Approaching the digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: technological determinism or social constructivism

This paper addresses the causes and effects of the digital divide on the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the region of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, also known as 'Black Africa'. We examine the intrinsic challenges that present barriers to closing the digital divide in the African subregion with a literature review which analyses dominant discourse on technology for development, as well as policies and strategies which can be adopted by SSA countries to bridge the digital divide. Ghana, a selected SSA country, is presented to identify the successful strategies and tactics used to increase ICT access and participation.