1. Chief, ICT Analysis Section
EMBARGO
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INFORMATION ECONOMY REPORT 2010 ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation
Presentation at
Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics and Brooks World Poverty Institute
14 October 2010
Torbjörn Fredriksson
Chief, ICT Analysis Section
UNCTAD

2. Reducing poverty a major challenge
Distribution of poverty, 2005
People living on less than $1.25 (PPP) a day (millions)
1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 per day
Most poor are in Asia
Sub-saharan Africa has highest poverty rates
MDG1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
17/10: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Source: UNCTAD, based on data from PovcalNet of the World Bank.

3. Technology should be better leveraged in meeting the MDGs“
New technology-based solutions that did not exist when the Goals were endorsed can and should be leveraged to allow for rapid scaling up. The most important of these technologies involve use of mobile telephones, broadband Internet, and other information and communications technologies. ”
Source: Report of the Secretary-General, 12 February 2010, A/64/665.

4. Informational dimension of poverty
Poor people often lack access to vital information, for example about:
market price information
income-earning opportunities
weather forecasts
what pesticides and fertilizers to use
health
disaster risk reduction
Lack of information greater vulnerability

5. Focus of the IER 2010 Trends in affordable access to different ICTs
Direct use of ICTs in enterprises
Different industries
Subsistence-based and growth-oriented enterprises
Value chain stages
Direct involvement of the poor in the ICT producing sector
As workers or entrepreneurs
ICT manufacturing
ICT and IT-enabled services
Large/medium vs. small/micro enterprises

6. ICTs, Enterprises and the Poor
Focus of the report

7. Penetration of selected ICTs in Least Developed Countries, 2000-2009
Mobile revolution is reaching the LDCs bringing interactive connectivity for the first time
Penetration of selected ICTs in Least Developed Countries,
(per 100 inhabitants)
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.

8. Very rapid improvement in some LDCs… Mobile penetration, selected LDCs, 2005 and 2009
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.

9. …but not in all Mobile penetration, selected LDCs, 2005 and 2009
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.

10. Some unfinished business remains Half of rural population in LDCs lack access to mobile signal
Source: ITU.

11. New applications and services emerging
Voice-based services
helplines, agro-messages
SMS services
Election monitoring (Ghana)
Earthquake relief (Haiti)
Mobile money services
E.g. M-PESA, M-Paisa, Wizzit, GCash
Mobile micro insurance (Kilimo Salama, Kenya)
Rural health applications

12. More mobiles than bank accounts in LDCs
Mobile subscriptions and bank accounts per 100 inhabitants, selected LDCs, 2009
Source: Data from ITU and CGAP.

13. Affordability is key South Asian model attractive to low-income mobile users
Average revenue per mobile user, selected LDCs and India, 2009 (U.S. dollars)
Attractive features for low-income users:
Long period for inactivity
Per-second charging
Nationwide tariffs
Low denomination recharge
“Friends and family”
Source: Idea, MTN, Orascom, Portugal Telecom and Zain operating reports.

14. Exploit the diversity of ICTs
Mobile telephony
Fixed telephony
Personal computers
Internet
Broadband
Radio
Different features
Costs
Skills requirements
Power needs
Functionality
Access
Each technology has its pros and cons to meet different user needs
Opportunities for combined solutions

15. ICTs in enterprises can help the poor Preliminary evidence across sectors and countries
Cases cited in report
Dairy farmers in Bhutan
Grain traders in Niger
Fishermen in India and Ghana
Women weavers in Nigeria
M-Paisa in Afghanistan
Micro-enterprises in Mumbai
Handicraft in Viet Nam
And more…
Most important effects
Reduced information search and transactions costs
Improved communications within supply chains with benefits for individual enterprises and improvements in overall market efficiency
Preference for mobiles
Affordable access
Easy to use
Two-way communication
Serve basic needs

16. The poor and the ICT producing sector Some find new livelihoods in changing ICT landscape
Cases cited in report
Sellers of airtime in Bangladesh, Ghana, Uganda
SIM card sales in the Gambia
Mobile entrepreneurs in Venezuela
ICT micro-enterprises in urban slum in Mumbai
ICT manufacturing in China
Social outsourcing in India
And more…
Key findings
Micro-enterprises have large involvement of poor; exposed to risk and volatility
ICT manufacturing concentrated; but significant effects in China
High skill requirements a barrier in case of outsourcing, but second-order effects
“Social outsourcing˝ new development tool?
More attention needed to e-waste problem

17. Knowledge gaps – need to strengthen evidence base
Better measurement of ICT use in businesses
Communication needs assessments
Systematic assessment of ICT and enterprise experience
Currently high reliance on micro-studies
Need for cross-country comparisons
Impact assessments of ICT use by subsistence and growth-oriented enterprises
Assessments of the effects of ICT use in government support services
Targeted research should be encouraged

18. Ecosystem for policies to reduce poverty via ICTs and Enterprises
Source: UNCTAD and Emdon.

19. The Policy Challenge How to bring more benefits to the poor from ICTs in enterprises
Expand mobile coverage in places with no mobile signal
Make services affordable – learn from South Asia
Focus more on ICT adoption at low levels of economic activity and sophistication, incl. for subsistence enterprises
Make interventions more demand-driven – needs of enterprises differ by size, industry, location and skills
Assign greater role to mobile solutions in policy interventions
Work in partnership with development partners, private sector and civil society
Feature ICT and enterprise policies more prominently in poverty reduction strategies

20. “
The policy challenge is to take full advantage of the significant improvements in connectivity in ways that bring benefits to the poor. This task is far from complete. ”
Source: IER 2010 Preface

21. Thank you! The Information Economy Report 2010
can be downloaded free of charge at