ZIPO benefits from ARIPO's determination to embrace ICT

ZIPO benefits from ARIPO's determination to embrace ICT

By IPcommentator   Friday, January 03, 2014   No comments:

Last year this Leo was delighted to see ARIPO's revamped website. Now, we are about to see something phenomenal with the news that a project to further upgrade and modernise the ICT Infrastructure of the organisation has already begun. 

Excerpts from the news report reads: 

"The project cost is estimated to be 5.8 million USD and will be implemented in two years. The project will provide an Intellectual Property (IP) Automation System to support major activities of IP administration of the ARIPO Office, and those of its Member States, to develop online public services and the Automation of IP administration procedures and therefore allowing ARIPO to offer e-services, ICT equipment and transfer of the necessary knowledge, technology and know-how to the IP experts.

The project will also allow linkage between ARIPO and the IP Offices of its Member States. ZIPO was selected as a PILOT Partner in the first phase. Upon successful completion of the first phase the project will be extended to the remaining 17 countries Member States of ARIPO."

This Leo is not sure who is sponsoring this project; but, present at the launch ceremony were, among others, the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Zimbabwe and representatives from WIPO and Korean IP office (KIPO). (Afro Leo would be interested to know if WIPO is partly funding this considering its increasing back seat role). Best guess: South Korea. Since Zimbabwe is ARIPO's headquarters, its IP office gladly benefits as well. Well, it is high time ZIPO had an opportunity to live the digital life. 

ARIPO, with Fernando Dos Santos at the helm, impresses yet again. 

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There is also the 'renowned' South Korea for bilateral technical assistance in ICT

There is also the 'renowned' South Korea for bilateral technical assistance in ICT

By Anonymous   Wednesday, August 22, 2012   No comments:

Out of the current OECD member countries, this Leo, and perhaps some of our readers, would quite easily name the United States of America and most countries in Europe as major sponsors of technical assistance programmes (bilateral or multilateral) in the African continent. But, this perception is beginning to change. The shift in our global political economy, increase in South-South co-operation and great strides by China, India (also here) and Brazil (also here and here) in the continent have contributed to this awareness. In essence, the competition for hearts and minds in the continent is on.

In the midst of all of these things is South Korea - arguably the world's most advanced in ICT and an 'excellent' example in terms of accessibility of government websites. This nation appears to be playing its part as well in an area where it is renowned. Readers may remember a reference to South Korea in the review of Angola regarding the construction of advanced technology centres (ATC). Although not too late, Afro Leo would like to thank Tim Katlic for drawing his attention to this news report that the construction of the technology data centre (TDC) was jointly funded by the Angolan and South Korean governments to the tune of USD 43.7 million. Readers should also note a contradicting report which puts the TDC project at USD30 million, but it is not certain whether 'ATC' and 'TDC' are ultimately the same. Nevertheless, the point is that we now know of South Korea's involvement in an ICT project in Angola.

Afro Leo is also aware that South Korea has supported or pledged to support ICT initiatives in countries such as South Africa and recently in Rwanda. Let's hope that its ICT assistance to these countries would trickle down to the work of their intellectual property (IP) offices. See A-Z of African official IP websites for Rwanda and Angola.

So, for those countries struggling to maintain or get their IP offices online, we now know which country is at the forefront of ICT and probably, best positioned to assist bilaterally.

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South Korea’s collaboration with the African Development Bank, see here 
South Korea to share experience with Africa, see here 

South Korean Don to support Rwanda on ICT see here

2012 Africa-EU Cooperation Forum on ICT in November 2012 see here

NEPAD e-Africa Commission see here and for Infrastructure Consortium for Africa see here

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