American philanthropist Melinda Gates and Zimbabwean entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa launched ‘The Digital Manifesto’ for developing countries with special focus on Africa. The 10-step guide lists out how developing countries can make forays into the digital space.
The report prepared by The Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development based at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford is Co-Chaired by Melinda Gates and Strive Masiyiwa. It brings together multiple stakeholders to make technology work in developing markets. The report was launched at Nairobi and is the result of a two year period of research and analysis and captures the key recommendations that governments need to be thinking about and what entrepreneurs should do spread digitization and digital literacy.
Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, described the report as “toolkit” collated after listing the concerns of various stakeholders in the digital economy. Technology, she said, should work for everyone and not a select few. Then only inclusivity in development can come about. Failure to leverage the advantage of the digital technology, she said, would further lead to widening the gap between the rich and the poor, leaving millions of marginalized people, rural communities and women, even further behind.
