- KICTANet - KICTANet

Software development companies
by John Gitau 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Good day Is there a list of local software development companies with at least 5 years experience with some regional experience somewhere I can just go pick 10 and send to companies that ask for this information - some sort of directory where I can direct inquiries to? Meantime if you are such a company please direct message me your contact details. With thanks JGitau

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FW: Apply for the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF)
by Grace Githaiga 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Listers This might be of interest to some of you. Rgds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grace Githaiga Twitter: @ggithaiga Skype: gracegithaiga Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga ...the most important office in a democracy is the citizen. So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you!----Barrack Obama. ________________________________ ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: CIPESA <media(a)cipesa.org<mailto:media@cipesa.org>> Date: Wed, May 22, 2019 at 11:03 AM Subject: Apply for the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF) To: <compsoftnet(a)gmail.com<mailto:compsoftnet@gmail.com>> Apply for a grant to support an initiative that advances digital rights in Africa View this email in your browser<https://mailchi.mp/6aff78f010ab/apply-for-the-africa-digital-rights-fund-ad…> [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77/images/210d06fc-63f…] Call For Applications: Africa Digital Rights Fund With a quarter of Africa’s population using the internet and with 76 mobile phone connection for every 100 individuals, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become pivotal to improving livelihoods and promoting human rights on the continent. However, with rising digital rights violations such as arrests and intimidation of internet users, network shutdowns<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…>, and a proliferation of laws and regulations that hamper internet access and affordability<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…>, the potential of digital technologies to catalyse free expression and civic participation or to drive innovation is under threat in Africa. Yet many organisations working to defend and promote digital rights face limitations of reach, skills, resources, and consistency in engagement in this area. To address this, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…> has established the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF) to offer flexible and rapid response grants to select initiatives in Africa to implement activities that advance digital rights, including advocacy, litigation, research, policy analysis, digital literacy and digital security skills building. Assessments have found that whereas digital rights advocacy in the region has a large pool of interest, ”it is very shallow, spread very thinly and difficult to sustain”. The policy and practice developments in the region, coupled with the challenges faced by civil society organisations, necessitate partnerships that bring together various competences for advancing digital rights. The ADRF has been developed to strengthen local capacity in evidence-based research, collaborative advocacy and impactful policy engagements responsive to regulatory and practice developments that affect internet freedom in the region. The ADRF grant amounts will range between US$ 1,000 and US$ 10,000 based on the need and scope of the proposed intervention. The grant period will not exceed six months with an average of 15 grants to be awarded per year. The Fund will benefit small organisations, including those that do not qualify for support from most funders for lack of registration and institutional capacity to develop applications and manage big projects. It will also benefit organisations and initiatives that need rapid response support to respond swiftly to emerging issues that can not wait for many funders’ lengthy application procedures. Applications are now open for the period July-December 2019. The deadline for submissions is Friday May 31, 2019. Read more about the Fund and the eligibility criteria here<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…>. The application form can be accessed here.<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…> [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/color-twitter-48.png]<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…> [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/color-facebook-48.png]<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…> [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/color-link-48.png]<http://www.cipesa.org> [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/color-forwardtofrien…]<mailto:media@cipesa.org> [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/color-linkedin-48.png]<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/profile?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&id=8…> or unsubscribe from this list<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…>. This email was sent to compsoftnet(a)gmail.com<mailto:compsoftnet@gmail.com> why did I get this?<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/about?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&id=87c…> unsubscribe from this list<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&…> update subscription preferences<https://cipesa.us8.list-manage.com/profile?u=d80a8e0082e29ffa0986bfd77&id=8…> CIPESA · Plot 157 - 159, Mutesa II Road · Ntinda · Kampala · Uganda [Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp]<http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…> -- [https://thumbs.about.me/thumbnail/users/p/e/t/petertaiwoakinremi_emailsig.j…] <https://about.me/petertaiwoakinremi?promo=email_sig&utm_source=product&utm_…> Peter Taiwo Akinremi about.me/petertaiwoakinremi <https://about.me/petertaiwoakinremi?promo=email_sig&utm_source=product&utm_…> -- Vous recevez ce message, car vous êtes abonné au groupe Google Groupes "acsis_info". Pour vous désabonner de ce groupe et ne plus recevoir d'e-mails le concernant, envoyez un e-mail à l'adresse acsis_info+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com<mailto:acsis_info+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com>. Pour envoyer un message à ce groupe, envoyez un e-mail à l'adresse acsis_info(a)googlegroups.com<mailto:acsis_info@googlegroups.com>. Cette discussion peut être lue sur le Web à l'adresse https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/acsis_info/CAGK4d09%3DRAjdmxkWyBc4j7T4QgZ…<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/acsis_info/CAGK4d09%3DRAjdmxkWyBc4j7T4QgZ…>. Pour obtenir davantage d'options, consultez la page https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

