African ICT could aid green economy

13 April 2010

African countries may consider enhancing their ICT infrastructure, after it was claimed such technology can help the economy.

Environmental benefits can also occur as a result of these developments, which must be made affordable for a number of people.

The East African explains countries can become "green economies" by developing ICT, renewable energy and making agricultural practices more sustainable.

James Mwangi, chief executive officer of Equity Bank, explained: "We need to combine environmental sustainability with poverty reduction - unless we do this then we should forget about the environment."

And the publication notes that experts cite how mobile phone technology has been successfully developed in the continent.

This shows how other aspects of ICT could be enhanced if a whole country was able to benefit from them.

In February it looked like African telecommunications could be affected after Kuwait firm Zain was said to be in talks concerning the sale of its African unit, which would create a high-value payout.

Category: ICT