A TERM PAPER

ON

BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB OPPORTUNITIES

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A CREATIVE ENABLER

By

AJAYI OPEYEMI IMPACT

 FEBRUARY, 2011.
ABSTRACT

These days, the rate at which Information Technology is growing cannot be overrated as far as
creation of avenues for wealth and job opportunities are concerned. In the information society
where progress and power depends on information and knowledge, the role of IT becomes
even more important. However, there are several ways Information Technology as a creative
enabler enhances building streams of wealth and job opportunities. Yet these ways cannot be
delved into without first considering the favorable conditions satisfying their successful
applications.

This paper hereby focuses on building streams of wealth and job opportunities using
Information Technology as a creative enabler.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

3.0 BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB OPPROTUNITIES

3.1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS CERTAINLY NOT AN END IN ITSELF

3.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICIES THAT FAVOR BUILDING OF STREAMS OF

WEALTH AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

3.3 CONDITIONS THAT MILITATE AGAINST BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB
OPPORTUNITIES WHILE USING IT AS A CREATIVE ENABLER

3.4 WAYS OF BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB OPPORTUNITIES USING

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

3.5 BENEFITS EFFECTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A CREATIVE ENABLER FOR

BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

4.0 CONCLUSION

4.1 RECOMMENDATION

REFERENCES
1.0 INTRODUCTION

It is already widely accepted that Information Technology (IT) is an important enabler of growth
through the wealth creation, increased productivity and the creation of opportunities. Since
there is no longer any guarantee of job security, income security, retirement or a pension, any
nation which embraces Information Technology will definitely enjoy its dividends especially in
the area of building streams of wealth and job opportunities.

Information Technology does not just work easily and perfectly without standing on the
shoulder of a good national policy that favors it. What we are saying in essence is that
Information Technology as a creative enabler for building streams of wealth and job
opportunities successfully in any part of the world depends on a set of policies which enhance
the development of it. Some countries are clamoring on the fact that they have not enjoyed the
dividends of Information Technology in the creation of wealth since they have embraced it for
so long a time. What could be the factors responsible for this? Is it that Information Technology
favors one country and dislikes the other? Definitely no! This and many more have formed the
central part of this paper.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

There have been several and different measures set into place by diverse nations for ages in
hope of eradicating poverty but as quickly as these measures are solving the problem they do
create even a wider divide between the “have” and the “have not”. That is, the rich are getting
richer and the poor are getting, even much more, poorer.

The advent of Information Technology brought a lot of hope but many fail to understand how it
can be used to build wealth for them. Few who understand the principle of using it for building
streams of wealth are even disregarded in the society but the fact still remains that Information
Technology is a creative enabler for building streams of wealth and job opportunities in any
nation especially at this crucial time whereby government are being faced with diverse
challenges and much more of such challenges are still not yet unfolded.

If technology can help out, will it be wrong to adequately study and understand how indeed
this Information Technology operates and what favors its smooth and successful operations for
creating wealth and job opportunities. This and many more still lie in the hand of many nations
that wish to embrace IT as a creative enabler for building streams of wealth and job
opportunities.

However, as many nations have found out, having an IT policy is no guarantee that IT will
actually be an effective enabler. According to Ernest Hemingway "Never mistake motion for
action." Practice is often different from theory.

How realistic are the goals of the IT policy? What are the priorities? Is deployment effective? Is
content relevant? Is leadership committed? How effectively are resources being mobilized and
deployed? Is the policy a government “show” or were other stakeholders involved? How well
integrated and prioritized is the IT policy within national development programs? Yet if these
questions are rightly reviewed and diligently answered there could not be any reason why any
nation should not enjoy the dividends of Information Technology as far as creation of wealth
and job opportunities are concerned.

3.0 BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB OPPROTUNITIES

The potential of IT to make a difference in the lives of people globally is a fact that has come to
be accepted by all. Indeed by tackling the barriers of cost, time and distance, ITs contribute
immensely by providing efficiency gains and increased productivity.

Using Information Technology as a creative enabler for building streams of wealth and job
opportunities has a lot of merits above others but without looking properly into those
conditions that militate against the development of Information Technology may pose a lot of
challenges for any nation that want to depend on it as a creative enabler. Establishing favorable
Information Technology policies will definitely liberate any country from the cry of massive
poverty and unemployment.

3.1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS CERTAINLY NOT AN END IN ITSELF

After sinking massive resources into IT many countries are still not benefiting. To many IT is a
“paper tiger” – it is not having the desired effect on poverty reduction and wealth creation.

Globally the contradictions are even deeper. The great paradox is that with the amazing growth
in computing and telecommunications – wireless technologies, mobile telephony, web services
- the digital divide is still widening between the digital “haves” and the digital “have-nots”. “The
digital are getting more digital, while the analogue are getting more analogue”. What a
paradox. What an irony. There is so much evidence of poverty globally in the midst of such
technology development and innovation. Poverty, lack of leadership and commitment and the
weird global structure result in unevenness in the exploitation and deployment of technologies.

