Building hope for the poor with digital services: Providing prosperity, justice, and dignity for ALL

Abstract

Digital technologies offer hope for societal change, with the potential to improve the lives of those in poverty. Avoiding utopian and dystopian views, we offer a more dynamic perspective of ‘realistic hope' where hope can be aspired to and achieved, but also lost. We describe two cases of digital services in Kenya, conceptualizing hope in the process of engaging with ICT4D (information and communications technologies for development). We reveal the intricate relationship between the capacity for economic empowerment and the dangers of perpetuating marginalization and argue for the judicious use of digital technology to bring dignity to all.