As it turns out, more than 80% of the software used on the African continent is pirated (illegal). Many can justify this with a myriad of responses like:

• Software is just too expensive – how do you expect us to pay for that?
• The mega-corporations that built this software won’t feel anything – they’ve been over-charging people for years anyway

Many argue too that software piracy is a kind of equalizer for developing countries who need a leg up on the west. I actually believe this is true, because there’s no proof that it doesn’t help. I’m not advocating for piracy, but I’m trying to point out the obvious benefits to developing countries.

We understand that companies like Microsoft have to pay for their development costs, but consider this: The loss of sales to these companies are actually negligible because most people in Africa wouldn’t be able to afford the software anyway!

I can point out one area that will suffer. Local innovation will definitely be stifled, because no developer is willing to spend countless hours writing code only to have their software pirated. Piracy has in effect granted a kind of a temporary monopoly to these big companies. So what to do? It looks like open source software is the one thing that will maintain the balance necessary to keep everyone happy. My thoughts on that later…

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U2's Bono and Oprah are it again with JoinRed.com which has some high profile tech companies like Apple donating profits from the sale of uniquely branded products to Africa's fight against AIDS. By purchasing their specially designed, branded products you'll be contributing to the global fund for AIDS awareness.

Make a difference in someone's life and join today. I think the Red Ipod and Red Razr look really cool. 

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Africa has been in dire need of broadband for years now. Internet bandwidth in greater Africa is 2 to 3000 times more expensive than what is currently available in the global marketplace and the cost of making calls remains outrageous.

The EASSy project (East African Submarine Cable System) has promised to breath life into an otherwise fledgling industry and quite possibly bring Africa out of the dark ages. EASSy's initiative is to connect countries of eastern Africa via a high bandwidth fibre optic cable system to the rest of the world. It is considered a milestone in the development of information infrastructure in the region. At this point most would say … 'finally!'

Reading in between the lines though proves otherwise… EASSy bears all semblance to a cartel. It's membership is restricted to the same telcom parastatals that ripped us off before. Try and imagine all the evil corrupt forces morphing together into one huge entity. This entity will control prices and ensure that all competition is strangled. The price tag of the EASSY initiative is ridiculous - $200 million. Does this cartel have the necessary money to make this happen? NO! So who foots the bill? … you and me sadly. How? A loan has been taken from the World Bank - and you know how that works… the next few generations will be enslaved to them trying to pay that back (with interest). In the meantime these parastatals will overcharge, and provide sub par services to the African citizenry while making millions.

The private sector needs assistance - financial and otherwise. Deregulation of this industry is the only way Africa will come out of the dark ages. We are falling far far behind and the gap is widening. Technology has proved to be the only global economy equalizer and this is a band wagon we cannot afford to miss.

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