Building e-skills in Africa

This chapter discusses what kind of strategies are needed to improve people’s e-skills in Africa. A hybrid between technological and organizational skills, e-skills are becoming the cornerstone of human development in the 21st century. They allow ICT to be used to its full extent— fostering economic growth, social inclusion, health and education services, and poverty reduction. Hence, significant progress in e-skills development is possible in Africa, but it will require system-wide changes. Small-scale programs and local reforms often fail to achieve the desired large-scale effects. More equitable access, quality, relevance, and effectiveness of e-skills development cannot depend solely on scaling up “best practices.” Attention needs to be paid to the governance environment in which e-skills programs take place.