Inter Access IT-consultants for Africa

Hilversum, 2nd May 2006 – The Dutch ICT company Inter Access and the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) are going to collaborate in the field of e-Goverance in Africa. The aim of the partnership is to promote innovations in the public sector and increasing the knowledge on e-Governance in five African countries. The partnership agreement was signed on the 2nd of May 2006.

Inter Access will participate in several IICD initiated projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The support of the ICT-consultants of Inter Access will vary from giving workshops and trainings to research and consultancy. In Uganda Inter Access will be involved in giving strategic and technical advice on information centres and the development of web portals.

Traditionally most governments in Africa are centrally organised. Over the last years this changed and responsibilities and authority are decentralised. Nevertheless, the gap between civilians and governments is still large. Especially in sparsely populated rural areas citizens have little to no access at all to governmental services. ICT can contribute to solve this deficiency.

For IICD it is obvious to choose for an alliance with an ICT service provider as Inter Access. Over the years the company has developed a good track-record within the Dutch governance sector, with the thematic formula ‘different government’. Herein ICT is an instrument to develop from a pull to a more demand driven government which is more customer focused. Inter Access has a broad experience in the promoting, developing and implementing ICT-solutions at central governments and municipalities. 

The public-private partnership offers mutual advantages for the parties. For IICD the support of Inter Access is of great interest to find strategic solutions in the field of e-Governance in its focus countries. While IICD already has a lot of experience and knowledge in ICT-development issues with regards to education, agriculture, health in the public sector, it lacks specialised knowledge on specific (technical) solutions.

Inter Access expect to contribute to valuable innovations in the public sector in African countries through the collaboration with IICD. Lex Tange, a member of the board of directors says: “With pleasure we shaped this partnership. Next to our commercial activities it is important for us to provide contributions to the community at large. Our professionals are pleased to assist herein and to give a more profound meaning to their core business activities in general. Moreover, these contributions shape the culture and values of Inter Access.”

About Inter Access
Inter Access is a privately owned ICT company with over 1,000 contracted employees, of which almost 800 of indefinite duration. IT focuses at Small Medium Enterprises in the public sector and at the finance, trade and industry sectors. From the divisions Consulting & Technology, Outsourcing and Vertical Solutions and through the dedication of employees with outstanding knowledge and experiences, Inter Access offers clients integral ICT-solutions, based on standard components as well as on tailor-made applications. Inter Access consciously selected the application of standard technologies of leading software suppliers as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and HP. This led to strong partnerships and facilitated the allocation of prestigious innovation awards year after year.

About IICD
The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) assists developing countries to realise locally owned sustainable development by harnessing the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). IICD realises its mission through two strategic approaches. First, Country Programmes bring local organisations together and help them to formulate and execute ICT-supported development policies and projects. The approach aims to strengthen local institutional capacities to develop and manage Country Programmes, which are currently being implemented in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ghana, Jamaica, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Second, Thematic Networking links country and international partners working in similar areas, connecting local knowledge with global knowledge and promoting South-South and South-North exchanges. Thematic Networking focuses on sectors like education, health, governance, environment, livelihood opportunities - especially agriculture - and overarching issues such as training and evaluation. These efforts are supported by various information and communication activities provided by IICD or its partners. IICD is an independent non-profit foundation, established by the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation in 1996. Its core funders include the Dutch Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGIS), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).