Hanif Lalani Connects Inclusion in Developing Countries
- Hanif Lalani
- May 10, 2022
- 2 min read
You can probably name off the top of your head a number of ways in which you use the internet every day. From checking social media pages when you wake up to emailing coworkers to streaming your favorite tv shows in the evening, throughout the day the internet is woven seamlessly in and out of our lives.
Even more than a source of entertainment, broadband (or high-speed) internet access is a powerful tool for the delivery of essential services such as education and healthcare. This was only further highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic as schooling moved online, doctor’s visits moved to telehealth and Zoom became the dominant place for workplace meetings and social gatherings.
Over the course of the past two decades information and communication technologies have been developing rapidly, to the point that in the modern world broadband internet has gone from a luxury to a basic necessity for economic and human development. Unfortunately, this has given rise to a new form of poverty for those who are unable to have reliable and consistent access to it, known as digital poverty.
In developing countries only about 35 percent of the population has access to the internet, in comparison with roughly 80 percent in advanced economies. In Africa the percentage sits at 22 percent, leaving 700 million people without a technology that has the potential to create opportunities for women’s empowerment and environmental sustainability, contribute to enhanced governmental transparency and accountability, and foster the social development of communities. It can also create jobs in information and communication technology (ICT) and engineering amongst other industries.
While there is no simple solution to digital poverty, a number of different efforts are being made to connect countries and communities that lack this essential service. Government agencies for the United States have been working with African partners to connect them, and there have been considerable contributions made within the private sector as well. In October of 2021, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $1 billion investment to provide affordable internet access and support entrepreneurs and nonprofits in Africa over the next five years.
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