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After Access report launch
by Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Listers, the attached after access report by Research ICT Africa was launched today at the Stockholm Internet forum. "A comparative analysis of demand-side view of mobile Internet from 10 African countries². As noted at the broadband meeting last Friday, available demand side data on Internet and mobile use in Kenya and many other countries is insufficient. The report attempts to bridge that gap. Interesting statistics with Internet penetration in Kenya at 26% in line with ITU statistics. Differences are noted in other countries highest being in Rwanda with an 11% difference (See table 3). Rgrds, Nyambura

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Re: [kictanet] [AI-IoT-BD] Survey announcement BPF IoT-BigData-AI
by Alex Comninos 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Dear Listers, The IGF Best Practice Forum on Internet of Things, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence launched a survey to get insight in the community’s views on the use of IoT-Big Data-AI applications to address societal challenges. The survey can be answered online or via email. (instructions below) Input received before 30 June 2019 will be used for the first draft of the BPF output document. ******************************************************************* Survey BPF IoT, Big Data, AI reply by 30 June 2019 Reply online: https://forms.gle/7nYdrFhXa4o8Lbqt5 <https://forms.gle/7nYdrFhXa4o8Lbqt5> <https://forms.gle/7nYdrFhXa4o8Lbqt5 <https://forms.gle/7nYdrFhXa4o8Lbqt5>> Reply via email: Download the questionnaire here http://bit.ly/2JVwnOP <http://bit.ly/2JVwnOP> <http://bit.ly/2JVwnOP <http://bit.ly/2JVwnOP>> , and submit to bpf-IoT-BD-AI(a)intgovforum.org <mailto:bpf-IoT-BD-AI@intgovforum.org> <mailto:bpf-IoT-BD-AI@intgovforum.org <mailto:bpf-IoT-BD-AI@intgovforum.org>> . ******************************************************************* Please share the survey invitation with colleagues and your networks. Thank you for your cooperation !!! More on the IGF 2019 BPF IoT-Big Data-AI on the IGF website at https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/bpf-internet-of-things-iot… <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/bpf-internet-of-things-iot…> <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/bpf-internet-of-things-iot… <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/bpf-internet-of-things-iot…>> . _______________________________________________ Aiiotbd mailing list Aiiotbd(a)intgovforum.org <mailto:Aiiotbd@intgovforum.org> To subscribe, unsubscribe or manage your options please go to http://intgovforum.org/mailman/listinfo/aiiotbd_intgovforum.org <http://intgovforum.org/mailman/listinfo/aiiotbd_intgovforum.org>

