Johannesburg | Wednesday
CANADA’S International Development Research Centre (IDRC) announced that its Acacia Program in Southern Africa will now be hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
A signing ceremony is taking place today at the Bank’s Headquarters in Midrand, South Africa.
The programme aims to empower sub-Saharan communities with the ability to manage information and communication technologies.
“The Bank has been an important partner of IDRC’s Acacia Program since 1998,” said Connie Freeman, Director of IDRC’s office for Eastern and Southern Africa based in Nairobi.
“This will be an opportunity for the two organisations to build on this partnership and develop substantial and deeper forms of collaboration in the area of Information and Communication Technologies.”
The Acacia Program will be located in its new office at the DBSA in Midrand, South Africa, starting on January 1st, 2002.
The International Development Research Centre is a Crown Corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help scientists and communities in developing countries find solutions to their economic, social, and environmental problems through research.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa was established in 1983.
In 1996 it was transformed to ensure it met the needs of the new South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region as a whole. The DBSA’s key purpose is to address socio-economic imbalances and help improve the quality of life of the people of South and southern Africa. – Sapa
Acacia website: http://www.idrc.ca/acacia