Eric M.K Osiakwan is the Executive Secretary both of the African Internet Service Providers Association (AfrISPA) and the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA). He is also a Visiting Fellow and Scholar at the Stanford University and Reuters Foundation Digital Vision Program and affiliate of the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School.
Eric has being very instrumental in the propagation of ICTs not only in Ghana but Africa through his activism since 1999. His publications on ICTs in local and regional journals and newspapers both online and offline has played a critical role. His production and presentation of “ICT World” on Ghana’s premier talk station Choice fm from 2001 to 2003 played an important role not only in creating public awareness but generated government’s interest in ICTs as a tool for socio-economic development. He was subsequently invited to join the policy team that developed the framework for Ghana’s ICT lead Socio-Economic Development Policy.
During the past four years, he has been involved in a number of information and communication technology (ICT) related projects and initiatives in the US, Europe and Africa for a number of Governments, companies, NGOs, and international agencies. He is currently a Consultant to the WorldBank’s Information for Development program on Open Access for Africa (InfoDev), to BusyInternet, UNDP Ghana and OSIWA.
He self published a research document on Ghana’s Internet Industry (GII). Co-authored “The Internet in Ghana” with the Mosaic group using the GDI methodology and co-authored the Ghana chapter of Negotiating The Net (NTN) – the Politics of Internet Diffusion in Africa. He was also invited by the Royal African Society to contribute ideas to P.M Tony Blairs’ Commission for Africa
He is an associate of Spintrack AB, Sweden, Balancing Act, UK and African Analysis CC, S.A. He is also an investor and director of InHand ltd as well as the Converged Technologies Holding Group of Kenya.
He co-founded the Ghana New Ventures Competition (GNVC) of which he was the Chief Operations Officer for 2 years. He is a member of a number of professional bodies including:
