From May to June 2012, a funding application titled ‘Exploratory measures – ICT-based local information and communication systems for sustainable development’ was prepared and submitted by Dr. Martin Emmer, Dr. Yves Lamour, and Matthias Duchscherer. The application was approved by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in September 2013, following a call for proposals for the ‘Partnerships for Sustainable Solutions with Sub-Saharan Africa’ programme.

The 6-month project commenced in November 2013. The project aimed to identify research questions related to the success of local development projects from a social and communication science perspective. As a result, a research group with representatives from Freie Universität Berlin, University of Nairobi, Daystar University Nairobi, University of the Gambia, and Project Lighthouse Africa e. V. was formed.

This group developed a research proposal titled ‘Digital Africa – Digital / Mobile Media for Sustainable Development’ between November 2013 and May 2014.