Leland Initiative

The Leland Initiative is USAID's program for bringing the benefits of the information revolution to the people of Africa. It celebrates the life of Texas Congress-man Mickey Leland, a tireless advocate for the poor and hungry of the world, who died in a plane crash while on a relief mission in Ethiopia. The Leland Initiative began in June 1996, charged with helping Africa and USAID respond to the challenges and opportunities of the "Digital Divide" -- the enormous technological gap between those countries with access to the Internet and its benefits and those without.

In 1996, almost no one in Africa had access to the Internet. In November 2000 Leland Initiative engineers activated the Eritrea national Internet backbone and Internet was brought to the last remaining country on the African continent. Today, thanks to the efforts of many, the Internet in Africa is an emerging success story, showcasing the positive results that can be achieved when courageous African policy makers and vigorous African entrepreneurs are brought together with the best technological know-how that America has to offer.

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