Our academic director, Professor Benno Ndulu, wrote an op-ed for The East African on the importance of digital access, and how digital exclusion 'is not random but mirrors - and actually risks exacerbating - deep inequalities.'

'Digital divides have been a hot topic over the past decade; but they remain pronounced between genders, rural and urban populations and between socio-economic groups.'

He goes on to state that 'people with low education, women and low-income earners are the least likely to benefit from digital technology.' This can mean that 'they fall even further behind, especially as more basic government services are being offered online.' 

He highlighted the important role regulators played in 'the early success of mobile money in East Africa. A decade ago, Kenyan and Tanzanian regulators took a stance of "test, monitor, then regulate," long before the concept of "sand-boxing".'

Professor Ndulu stressed the importance of countries becoming 'digital-ready by investing in infrastructure.' He emphasized that a 'digital-ready country means putting poor and marginalised people's digital needs at the centre of the strategy' and that 'now is the time to create effective digital architectures for the next generation.'

You can read The East African article in full here.