Information and communication technologies (ICT) have revolutionized the ways in which people, organizations, and corporations communicate, collaborate, and create wealth. ICT is credited with creating a borderless world, accelerating globalization, fostering extraordinary communities, producing people-powered movements, and generating innovative sources of commerce.

Appropriate IT, founded in 2007, develops solutions and expertise to utilize the power and promise of ICTs for sustainable social change across the world, particularly for underprivileged and underserved populations.

AI is a social enterprise that provides different but related services through two program areas:

• Development Academy: Learning program that develops today’s youth, particularly girls and young women, into highly-skilled, employable and socially-engaged leaders of tomorrow. Free software development trainings for underprivileged girls and young women are subsidized with high-quality, fee-based corporate trainings in workforce development.
• Innovation Lab: Applied research and incubator services that pilot innovative solutions, explore emerging technologies, and establish collaborative ventures. The lab explores uncharted territories, searching for innovative, cross-functional and cross-sectoral solutions to long-standing social issues.

By combining these two lines of focus under one entity, Appropriate IT develops emerging technologies through the Innovation Lab and then carries that expertise into the design of optimal workforce development training curriculums for populations underrepresented in the field of technology. Our ultimate goal: an IT sector that is developing game-changing interventions not just for, but also by, underserved populations. We believe this will enable technology to have the greatest possible impact on communities.