1
- https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/FactsFigures2019.pdf
- https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2018/12/66-percent-of-sub-saharan-africans-are-listed-as-unbanked-world-bank/
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