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] Finland is winning the war on fake news
by Barrack Otieno 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Listers, Might be of interest to some. Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Bennett <richard(a)bennett.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2019 14:48:29 -0600 Subject: [Internet Policy] Finland is winning the war on fake news To: ISOC Internet Policy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Sharing this good article from CNN on Finland’s approach to fake news: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl/ <https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl/> TL;DR: Finland has long been a target of Russian disinformation campaigns; it combines media literacy training with reliable media and regulation. Its defenses are so strong that Russia has turned to softer targets. RB — Richard Bennett High Tech Forum <http://hightechforum.org/> Founder Ethernet & Wi-Fi standards co-creator Internet Policy Consultant -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Preliminary Analysis - After Access report launch
by Jimmy Gitonga 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Patrick! I have nothing to add. You are my hero on this issue. Thank you for the excellent “initial thoughts”. Best Regards, Jimmy Gitonga Web Software Design and Development LinkedIn: Jimmy Gitonga | Twitter: @Afrowave ______________________________________ Web: afroshok.com <http://afroshok.com/> > On 18 May 2019, at 9:41 PM, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 18 May 2019 18:38:43 +0000 (UTC) > From: "Patrick A. M. Maina" <pmaina2000(a)yahoo.com <mailto:pmaina2000@yahoo.com>> > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>>, > Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com <mailto:otieno.barrack@gmail.com>> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] [preliminary analysis] After Access report > launch > Message-ID: <43006288.2640308.1558204723308(a)mail.yahoo.com <mailto:43006288.2640308.1558204723308@mail.yahoo.com>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi Barrack, > I'm still studying it but can share my initial thoughts... I had a quick look at GSMA's mobile economy report 2019 (link #5 below) and it pegs Kenya's internet penetration number at ~24% up from 16% based on lagging indicators (2014-2017). It also says 3G coverage was 85% as at 2017 with 4G reaching more than a third of the population (~16.7 Million people assuming ~50M total). > > The GSMA report is alluding to a high supply - low demand situation (high network coverage and low internet uptake) which is congruent with Research ICT Africa's findings. > > The data (and economic theory - see link #1 below) is telling us not to focus on supply side but to develop the demand side - because supply is abundant - but there is something that is impeding demand. > > This means looking at whether internet pricing (a factor of value perception) or internet quality (or both) are impeding penetration. It's hard to argue that QoS is a significant factor with 85% 3G coverage - because 3G internet is pretty good (even for compressed video 240-480p which is adequate for budget phones). > > The more credible explanation for low demand is affordability - and this has been alluded in several studies - including Research ICT Africa's study. Majority of Kenyans are poor - yet mobile service pricing is inequitably skewed in favor of the urban middle-class or higher who comprise < 12% of our 26.8Million (~57%) labor force, say ~3.2 million people filing tax returns as a rough indicator (see link #3 for Kenya's demographic profile). > > So ~88% of the work-capable population gets to pay a significantly higher premium per MB, as well as for voice and SMS. > > The poorer you are the heavier you are penalized. A 6MB for 3/- offer bundle with 24hr validity works out to 2MB per shilling. But if you can afford to pay 50/- for an hour you get ~40MB per shilling. The poor person pays 20 times more for the same commodity than the wealthier person. This is penalizing poverty - and quite ruthless, considering the essential nature of the services. > > Economic theory says that when supply is high and the pricing is uncompetitive in a market characterized by low disposable incomes, it can be expected that the demand would be low (unless some coercive factors exist e.g. for utilities like Kenya Power). The data supports this. > > The data is also challenging the procurement driven narrative that internet coverage is driven by technical gaps (coverage and capacity), rather than underlying economic issues (lack of quality jobs and stifled opportunities). So what should be examined instead is the relationship between disposable income, bundle pricing and internet uptake. > > Although one service provider in Kenya is making super profits, and has been growing in double digits, the broader economy does not reflect their vibrancy (the disparity is so wide, it is like the company exists in another dimension or on another planet) - which is a compelling indicator of serious market dysfunction e.g. unfair competition, excessive market power by one player, economically risky dominance and/or predatory practices (see link #4). > > When market dysfunction persists for long it can be an indication of regulatory capture or excessively high economic dependency, such that regulator is afraid to interfere - which severely degrades economic resilience via single point of failure scenario, and allows the problem to baloon to catastrophic levels over time (see link #2). > > More telling is the fact that we don't have a "number two" in terms of profits. So the demand/supply data is supporting the oft posited assertion that there is an unfair competitive landscape and monopolistic practices in the Telecomms sector (e.g. customer lock-in via network effects thus high switching costs / stifled innovations when the leader wants to get involved in everything - from taxi services to selling vegetables online etc).?? > What the data is telling us is that initiatives like the National Broadband Strategy should focus more on addressing demand side factors (e.g. deploying USF towards local content production, seed funding for startups and so on). Increasing supply at this time will be inefficient and wasteful (only a few will benefit at the expense of majority). > > Good evening. > > Links / References: > 1. Market gap analysishttp://www.consumerpsychologist.com/dist_Gap_Analysis.html <analysishttp://www.consumerpsychologist.com/dist_Gap_Analysis.html> > 2. Regulatory Capture: A reviewhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/23606888?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents <reviewhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/23606888?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents> > 3. Kenya Demographic Profile 2018 > https://www.indexmundi.com/kenya/demographics_profile.html <https://www.indexmundi.com/kenya/demographics_profile.html> > 4. Market Failure > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure> > 5. GSMA Mobile economy 2019 > https://www.gsma.com/r/mobileeconomy/ <https://www.gsma.com/r/mobileeconomy/> > Brgds,Patrick. > [Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] >

