ICT for Development (ICT4D) Projects in Developing Countries

It is argued that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can lead to the socio-economic development of people, especially in developing countries. Hence, developing countries have been rushing to implement ICT for Development (ICT4D) projects in rural areas through the direct-indirect supervision of institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) and other donor/local agencies. While there is considerable interest regarding donor agencies or funding bodies and the ways ICT can be deployed in developing countries, identifying the actual impact at the micro (community) level is less observed in the literature. The aim of this chapter is to understand ICT4D project/research in developing countries, presenting key challenges which influence the success of ICT4D projects. In this chapter, the authors propose a conceptual framework aimed to improve this understanding at the micro (community) level.