OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN POOREST COUNTRIES FOCUS OF FORUM ON ‘THE DIGITAL ECONOMY’ AT BRUSSELS CONFERENCE

OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN POOREST COUNTRIES

FOCUS OF FORUM ON ‘THE DIGITAL ECONOMY’ AT BRUSSELS CONFERENCE

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

BRUSSELS, 18 May -- The wealth of opportunities being created by information and communication technology (ICT) in the world’s poorest countries was the focus of a forum held today at the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, being held in Brussels.

The forum -- entitled “The Digital Economy:  Change the Perception” -- addressed how to extend the benefits of the Internet and other digital technologies to the least developed countries (LDCs), with presentations by LDC business people who had successfully taken advantage of the Internet, as well as international officials involved in initiatives to effect change in digital technology.

Speakers noted the considerable challenges facing entrepreneurs in the developing world who wished to break into “e-commerce”.  A lack of infrastructure, training, laws, payment methods, and resources were among the problems they faced.  They stressed, nevertheless, the huge potential for economic growth offered by digital technology, and pointed out that the Internet and related technology could “level the playing field” for LDC businesses seeking to compete internationally.

In an opening statement, Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said Peter F. Drucker had best captured the essence of the information revolution when he had said it should not be compared to the industrial revolution, but rather to Gutenberg’s printing press.  That model showed the advantages, as well as the problems, of new ICT.  Some had embraced the technology and others had been frightened by it. 

What mattered most was not the physical invention, but the attitude with which the invention was approached, he added.  That was even more crucial when the invention dealt with the dissemination of information.  He stressed that three elements must be considered in any discussion of ICT and LDCs:  the need to focus on people; the need for adequate public policy frameworks; and the need for good partnerships.

The first half of the meeting was devoted to a series of discussions on: products and services; tele-services; and e-infrastructure for local e-commerce.

During the panel on products and services, Dawit Bekele described his experience as managing director of Ethiolink/Ethiogift, an online shopping site based in Ethiopia.  He said getting started in e-commerce had not been easy, as

the Internet infrastructure in the country had been very poor, there was almost no electronic payment system, there was little awareness of e-commerce, and funding had been limited.  Having overcome those problems, Ethiolink hoped to expand into such areas as providing tele-services and information sharing. 

He said Ethiopia’s poverty could become a competitive advantage, as salaries were so much lower than in the United States, where much of his company’s business was actually done.  He called on the various international organizations to help LDCs overcome the problems that kept them from fully participating in the digital revolution.

Following Mr. Bekele’s presentation, Christina Jordan, Founding Director, LifeInAfrica.com, Uganda, gave an overview of her business, as did Teshomo Kebede, Director, Genuine Leather Craft, Ethiopia.

When the panel on tele-services opened, Sanjib Raj Bhandari, CEO, Servingsminds, Nepal, said his company was a multimedia contact centre, which outsourced its services to the English-speaking countries.  It tried to be anywhere from 40 to 60 per cent cheaper than North American companies and employed the latest technologies.  The company had faced marketing challenges, which had been overcome by building a world-class Web site and convincing people that the company had the experience needed to provide the services.  Perhaps, the largest problem had been overcoming the perception of Nepal as a country that was more geared to tourism and other industries than to the Internet.

Jean-Marie Noagbodgi, CEO, Café Informatique, Togo, and Sharif Ambia, Managing Director, Technosoft Transcription Ltd., Bangladesh, also made presentations.

Speaking on the subject of e-infrastructure for local e-commerce, Jonathan Campaigne, Executive Director, Pride Africa, Uganda, a micro-finance institution, said his company serviced over 90,000 informal-sector micro-entrepreneurs in the areas of research and development.  His company believed that the greatest impediment to change was lack of access to timely and appropriate information and sought to combat that problem.  Internet-based technologies could be used to break down the barriers between the “haves” and “have-nots”.

The second half of the meeting focused on specific actions that would be or had already been taken to help bring LDCs into the Internet revolution.

Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the Minister for Communications of South Africa, delivered a message on behalf of many other African countries, stressing that ICT was a great tool for development.  She said ICT infrastructure development must be a part of normal economic planning.  While Africa was marginalized from the world at large, as well as the digital economy, it had come a long way, and initiatives had been taken to address its digital shortcomings.  An Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in July would decide the way forward. 

Roger Dehaybe, General Administrator, Agence intergouvernementale de la francophonie, said the LDCs should be able to participate actively and effectively in the information society.  They should gain ownership of the process and decide on the direction to be followed.  All sectors of society must work to tackle the problem.  La Francophonie had tried to galvanize opinion at all levels and advocated actions that were rooted locally.  They had set up a network to help share computer skills and familiarize LDCs with cutting-edge software, as well as facilitate access to free software.

Carlos Braga, Acting Director, Development Gateway Programme, and Manager at the World Bank, said ICT and connectivity made it possible to bridge distances.  It also made it possible to connect to the world’s base of knowledge, and facilitated “leapfrogging” in the development process.  The question was how to use technology to address human and social needs.  The velocity of the expansion of modern information structures had been without parallel, he noted.  He gave an overview of the Development Gateway Foundation initiative undertaken by the Bank, which sought to facilitate access to relevant information for development.

R. Badrinath, Director, Division on Trade and Support Services, International Trade Centre, presented “Building the E-Trade Bridge for LDCs”, an action-oriented programme to assist small businesses in building a bridge across the digital divide.  John Bryant, CEO, Operation Hope, spoke on e-finance, digital empowerment and twenty-first century digital literacy for underserved communities, and David Souter, of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organizations, spoke on integrating LDCs into the digital economy.

Other speakers included Ingrid Hagen, Manager, Partnerships, International Institution for Communication; Edward Addo-Dankwa, Project Manager, AGRINET, Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Ghana; and Makane Faye of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

A representative of Japan’s technology sector gave an overview of his country’s efforts to support LDCs in the ICT fields.  Japan was devoted to providing substantial official development assistance (ODA) for ICT, he noted. 

At the outset of the meeting, James Hattoir of CNN interviewed Ram Sharan Mahat, Minister of Finance of Nepal, who noted that about half of Nepal’s rural territory was without telephones, and the Government was taking measures to address that issue, with an eye to creating the basic infrastructure for the ICT field.  The private sector was showing great interest in investing in Nepal’s ICT field, he noted, adding that the private sector was better suited than the Government -- which could create better infrastructure and laws -- to take the lead in all the value added services.  The Internet was still a luxury for the urban elite in Nepal, and the Government wanted it to be available for all citizens.  The democratization of the ICT sector was essential.

In another interview, conducted at the start of the second half of the meeting, Linda Duberly of Granada Media, spoke with Sultana Nazneen, Managing Director, Grameen Communications, a non-profit organization committed to poverty alleviation in Bangladesh through the provision of multi-purpose information services for isolated regions.

Bruno Lanvin, Executive Secretary of DOT Force, World Bank, introduced the panel on products and services.  Jacques Rostenne, Perwit International, Canada, introduced the panel on tele-services.

Jean Gurunlian, Director, Services Infrastructure for Development and Trade Efficiency, UNCTAD, made introductory remarks and gave an overview of UNCTAD’s activities in the field of ICT.  He announced that UNCTAD would make available an e-tourism package to all sectors, public and private, of the LDCs, to help them reach the relevant markets.

At 9:30 a.m. Saturday, 19 May, in another of the Conference’s parallel events, a youth forum will be held.

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