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[cyber risk management opportunity for Africa] Huawei willing to sign "no-spy" "no backdoor" agreements with governments: Chairman
by Patrick A. M. Maina 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Good morning Listers, It is my hope that Kenya government and other African countries will move swiftly to take advantage of Huawei's "no spy" "no backdoor" agreement offer (and then push for similar agreements from other manufactures like CISCO, Intel as well as OS and DB providers like Microsoft, IBM, and Google - among others) because once international pressure is off, it will be very difficult (if not impossible) to get such deals on win-win terms. This is a rare and time-bound window of opportunity for African countries because we seldom have real international negotiation leverage and we do need affordable technologies (and supplier diversity) so hopefully it will not be wasted! Huawei can benefit by using Africa as a PR model to assure Europe and other regions where its technologies are popular. This can also turn the PR tables and put the spotlight on other global manufactures who are also known to offer undocumented backdoor access to their technologies. In the long run, this could lead to higher levels of trust within global markets - a win for everyone. Kenya can also leverage such agreements as a basis for B2G partnerships in cyber-defense to help Kenya develop indigenous technical capabilities for improved Cyber Resilience. Not just relying on imported (opaque - and probably trojan ridden) tools - as is currently the case - but being able to write our own low-level quality assurance tools for example. Data has no value if you can't protect it (from risks like theft / corruption / destruction / hijack etc). ------ Excerpt: “We are willing to sign no-spy agreements with governments, including the UK government, to commit ourselves to making our equipment meet the no-spy, no-backdoors standard,” Huawei chairman Liang Hua told reporters in London via an interpreter. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-security-britain-chairman/huawei-… Have a great day, Brgds,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

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Finally we have a Digital Economy Blueprint! But now the real work of IMPLEMENTATION begins.
by Patrick A. M. Maina 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Dear listers, What are your thoughts on the Digital Economy Blueprint? My first impressions are that the document is comprehensive and inclusive. It does a good job of balancing a complex landscape of diverse interests - while maintaining focus on Kenya's prosperity as an overarching goal. Stakeholders now have common reference point for shared understanding on how public and private sector initiatives fit into the bigger picture; and the 5 Pillars approach, if well implemented, should lead to an optimal balance of initiatives and outcomes. Kudos to NCS, MoICT and all (public/private sector) stakeholders who were involved for doing a great job! But even as we celebrate, let us remind each other that "the map is not the territory". Kenya is renowned for world-class documents, blueprints, strategies and policies which are launched with pomp and color, only to be carefully shelved after the excitement is over (and then everyone goes back to the chaos that we are used to). A document is only a map; it is not the goal. Real success comes with implementation; hence the focus now should be on getting things done in the real world and striving for real measurable results. Here are some ideas for implementation: 1. Set up a website for the Digital Economy Blueprint to bring the document to life. 2. Develop a Visual Traceability Map (hopefully interactive - but can be static to begin with) showing: a. How the blueprint maps to Big 4 and Vision 2030 b. How all recent, ongoing and planned initiatives (including tenders) link back to the five pillars - to help improve visibility on whether resources allocation is optimally and sensibly balanced across all pillars - in order to avoid the trap of sub-optimization. 3. Enhance the map by adding the ability to switch the view according to different perspectives (e.g. budget / expenditure / new revenues / number of startups / jobs / investments / acquisitions / PPP projects / project status overviews / vendor distribution / counties etc) to give fairly precise indicators of where we are and where we are going as a country. 4. Develop a ROI Linkage Map that associates expenditure initiatives with benefit generating initiatives (including forward looking - ahead of demand, but time-bound projections - which would then be compared to actuals over time). The questions to answer include: are we optimally allocating capital and are investments yielding the promised benefits? This way we can learn about what works and what doesn't - and build confidence and competence across the board. 5. Blueprint implementation should look beyond tenders and spending: Our government needs new diversified sources of revenues - and pillars 2 and 4 are about developing new revenue streams for the country by establishing Kenya as a leading exporter of digital products and services in Africa and beyond. Hopefully these crucial pillars will get strong attention and financial targets will be set for implementation teams, against which performance should be measured. If done well, it should help reduce our country's reliance on debt for budget support. Implementation is the only way to bring a great plan / vision to life. Have a great day! Link: http://www.ict.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Kenya-Digital-Economy-2019.… Brgds,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

