May 8--DENVER--Twelve percent of the world's population lives in Africa. Yet, Africa is home to only 2 percent of the world's fixed telephone lines, 1.6 percent of the world's mobile phone users, 1.4 percent of the world's personal computers and 0.8 percent of the world's Internet users.
Such statistics aren't surprising when you consider that the average daily income in Africa is $1, said Ayisi Makatiani, CEO of Africa Online Holdings, an Internet service provider in Kenya.
"At that level, you are not going to be able to have that many PCs in Africa," he said. "Even if people do get PCs, they probably won't be able to afford to have a telephone line, which you need for the Internet access."
”Although the statistics are grim, Africa can become part of the digital world and take advantage of E-Business”, added Makatiani, who was one of nearly 700 global business and government leaders who convened in Denver on Tuesday for the second day of the International Chamber of Commerce's 34th World Congress.
The focus of the conference, which ends today, was on "the business of building a better world" and brought together ICC delegates from 72 countries.
Makatiani, whose company has worked to bring Internet access to 12 African countries, was participating in a panel discussion titled "Digital worlds -- is E-Business just a click away for developing countries?"
The short answer to that critical question is "no," said Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of the ICC's Commission on E-Business, Information Technologies and Telecoms.
"Some countries are a click away, some are many clicks away and some are hundreds of clicks away. That is the reality," said Abu-Ghazaleh, who is also co-chair of the United Nation's Information and Communication Technologies Task Force.
Unlike Africa, China -- the world's most populous country -- is well on its way toward digital dominance.
"The statistics vary, but there is no doubt that 18 months from now China's Internet population will be the largest in the world, surpassing the United States," said Lyric Hughes, publisher and CEO of China Online.
The surge in the number of Chinese people accessing the Internet is in part a result of the Chinese government deciding early on that Internet dial-up charges would be kept low, Hughes said.
"National public policy is key to the proper development of the Internet," she said. "Really, private companies just follow in (the government's) walk."
By declaring a "taxation holiday" on Internet transactions, the Chinese government is helping to spur E-Business, Hughes added. "This was absolutely integral to the development of the Internet here."
Although it will be a long time before most people in Africa can afford to have computers and Internet access at home, the government can provide them with access to both via community "telecenters," Makatiani said. "Telecenters can serve a lot of people and only cost a few cents per minute. They are one way to ensure that people have access to the information world."
Peru is home to nearly 2,000 telecenters, and 76 percent of Peruvians who have access to the Internet, do so via one of these community facilities.
Not only that government must encourage and enable the development of affordable technology solutions, it must focus on providing adequate education and health care so people can take advantage of those solutions, said Kate McGee, worldwide vice president for government relations at Oracle.
"You can't use the Internet if you can't read," McGee said. "You can't have growth of E-Business without having kids and citizens who are well-fed, have access to clean water and are free from disease."
During Monday's ICC meeting, hundreds of people gathered outside the Marriott City Center, where the conference is being held, protesting the exploitation of global workers by greedy multinational conglomerates.
Things were much quieter outside the conference on Tuesday morning, although police presence remained high in and around the event.
Conference attendee Rebecca Stine, who is earning her master's degree in international relations at Denver University, said she felt lucky to be able to participate in discussions with business and government leaders on the very issues that concern many of the protesters.
"This meeting itself isn't going to solve the challenges facing developing countries," she said. "But the fact that these issues are even being broached by this group of people is a step in the right direction."
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(c) 2002, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.