Abstract
Information and communication technology (ICT) has evolved steadily over the past several decades. It has helped spur business and socio-economic development based on different channels of information acquisition and knowledge creation and dissemination, and allowed for the creation of a global information society with innovative means of communication that can help increase competitiveness for individuals, organisations and societies. In recent decades, the transformation process enabled through ICT has encouraged start-ups to address socio-economic issues and help support business and socio-economic challenges, whether in developed or developing nations. This chapter addresses the developments taking place in Africa in the space of ICT with an emphasis on the evolution of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its implications for business and socio-economic development. The chapter demonstrates how ICT, coupled with skilled human capital and timely infostructure, are vital to improving the balance in economic and social progress between nations, leveraging economic growth, boosting capacity to face societal challenges, enhancing the progress of democratic values and augmenting cultural creativity, traditions and identities. The chapter demonstrates the growing role of innovation and entrepreneurship and the emergence of start-ups that capitalise on ICT to help transform society, boost the private sector and improve standards of living across the continent.
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Kamel, S.H. (2017). The Role of an Innovative ICT-Based Entrepreneurial Evolution on Africa’s Development: The Case of University-Based Incubators. In: Ahmed, A. (eds) Managing Knowledge and Innovation for Business Sustainability in Africa. Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41090-6_3
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