FORUM UnDER DEVELOPMEnT
traditional development agencies have faced for
decades and have battled with very little success.
And these same issues are to be faced with ICT4D
and M4D too.
The typical causes for failed development proj-
ects have been the lack of cultural understanding,
stubbornly pushing Western ideals and operating
models to African countries, corruption in the
society, ineffective economics of the projects and
organizations, and the sustainability and overall
scalability of the projects. In general mobiles and
ICT create new opportunities to overcome these
problems. Currently most of the ICT4D and M4D
projects have failed to gain sustainability and suc-
cess for exactly these reasons. The results have
vanished together with the project funding and the
Western project team in the close of the project.
The best way to create locally relevant and sus-
tainable ICT and M4 development is to assist in the
growth of local African R&D ecosystem—universi-
ties, developer communities, startups and individu-
als from all fields of human activity with ideas and
energy [ 11]. It’s essential to get the locally relevant
and culturally fine-tuned devices, applications, and
services we need to boost the creation of local R&D
ecosystem; hire African scientists and developers
to work in Africa; and for Africa to develop tools
that look, feel, and are African [ 12].
There is also something that ICT4D and M4D
could achieve in the industrialized world. The
development organizations working in the develop-
ing world are not collaborating, but rather compet-
ing against each other in all fields, particularly
fundraising and field operations. It is expensive to
have an office in Washington and Geneva. It is also
expensive to send expats to live Western lifestyles
in developing countries [ 13]. This is where ICT and
M4D could do a great favor. We might be able to
create tools that enable (or gently force) the NGOs
to collaborate. By effectively coordinating efforts
in the source and target countries with the orga-
nizations, the finances donated by you and me (or
collected from us in the form of taxes) could be
used more effectively. Now many NGOs are operat-
ing like businesses; the results are needed fast to
satisfy the donor, to print the calendars and put
together new fundraising campaign. I am not say-
ing that NGOs aren’t doing an important job. They
are—there is no doubt about that. But they could
be so much more efficient if they collaborated with
each other [ 14]. Any good ideas?
Biologists study the introduction of new species
carefully because the trail of human beings spread-
ing around the planet from Africa [ 15] is paved
with extinct endemic plants and animals [ 16]. We
have learned it during tens of thousands of years
and started to attempt actively to control it during
the past hundred years. Together with the great
business opportunities and socio-economical devel-
opment potential for ICT and mobile technology
we see in Africa, we have to be able to also identify
the potential threats the technology poses to the
individuals and their societies. This is necessary in
order to enable us to create the best possible tools
for sustainable social and economical growth in
Africa and to avoid repeating the same mistakes
again and again.
Despite these dark clouds, I am a sincere believer
in the enormous potential of innovation, energy,
joy, and beauty that lies in Africa. With the help of
communication technology, it is possible to create
better lives in terms of health and education for
large numbers of people in Africa. I do not think
technology is going to solve all the problems in the
continent, nor that it will be able to do so indepen-
dently from the rest of the society and environ-
ment. But I am sure its role will be crucial, and it is
up to us make it happen.
Recently, the water hyacinth and its effects have
been studied more in order to eradicate it for good.
However, biologists discovered it actually has a
unique ability to collect heavy metals and other
toxins from the water. In a controlled manner, it
could be used in cleaning polluted lakes and rivers,
and the beauty of the flower and its amazing smell
could be enjoyed without dark thoughts.

About the Author Jussi Impiö is research
leader of the Nokia Research Centre (NRC) Africa
in Nairobi, Kenya. NRC Africa conducts socio-cul-
tural research in sub-Saharan Africa. Together with
non-governmental organizations and local universi-
ties it creates communication solutions to assist in
socio-economical development in Africa. NRC Africa has a multi
disciplinary team of 20 African researchers. Impiö´s academic
background is in design and anthropology. He has 13 years of
research experience. He first joined Nokia in 2003 as a senior
research scientist and has conducted research in the areas of
mobile video, civic activism, and citizen journalism. Since 2006
Impiö has worked with low-income communities in Africa. He has
been living in Nairobi with his wife and two children since 2008.

May + June 2010

doi: 10.1145/1744161.1744167
© 2010 ACM 1072-5220/10/0500 $10.00

[ 9] “State of the World’s
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‘Helped Stoke Nigeria
Violence.’” The Sydney
Morning Herald. 27 Jan.
2010, http://news.smh.
com.au/breaking-news-
world/sms-helped-
stoke-nigeria-violence-
20100127-mwn1.html/
[ 11] Nokia is invest-
ing in developing the
African R&D ecosystem
in conjunction with the
EPROM project at MIT
and the Nokia University
donations program and
start-ups—Forum Nokia
and the Sustainable
Business in the
Knowledge Economy
program with InfoDev.
[ 12] The Nokia
Research Center Africa
in Nairobi employs 20
Kenyan researchers,
and operates all over
sub-Saharan Africa.
[ 13] Bolton,G. Aid and
Other Dirty Business:
How good intentions have
failed the world’s poor.
London: Ebury, 2008.
[ 14] Edelman, M.
and Haugerud, A.
The Anthropology
of Development and
Globalization: From
classical political
economy to contem-
porary neoliberalism.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley,
2005; Leys, C. The Rise
and Fall of Development
Theory. Bloomington,
IN: Indiana University
Press, 1996; F. Cooper
and R. Packard, “The
History of Development
Knowledge.” In The
Anthropology of
Development and
Globalization.
[ 15] Unlike much of the
planet, in Africa humans
have contributed very
little to the extinc-
tion of animals and
plants. Over millions of
years the evolution of
mankind was in Africa,
together with all other
species; the ecologi-
cal niche for man was
formed very slowly. You
could argue that Africa
is the only continent
where we have a natural
ecological niche; in
other areas we are an
invasive species.
[ 16] Diamond, J. Guns,
Germs and Steel: The
fate of human societies.
NY: W. W. Norton, 1999.