Financing ICT Projects to Fight Poverty in Asia Pacific

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Financing ICT Projects to Fight Poverty in Asia
Pacific

• Asian Development Bank
• Manila, Philippines

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In This Presentation

• ADB and Poverty Reduction
• Fostering ICT Development
• ADBs Financial Instruments and Projects

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ADBs Charter, 1966
The purpose of the Bank shall be to foster
economic growth and cooperation in the region
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Basic Facts

• A multilateral development bank
• Clients are developing member countries
• A working partnership of 62 members

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Strategic Agenda

• Sustainable economic growth
• Inclusive social development
• Governance for effective policies and
  institutions
• Crosscutting themes private sector development,
  regional cooperation, environmental
  sustainability, and social safeguard

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Operations 1966-2001

• 98.8 billion in loans
• 1,752 loan projects
• 2.2 billion in TA grants
• 5,053 TA projects
• 704 million in 114 equity investments

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The Poverty Problem

• 70 of the worlds poor live in the region
• 900 million people survive on less than 1 per
  day
• Many are not sharing in Asias progress

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ADBs Poverty Reduction Strategy

• Pro-poor, sustainable economic growth
• Social development
• Good governance

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Why ICT is important

• The Internet is dramatically changing the way
  people communicate, learn, access services and
  trade.
• Economic growth is the engine of poverty
  reduction Internet technologies have the
  potential to empower small and medium size
  enterprises (SMEs).
• Promotes transparency and governance by giving
  more opportunities for competition

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ADBs ICT Strategy

• Launched in 2001
• Three major thrusts
• Creating an Enabling Environment
• policies, institutional strengthening,
  infrastructure
• Building Human Resources
• knowledge, skills, ICT literacy, lifelong
  E-learning
• Applications Content Development
• ADB projects poverty, governance, education

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ICT and Poverty Reduction
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How is ADB Helping?
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• By providing the technical assistance and
  financing to build the foundation for successful
  implementation of ICT initiatives
  through . . .

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Financial Instruments

• Loans
• Technical Assistance
• Special Funds
• Private Sector Investment

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Loans

• Over 1.5 billion loans in Information and
• Communication Technology

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Technical Assistance

• Over 40 million for education, capacity
• building and ICT projects

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Maldives

• Wiring Government
• Loan to connect Male and 20 atolls together
• Create E-government portal
• Public Services Access and Registration for
  Identity Cards, Vessels
• Network of information kiosks

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Greater Mekong

• Fiber Optic Backbone for Cambodia, Lao, and Viet
  Nam
• Trade Regulations for SMEs
• Monitoring of trade flows in cross-border areas

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Nepal

• Corporate and Financial Governance
• Skills for Employment
• ICT Training

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Pacific

• ICT Assessment in the Pacific
• Subregional E-Government Project in the Pacific
• Distance Learning in the Pacific
• Fiji Islands 1) ICT Strategy and 2) Land
  Management System
• Federated States of Micronesia - National and
  State Legislation on the Web
• Kiribati- Outer Islands ICT Network Project
• Papua New Guinea- 1) Human Resources Development
  in the Health Sector and 2) Financial Management
  System
• Samoa- SchoolNet and Community Access Project
• East Timor Rehabilitation of the
  Telecommunications Sector
• Marshall Islands Health Management Information
  System

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Current TA Projects

• Bangladesh SME Development and Export Expansion
• Nepal ICT for Financial Service Improvement
• Sri Lanka School Computerization and Computer
  Literacy
• E-Legal Challenges in Asia Cyber Law Training
  Seminar
• Fiji Islands- ICT Strategy
• Trade Policy and Legal Framework in Mongolia

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Special Funds

• Japan Fund for Information and Communication
  Technology
• 10 million grant fund for innovative
  applications of ICT

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Japan Fund for ICT

• Established in July 2001
• 10 million for initial 3 years
• Help DMCs bridge the digital divide
• Specifically
• ICT development projects
• Establishment of CLICK

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JFICT Proposals

• E-health Card VIET NAM
• SchoolNet and Community Access Pilot Project -
  SAMOA
• Outer Islands ICT Network- KIRIBATI
• ICT for Innovative Education in Rural Mongolia
  MONGOLIA

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GrameenPhoneGood Business Can Mean Good
Development

• Provides Village Payphone services to over
• 20,000 villages
• Generating employment, trade, innovation
• ADB investment of 18.3
• million and 3 equity
• stake

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Initiatives on the Horizon

• In 2003 . . .
• E-Government Pilot in the Pacific
• GMS Telecommunications Backbone Phase I
• Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam
• E-Government Project in India

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Results

• Improved delivery of government services
• Increased participation and communication
• Better environment for economic growth

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Thank You
Asian Development Bank www.adb.org
http//www.adb.org/Documents/policies/ICT/default.
asp