For most of my life, Africa has been embroiled in frustrating violence sorting out the mess left by european colonialism. The dust is settling, however, and South Africa is joining the BRIC countries in rapid growth in industrialism and modernization of technology. This has an effect that spreads all over southern Africa.
“The growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa is estimated around 5,5 % for 2012; and The Economist of 6 January 2011 predicts that between 2010 and 2015, seven out of the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the world will be African. According to Standard Bank’s research, ICT is one of the factors driving this growth. In 2010, BRICS accounted for 13% of global demand in the ICT sector, with spending of about €328 billion.”
see allAfrica.com: South Africa: Huawei to Share Africa's Technology Vision At Brics Summit in Durban.

Combine that with Nigeria reaching 48 million Internet-connected people and Kenya also racing to spread wireless Internet everywhere and there is a huge emerging market for small cheap computers, rivalling Asia. We are seeing the Digital Divide finally being bridged with small cheap computers, FLOSS and wifi.

1. Mats Hagglund March 21st, 2013

   We people in western world have too negative and too cynic perspective towards Africa and Africans. Actually Africa is now in a very interesting situation because there are several remarkable global changes.

   1. Demographic change: OECD countries are facing economic problems because of decreasing “active” population (age 20-65). That will freezy economic growth. There will never be fast economic growth in OECD countries. Forget even dream of it.

   2. China will face same problems after 2015. We will see slowing trend of economic growth there too (likely annual growth of 5% or even less near in future).

   3. Economic growth will concentrate to countries where is young people, resources, growing consumer demand.

   There is no need to wonder why e.g China invest so much to Africa. And unlike western media is claiming: Chinese seems to have much realistic and patient attitude towards Africa and Africans. They have decided to stay there for centuries, not decades and not doing just easy fast resource exploitation.

   During the last few years 7 of worlds ten fastest growing economies have been those Sub Saharan countries. E.g Ghana, Uganda, Angola…