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Fwd: [afnog] Application for AfPIF-2019 fellowship is now open/ L'inscription au programme de bourses AfPIF-2019 est ouverte
by Barrack Otieno 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

This might be of interest to some. Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Betel Hailu <hailu(a)isoc.org> Date: Tue, 14 May 2019 06:05:48 +0000 Subject: [afnog] Application for AfPIF-2019 fellowship is now open/ L'inscription au programme de bourses AfPIF-2019 est ouverte To: "afnog(a)afnog.org" <afnog(a)afnog.org> VERSION FRANCAISE CI-DESSOUS ============================== Hello everyone- Application for AfPIF-2019 fellowship is now open! Looking for fellowship to attend AfPIF-2019? There is limited fellowship opportunity - see if you qualify. #WomeninTech who have an interest in peering and interconnection are also encouraged to apply. Applications will close on May 29 2019 ============================== Bonjour à toutes et à tous- L’inscription au programme de bourses AfPIF-2019 est ouverte ! Vous cherchez des bourses pour participer à AfPIF-2019 ? Les places sont limitées, cependant vérifiez si votre profil correspond aux critères. #LesFemmesTech qui sont intéressées autour des concepts de peering et de transit sont également invitées à soumettre leurs candidatures. Dernier délai pour déposer les candidatures: le 29 Mai, 2019 Betel Hailu For AfPIF Comms -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Government AI Readiness Index Launch - May 15th 1400 UTC
by Alex Comninos 07 Jul '19

07 Jul '19

Dear All, I Invite you to the launch of the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index (a webinar) tomorrow May15th 1400 UTC If you would like to attend please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai4d-knowledge-webinar-introducing-the-2019-go… Description Technologies have had an undeniable impact on improving living standards, connecting us together, and increasing productivity. With the right policies and institutional arrangements, governments can ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence are shared broadly. This one-hour webinar will introduce and ignite a dialogue on this year’s Government AI Readiness Index and its implications on various regions. The dialogue will draw on the knowledge of leading regional experts who penned this report. The Panelists • Hannah Miller, Report Lead Author from Oxford Insights, UK • Isaac Rutenberg, Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law, Kenya • Fabrizio Scrollini, Executive Director of the Latin American Open Data Initiative, Uruguay • Alex Comninos, AI4D Policy & Regulation Focal Point, Research ICT Africa, South Africa This webinar will be moderated by Robert Muthuri, AI4D Policy & Regulation Focal Point, Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology, Kenya When • Wednesday, May 15, 2019, from 16h-17h PM Nairobi Time | 14h-15h PM London -GMT | 9h-10h AM ET - Ottawa Time • This webinar will be hosted on Webex We look forward to your participation in this webinar. For more information visit our website: https://ai4d.ai/project/ai-index/ The 2019 Government AI Readiness Index was produced by Oxford Insights with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Kind regards, Alex Comninos Alex Comninos Researcher | Research ICT Africa acomninos(a)researchictafrica.net | twitter: @alexcomninos @RIAnetwork 409 Old Castle Brewery, 6 Beach Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa +27 21 447 6332 | researchictafrica.net | facebook.com/researchICTafrica.net

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