Youth and the E-conomy

1. YouthandtheE-conomy ‘Gbenga Sesan Team Leader / Program Manager Paradigm Initiative Nigeria / Lagos Digital Village www.gbengasesan.com || me@gbengasesan.com “Africa’s Youth as Stakeholders in the E-conomy” Fourth Committee on Development Information (CODI) Meeting, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. April 23–28 2005

2. What about the “e”? • Unlike short-lived fads, the E-conomy is a reality that individuals, people-groups and nation-states must face • In “An E-conomy”, Cohen, DeLong, and Zysman[1] stated that the foundation of the New (or E-) Economy is the revolutionary explosion of computer processing power (Computer Power doubles every 18 months – Moore’s Law) • Africa’s response to the “e” will decide our relevance now, and in the days to come • Our market, political and infra- structural environments must show strong signals of e-Maturity[2] [1] http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/OpEd/virtual/technet/An_E-conomy.html[2] http://www.itis.gov.se/publikationer/eng/ukreport.pdf

3. Youth and the E-conomy • Youth are the proof of sustainability of the E-conomy –concept, indices, applications and sectoral relevance • An analysis of the four components of Berkeley University’s “The E-conomy Project”[1] model reveals the role of youth within the E-conomy – Economic and Social intervention; Government Policy intervention; Industry innovation; and Network Evolution • Africa’s E-conomy can build on young people’s attributes, such as: • Familiarity with technology • Capacity for paradigm shift to accommodate new patterns for the E-conomy • Strength for propagation – a whole new generation of passionate people • Present drivers of technology within leading corporations (e.g. an average Otigba (Lagos, Nigeria) entrepreneur is below 30 and average age of a CEO in Silicon Valley is put at 35) [1] http://e-conomy.berkeley.edu/knowledgedomain.html

4. Youth in Active Service • There are young Africans grooming themselves for the E-conomy – riding on the wings of new ICTs to create wealth and social impact (Social entrepreneurs on the rise!) • The African Youth ICT4D Network (www.ayinetwork.org) was launched in Accra and has since continued on the path of networked youth energy in the E-conomy • Case Study: Computer Village, Otigba, Lagos, Nigeria “Otigba community now houses what has been described as Nigeria’s unofficial ICT headquarters – the Computer Village. Young men and women (most of whom would have been queuing to write employment tests) started with the sales of computers and accessories, but have now diversified as far as providing non-technical ICT-driven services. In honour of their passion and commitment, Intel visited the computer village and attested to the wealth creation the village has catalyzed. These youth represent the new generation – those who, in spite of obvious limitations recognise the potentials that the E-conomy provides. They only need to be better encouraged…”

5. Thank You ‘Gbenga Sesan Team Leader / Program Manager Paradigm Initiative Nigeria / Lagos Digital Village www.gbengasesan.com || me@gbengasesan.com Fourth Committee on Development Information (CODI) Meeting, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. April 23–28 2005