7th ADB Business Opportunities Fair

17 March 2016

ICT for Development

Bart W. Édes, SDCC

What ICT can do for development• ICT is an enabler of economic growth, social stability and

development

• ICT provides an enabling environment through inclusion,

efficiency and innovation

• It delivers more efficient and cost-effective services, creates

jobs, encourages investment

• Two billion people remain largely untouched by ICT, and half

a billion live outside areas with a mobile signal

• ICT is part of the Sustainable Development Goals, featuring

strongly in four of the 17 goals, including the overarching

goal on SDG implementation

ADB support for ICT

• Strategy 2020 emphasizes ICT infrastructure

• Mid-Term Review recognizes ICT as an

enabler for service delivery, e-governance,

and applications in education, finance, and

public management

• Between 2000 and 2013, ADB supported

376 ICT-related loan, grant and technical

assistance projects worth $9.8 billion

• Vast majority was for ICT embedded in

sovereign sector operations

• Most of the few stand-alone ICT

projects are private sector

investments in telecommunications

Sector breakdown of

ADB’s ICT intervention

What ADB has helped to

develop and maintain

• ICT infrastructure - telecommunication networks, mobile

and wireless networks, broadband cable networks, data

centers, last-mile internet connectivity

• ICT industries - ICT centers of excellence,

research/computer laboratories; ICY-enabled industries

(BPO, etc.)

See: Promoting Information and Communication Technology in ADB Operations (September 2014)

• ICT-enabled services (for education, finance, governance,

and health)

• ICT policy, strategy and capacity development (ICT policy and

strategy, ICT road maps, regulations and laws, capacity building)

Lessons We’ve Learned

• The primary focus of ICT initiatives must be on how to

support a country's development goals, not just aim at

"technology catch-up"

• ICT projects hinge on appropriate policy and regulatory

frameworks

• The design of ICT projects must adequately consider the

local context and ICT readiness and government capacity

for implementation and O&M

• ICT initiatives must introduce sustainability measures at

the early stages of a project by establishing government

ownership up front

Indicative Strategic Directions

• Define and implement ICT strategies to

meet overall ICT for Development goals

• Foster e-learning and digital skills

• Engage in research and development

• Support ICT policy and regulatory

frameworks and reforms

• Support ICT-enabled services for

selected sectors and topics

• Tailor interventions across client

countries

What ADB Needs to do

• Position ADB to play a greater role in promoting

ICT for Development

• Incorporate ICTD prominently in Strategy 2030

• Develop an appropriate institutional structure

• Nurture staff skills and institutional capacity

Public Procurement Challenges

• Use of standards

• Translating ICT requirements into clear specifications

• Managing "backwards compatibility" and

procurement to fit legacy systems

• Migration to new ICT systems

• Use of brand names and proprietary specifications

• Obligations imposed on citizens

Examples of ICT Opportunities

in TA Projects

• Implementing ICT Tools to Improve Data

Collection & Management of National Surveys in

Support of the SDGs

• E-Government for Effective Public Management in

Uzbekistan

• Applying Space-Based Technology

and ICT to Strengthen Disaster

Resilience

• Malaria & Dengue Risk Mapping

and Response Planning in the

GMS

Examples of ICT Opportunities

in Loan Projects

• North Pacific Regional

Connectivity Investment

Project (Palau)

• Samoa Submarine Cable

Project

• Green Power Development &

Energy Efficiency

Improvement Investment

Program in Sri Lanka

• Pakistan Social Protection Development Project

Upcoming ICT Events in ADB

• Financial Inclusion in the Digital Economy, 24-25 May

Will focus on opportunities and challenges in digital finance,

and identify how MDBs can finance digital technology and

transformational projects.

• 3rd Digital Strategies for Development Summit, 8-10

June

Will present initiatives and opportunities for collaboration and

use of innovative and inclusive ICT solutions for development.

Contact person:Bart W. Édes

ADB ICT for Development Team

Sustainable Development & Climate Change Department

bedes@adb.org