In his presentation, Laurent Elder from the International developemnt research center shared ideas on how technology may have a solid impact on people from the 3rd world

1. ICTs and Development
Laurent Elder
International Development Research Centre
(IDRC)

2. “the cell phone is the
single most
transformative technology
for development.”
Jeffrey Sachs

6. What has IDRC learned
about the impact of ICTs
on socio-economic
development?

7. Presentation structure
 Who uses ICTs and why in developing
countries?
 What’s the evidence of impact in various
development areas?
 What are new and current issues?
 Conclusions

8. Mobile Usage and Access
 BOP used a phone in the preceding 3
months
Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand
98% 94% 92% 93% 95%

9. Mobile Usage and Access
 BOP Spending on mobile phones as % of income
Brazil Argentina India and Sri
Lanka
3.2% 6.3% 6%

10. Why Does the Bottom of the
Pyramid Use Mobile Phones?
 Perceived impact of mobile access for the poor?
 1= worsened, 5= improved
Efficiency of daily activities 4.2
Ability to earn or save 3.7
Family and Social relations 4.4
Ability to act in an emergency 4.6

11. Impact on Economic Growth

12. Impact on Economic Growth
 Kenya: ICTs responsible for 25% of GDP
 Peru: household incomes of Internet users 19%
higher than non-users
 very poor with access to ICTs were able to
spend $21 more a month than those without
access

13. Impact on Rural Livelihoods

14. Direct
Production
85%
Transaction
costs
15%
Cost of information in the agricultural production value chain
Total Cost of Good
Impact on Rural Livelihoods

15. Costs linked
to information
70%
Cost of information in the agricultural production value chain
Total Transaction Costs
Impact on Rural Livelihoods
Other (30%)

16.  11-12% of the value of an agricultural good is
linked to information
 Mobiles are seen as the principal means of
reducing those costs
Impact on Rural Livelihoods

17. Impact on Health

18. Impact on Education

19. Governance and Digital Activism

20. New issues

21. Open Data

22. Crowd Sourcing

23. Crowd Sourcing: Harassmap

24. It’s not all good news
• The internet is largely unaffordable to most
• Many governments and NGOs see apps or ICTs as a
silver bullet solution
• Communities are littered with ineffective ICT4D
projects

25. Getting in touch
with me:
lelder@idrc.ca
www.idrc.ca
www.crdi.ca