Closing these gaps – locally, nationally and globally - requires creative pro-people policies that
focus on national priorities – on areas that will have the greatest positive impact on
development.
Most countries therefore develop national IT policies in recognition of the enormous potential
of IT. To avoid being left behind, several nations develop such IT policies addressing several
core issues for keying into the benefits of an IT–driven world. The aim is to be a creator, a
producer and not a consumer or mere passenger. It is usually a proactive indication of the
seriousness government attaches to the role of IT in society. A national IT policy can be seen as
an attempt to develop a pro-people IT road map of the country. Lack of a coherent and
comprehensive policy often leads to redundancy, waste of resources, ineffective IT diffusion
and development and an inability to tap into global opportunities.

3.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICIES THAT FAVOR BUILDING OF STREAMS OF

WEALTH AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Let’s look at what typical IT policies and strategies that favor building of wealth and job
opportunities should address:

• Development of IT infrastructure

Public-Private-Partnership, telecom infrastructure, Internet connectivity, pro-poor Internet

access, IT networks, Computers and related equipment, etc.

It’s not just about provision of infrastructure but also quality, quantity and access issues. Access
to infrastructure should lead to access to relevant content and services. Availability and
reliability are important, but price is often the most critical factor that affects access.

• Enabling environment

An enabling environment is critical for the Information Society. Such an environment provides
support for IT empowerment while eliminating constraints.

Legal, institutional and regulatory framework is required to ensure fair competition; to attract
investment; to develop IT infrastructure, solutions and applications; to provide tax and other
incentives for IT industry and investors; to support transfer of technology; to meet the needs,
priorities, aspirations of various stakeholders; to provide legal infrastructure for intellectual
property protection, digital contracting, privacy and data protection, cybercrime, etc.

• E-government

How will government provide leadership and direction? E-governance is for transparency in
government operations, improving the quality of government’s service delivery, improving
efficiency, accountability, financial management, information management, reducing
bureaucracy, and delivery of public services in healthcare, education and environment. It also
affects the enhancement of government IT infrastructure, supporting an enabling environment
as mentioned earlier and providing leadership by making IT a national priority.

Often leadership can make the difference between failure and success. A government that does
not appreciate the strategic opportunity provided by IT cannot provide the required leadership.

• Development and growth of the IT industry

How will the policy facilitate the development of a local IT industry that will reduce import
dependence and enhance export opportunities? How will the IT industry enable employment
generation and wealth creation through the production, manufacturing, development, delivery,
and distribution of IT products and services?

Policies may encourage application development providing innovative technological solutions

with relevant local content. How will the IT industry (Hardware, Software, Services) contribute
to growth of all sectors? Such applications can have significant impact when implemented in
national development priority sectors.

• IT diffusion and increased IT literacy

Ignorance is a monster retarding the growth and use of IT. Policies will deal with IT diffusion,
and IT literacy, and awareness of the benefits of IT, the creation of new economic and social
opportunities for poverty eradication, job creation and empowerment.

• Human resource development

Knowledge is power. Knowledge creation and the ability to translate IT skills and knowledge to
the benefit of society are critical. A country’s future is determined by the size and quality of its
human capital. IT skills are required for empowerment to enhance value and create opportunity
through new technologies. Human capital must be developed through training, research and
capacity building. Organizations such as universities and institutions of higher learning, research
centers, polytechnics and training centers are affected in this area.

The creative ability needed cannot be developed with a mindset of “too much downloading and
no uploading”. Fundamental IT skills are needed especially for creative problem solving and
innovative solutions. Through research and development innovations in technology are
encouraged.

• E-business and E-commerce

This deals with policies that should facilitate various aspects of e-business such as e-payments,
e-banking, e-commerce, secure transactions and the appropriate legislation. How will the rapid
development of business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-
government (B2G) e-business be promoted? The need for promoting an e-business culture and
development of human resources for e-business are critical. E-business is particularly important
for using ITs for the promotion and development of Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs).

• Role of the private sector

The private sector plays a vital role in the establishment of the knowledge economy. Policies
should address how public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives can be effective. It is particularly
important for PPP initiatives to provide, support and use the information infrastructure, to
encourage thedeployment and use of ITs within the economy and society. The right
environment for the private sector should promote fair competition, opening up new markets,
global opportunities and the delivery of high quality products and services.

• Gender issues

There is a need for policies to address the issue of equal access of women to IT. How can
the specific developmental needs of women be met? How gender sensitive are the policies?

• Impact analysis

Based on statistics, what is IT doing for us? Is it making an impact? Where? What are the
important indicators for assessment, decision-making, benchmarks or reviews? Monitoring the
use of IT and measuring the impact of IT is necessary to evaluate the developmental impact of
IT programmes and projects.

