UK charity Computer Aid International (CAI) is looking for new distribution partners in Uganda.
It says the hunt for new partners is driven by the ambition to build technical capacity in efforts aimed at strengthening ICT for development by helping bridge the digital divide.
CAI supplies professionally refurbished computers to developing countries for a small fee, and until now has operated in Uganda with four partner non-governmental organisations.
"We are constantly looking for new opportunities to work with local organisations looking to apply affordable ICT to education and social development," says Gladys Muhunyo, Africa programme manager for CAI.
"CAI works to help non-profit organisations that work especially in rural communities, as well as those that are constrained by finances and cannot afford PCs to serve the communities they work with better."
According to her, CAI's role is to bridge the digital divide through the development of distribution channel partners and leverage their existing global partnerships. She says CAI's activities aid implementation of the millennium development goals at the grassroots, but also ensures the programmes to which ICT is implemented are sustainable.
Muhunyo cites lack of technical capacity by partners as well as end-users as being a drawback that has often led to the failure of promising development initiatives in especially disadvantaged and marginalised communities.
To date, 4 000 PCs and laptops have been distributed to different institutions, among them institutions of learning and health centres, she says.
"In Uganda, PC penetration is very low, with just about two million PCs out of a population of 28 million people," she concludes.
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