Interview Summary
Nii Narku Quaynor is widely acclaimed as the “father of the internet in Africa.” In 1994, he established the first internet service provider in Ghana and West Africa, operated by Network Computer Systems Ltd. He then assisted in implementing the transformational new technology throughout sub-Saharan Africa. In this interview, Quaynor shares his insights on the technological challenges his pioneering firm faced and his multiple conflicts with government officials as policies changed arbitrarily while he struggled to diffuse a network-based system in Ghana. Dr. Quaynor speaks at length about the early history of the Internet, especially the ICANN registration system. He also discusses his later forays into website development and e-commerce, and his education and work history in the U.S. and Ghana, focusing on his time at Dartmouth and the Digital Equipment Corporation.
Our goal was to have leadership in expertise. Leadership, not in terms of Africa, but in terms of the global world. So I have people that I have trained that could match everybody everywhere.
Additional Resources
“Nii Narku Quaynor: African Father of the Internet,’”
New African Magazine, October 28, 2014
“Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor of Ghana Recognized as the ‘Father of the Internet in Africa,’” Pan-African News Wire, December 31, 2007
“Africa’s ‘Father of the Internet’: Web Pioneer on Bringing a Continent Online,” CNN, September 4, 2013
“A Man on a ‘Revolutionary Mission,’” Internet Society, February 23, 2012
Acceptance Speech for Internet Hall of Fame, YouTube, Uploaded August 28, 2013
“Nii Quaynor—Africa’s ‘Father of the Internet,’” YouTube, Uploaded September 4, 2013
Interview Citation Format
"Interview with Dr. Nii Quaynor, interviewed by Henry McGee, January 15, 2014, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."
