[UgaBYTES] Innovative Low-cost ICT Solutions Boost Development in Africa and Latin America

[Mwathi Francis]

NComputing Inc., the worldwide leader in low-cost computing, and the Dutch
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), an
international organisation specialised in the use of ICTs for development,
announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement to bring low-cost
ICT solutions based on NComputing’s virtual desktops to governments and
non-government organisations in Africa and South America.    “For education,
training, and e-governance, it is an absolute requirement that our partner
organisations can reduce capital and operating costs, increase energy
efficiency, and minimise installation and maintenance costs,” said Dr. Stijn
van der Krogt, Director of Country Programs at IICD. “NComputing provides
these key benefits, and we will present hard data based on our experiences
to our partner organisations and governments. When they see that innovative
new technologies such as these virtual desktops can improve the efficiency
of ICT in so many areas, they invariably want to replicate the success.”

The best way to demonstrate the advantages of desktop virtualisation as a
solution that lowers costs, reduces power consumption, and cuts the need for
maintenance and management is with real-world projects. And that is what
initial projects in Bolivia, Zambia, and Burkina Faso will do.

    *      In Bolivia, IICD is working with local organisations to improve
communication and information access for 500,000 indigenous people.
Information centers are being set up in rural areas to serve provincial
authorities and farmer associations, and such broader access to ICT tools
and information drives better decisions and legitimisation of land titles.

 *      In Burkina Faso, IICD and NComputing are setting up model classrooms
with the Ministry of Secondary Education. These facilities are used for ICT
instruction and innovation in secondary education. NComputing solutions have
already been broadly deployed and proven in K-12 (primary/secondary) schools
in over 100 countries, and bringing this technology to Burkina Faso will
allow more efficient spending of limited ICT budgets and aid grants from
international NGOs.

 *      In Zambia, IICD is working with the Ministry of Sport, Youth and
Child Development, which provides and manages Youth Resource Centers. The
centers offer non-formal skills training and entrepreneurship support to
out-of-school youth. Access to ICT is a key requirement in these centers,
and the NComputing-based solution allows broader dissemination of vital
health, e-governance, environment, and agriculture information.

“By reducing costs so drastically, NComputing has become a significant
component of sustainable global development, and we are pleased to partner
with IICD,” said Stephen Dukker, Chairman and CEO of NComputing.
“Governments and aid agencies need to stretch every dollar or euro they
have, and our solution not only addresses the capital costs but also the
on-going maintenance, green, and support costs of ICT labs, where typical
savings can run to more than 70% over the life of the project.”


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Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentr.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Tel: +256 414 370163
Mob: +256 783 010269
Skype: francis.mwathi
E-Mail: mfrancis at ugabytes.org