IBM and Tanzanian Government Sign Collaboration Agreement

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) has signed a collaboration agreement with the Tanzanian government aimed at supporting the adoption of information technologies and Tanzania's development in key areas such as education and R&D.

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The agreement between IBM and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) will help realize the Tanzanian Government's vision of building a "Silicon Valley" type environment around the University of Dodoma. As part of the agreement, IBM will facilitate collaboration with U.S. universities on research projects in the area of smarter cities, cloud computing and business analytics.  IBM will also support the ministry in developing and implementing better access to technology and educational resources for Tanzanian universities and secondary schools, especially in remote areas of the country. It is hoped that the agreement will help to enhance the local educational and information technology environment and promote a culture of entrepreneurship.

"This agreement underscores IBM's commitment to Tanzania and the importance of information technology in the development of the country," said Anthony Mwai, Country General Manager, IBM East Africa. "By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, the Tanzanian government has a real opportunity to develop in key areas such as education and R&D, which can play a key role in increasing Tanzania's competitiveness in a global economy."

The agreement was signed in March by IBM and Prof. Hamisi O. Dihenga, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.

IBM has been actively engaged in Tanzania through the following key initiatives:

Corporate Service Corps - over the past 18 months, through its Corporate Service Corps program, IBM has assigned 58 of its most talented emerging leaders from more than 20 different countries on one month assignments in Tanzania.  In this program, IBM has dedicated over 10,000 hours of pro bono information technology and business consulting to the University of Dodoma, Africa Wildlife Foundation, Tanzanian Association of Tour Operators and Institute of Accountancy.  All of their work has been connected with economic growth and job creation.

SMS for Life - in December last year, IBM announced it was working with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Vodafone, Novartis and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership to use information and communication technologies to improve the availability of anti-malarial drugs in remote areas of Tanzania. Called "SMS for Life," the pilot initiative used a combination of mobile phones, SMS (Short Messaging Service) technologies and intuitive web sites to track and manage the supply of anti-malarial drugs.

For more information on IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com.

SOURCE IBM