Digital Opportunities and the LDCs

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Digital Opportunities and the LDCs
presented by Carlos P. Braga Acting Director,
Development Gateway Manager, infoDev May 18, 2
001 Brussels The Third United Nations Conferenc
e on the Least Developed Countries
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Internet Hosts in 1998
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Internet Hosts in 2000
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Other dimensions of the Divide
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Cross-Country Inequality Information
Infrastructure Investments Skewed toward Rich
Countries
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The Promise and Peril of the Networking Revolution
Adopter Countries broadband revolution
The US broadband revolution
National Information Infrastructure
(scope and quality)
Convergence
Latecomers
Divergence
Time
Source Pyramid Research, 2000
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Closing the Digital DivideA Four-Part Program

• Support Competition and Privatization Policies
  (e.g., regulatory reform)
  
• Facilitate Infrastructure Financing by the
  Private Sector
  
• Invest in Digital Literacy and E-government
• Launch, Test and Mainstream Successful Pilot
  Projects Digital Opportunities

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Development Gateway
www.developmentgateway.org
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Value Proposition of the Portal

• Solving development problems by sharing
  high-quality information from local, national and
  global sources, tailored to users needs -- by
  topic and community
• Providing a platform for establishing common
  standards for the exchange of information within
  the development community
  
• Expanding opportunities for building and sharing
  knowledge and experience -- in and among
  developing countries

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Accessible Information on Development Activities
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Foreign Direct Investment Page
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E-government page
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infoDev Country Gateway Grants

• Ukraine

• Moldova

• Russia

• Kazakhstan

• Georgia

• Kyrgyz Rep.

• Poland

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan

• Tajikistan

• Romania

• Bulgaria

• Mongolia

• Croatia

• China

• Uzbekistan

• Algeria

• Dominican Republic

• West Bank Gaza

• Jamaica

• Nicaragua

• Pakistan

• El Salvador

• Costa Rica

• India

• Venezuela

• Rwanda

• Colombia

• Sri Lanka

• Indonesia

• Uruguay

• Namibia

• infoDev is providing seed funding to initiate
  Country Gateways
  
• Allocated US1.8 million to date
• Grants of up to US100,000
• 71 proposals received from 51 countries
• 32 funded
• Additional countries that are currently preparing
  a country gateway proposal to infoDev
  
• Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Mauritania, Niger,
  Peru, Zambia

Countries designated as least developed by the
United Nations
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Partnerships--UN System Collaborators

• UNDP jointly supporting United Nations
  Partnership Manager
  
• UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNAIDS, UNESCO, WHO, FAO among
  content sources
  
• Netaid partnership on Taking Action Portal
• UNCTAD partnership on the Foreign Direct
  Investment Page
  
• Discussions underway with ITC, UN-ECLAC, and WHO
• UNDP support for Country Gateways

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Development Gateway Foundation

• Promote development of active networks of experts
  on ICT for development strengthen capacity for
  delivering projects help narrow the digital
  divide
• Establish a research and training center in the
  developing world to develop and test programs
  
• Provide seed funding for local, national,
  regional, and global projects and programs

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For more information
www.developmentgateway.org