The World Wide Web Foundation has announced a $1 million donation from the UK-based Vodafone Group to teach entrepreneurs in Africa how to leverage the Web as a platform for delivering content, applications, and services.

While only 25 percent of the world population uses the Web on a regular basis, more than 70 percent has access to mobile or fixed communication devices capable of displaying Web content. In Africa, where the Internet penetration rate is approximately 6.8 percent, expanding Web access can create learning opportunities for local entrepreneurs and help advance the United Nations Millennium Development Goal to end poverty by 2015.

The grant from Vodafone will enable the Boston-based foundation to research barriers to mobile Web access in Africa and support its efforts to train social entrepreneurs interested in creating relevant Web content that can be accessed via mobile phone. Vodafone also will invite foundation staff to join a research panel focused on the socioeconomic impact of mobile (SIM) in society. The panel currently is exploring the impact of mobile broadband in emerging economies and expects to publish its results in the fall.

"It is clear that the creation of the Web combined with the growing ubiquity of mobile technology presents us with a unique opportunity to drive positive change," said Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao. "The work of the foundation will help us understand how society is adapting to new technologies. We will use the insights to help shape the communications infrastructure of the future in order to give as many people as possible access to the benefits that the Web provides."