3.3 CONDITIONS THAT MILITATE AGAINST BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB
OPPORTUNITIES WHILE USING IT AS A CREATIVE ENABLER

• Lower levels of literacy and education including training in languages predominantly used in
IT platforms
• Complex IT operations
• Lack of technical know-how and content
• Less time due to women’s triple role of domestic, productive and community management
responsibilities
• Poor infrastructure
• Resistance to change among many others

3.4 WAYS OF BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH & JOB OPPORTUNITIES USING

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Lots of new career opportunities have come with the advent of Information Technology. Below
are some ways technology enhances building of wealth and job opportunities:

1. Freelance and Telecommute: Ever since the arrival of the Internet to the mainstream,
people have learnt countless ways to freelance using Internet connections. Many have
engaged in industries such as website design, writing, web advertising, search engines
optimizers. The beauty of this is that work can be full or part time, or can range from
supplemental income to freelancing and/or telecommuting as a full time job.
2. Online Business: The ability to open an online business has afforded many opportunities for
many entrepreneurs. Nowadays individuals can offer services or product through the online
environment, and businesses need people to help run this aspect of business and handle
the transactions.
3. Information Security: With all of the sensitive information that is exchanged on computer
networks an increased need for security to protect from theft, breach or destruction is
necessary. Information is forecasted to be one of the largest growing fields over the next
several years.
4. Programming and Development: All new innovation takes programming and development.
Since most industries are using some form of computer elements to progress with new
products and services, this career choice is completely connected to technology.

These are but a few of what IT has to render among many others. Hardly can we see any
discipline today that does not need the application of IT. And if this be, let us all then focus on
the part of Information Technology that enables creation of wealth as far as individual’s
discipline is concerned.

3.5 BENEFITIAL EFFECT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A CREATIVE ENABLER FOR

BUILDING STREAMS OF WEALTH AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Information Technology as a creative enabler does not just be without its dividends, from the
advantageous side of view, being dished out for human benefits. Though it also have its
demerits just like any other creative enablers but its benefits outweighs any other creative
enabler that be before its adventure. Here are few of so many diverse benefits that Information
Technology as a creative enabler has in store for any individual, organization, nation or even
continent that embraces it by setting up the right policies which favor it into place diligently:

• E-education
• Distance learning through video conferencing
• Virtual classrooms
• Research through the Internet
• Creation of wealth
 • E-economy. This is now synonymous with creation of wealth. It has been demonstrated
that wealth creation is accentuated in digital economies.
• Knowledge based economy is the direction of new world economic order
• Job creation
• Job opportunities are generated in telecom and telecom related businesses, Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), Cybercafes, Software programmers, Web designers and the
multiplier effect on the economy generally.
• Poverty eradication
• Digital economy would reinforce Government’s efforts to alleviate poverty.
• Global competitiveness.
Embracing digital economy would enable any nation – especially Nigeria - to compete with
other developing countries. For example, Ghana’s national strategy is to promote export
development aggressively, primarily in the non-traditional export sector.
Space will not permit to list so much but, at a glance, other benefits include:

• Increase operational efficiency and Productivity

• Telecommuting and responsiveness
• Competitive advantage
• Strengthening business relationships
• Networking
• Expansion of market and satisfaction
• Cost reduction
• Promoting accountability
4.0 CONCLUSION

It is already widely accepted that Information Technologies (IT) is an important enabler of

growth through the wealth creation, increased productivity and the creation of opportunities. If
your goal today is creating wealth, you must start to take control of how your income is earned.
Your company, state government, federal government, all governments have more mounting
problems on their hands than ever before - and it's only going to get worse with more problems
still coming that most aren't even aware of!

It's up to you if your desire is creating wealth while Information Technology is evident to all!

4.1 RECOMMENDATION

The following suggestions are what the authors of this paper believe that could contribute to
building streams of wealth and job opportunities while considering Information Technology as a
creative enabler.

i. Government should perform major role in the creation of relevant infrastructure and making
the environment user-friendly for IT.

ii. Other debated issues discussed in this paper should be embraced.

iii. Since IT development is multidimensional, a multi-stakeholder approach should be

employed for the development of IT policies and strategies - public institutions, private sector,
civil society, academia, IT industry, consumers, and even the public must be involved.
REFERENCES

Jide Awe. ICT Policy for Development. Retrieved February 19, 2011 from
http://www.jidaw.com/ictpolicy.html.

ArticlesBase. Creating Wealth Isn't Your Employer's Or The Government's Responsibility.

Retrieved February 19, 2011 from http://www.articlesbase.com/wealth-building-
articles/creating-wealth-isn-t-your-employers-or-the-governments-responsibility-4226233.html

Jim Ovia (28th June, 2001) Reaping Digital Dividend: Opportunities For
Nigeria .Pg 4