It is quite opportune that Africa has something to contribute to the information age.  First, with innovations like mobile phones, we can say that Africa has not been left out. Africa is reported to be the world's single fastest-growing regional mobile market. Second, some researchers have noted that there tends to be mismatch between the realities for developing economies and assumptions of Western models of enterprise, thus as business practices evolve with their changing business environments, more research is needed to redefine existing knowledge to be consistent and applicable with the dynamic nature of the environment.

These developments draw attention to a number of questions. What role can we play in the information age? Is Africa going to be only consumers of the information age or can Africa join the producers of ICT knowledge, products and services? What could be emergent patterns of ICT knowledge transfer in development? Is there an opportunity for unique contribution from Africa in this information age?

If there is, then let us tell the story of what we have in this conference. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and The Louisiana Board of Regents, we are pleased to announce The International Conference on ICT for Africa 2010. The International Conference on ICT for Africa 2010 (ICIA 2010) is themed ‘ICT for Development – Contributions of the South’.