Official UNCTAD presentation of the Information Economy Report 2010 'ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation' presented by Prof. David Souters on Thursday 14 October 2010 in The Hague, the Netherlands

1. INFORMATION ECONOMY REPORT
2010
ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation
Presentation in
[VENUE], 14 October 2010
David Souter
UNCTAD Consultant
EMBARGOEMBARGO
The contents the Report must not be quoted or summarized in the print,
broadcast or electronic media before 14 October 2010 17:00 GMT.

2. Reducing poverty a major challenge
• 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
Distribution of poverty, 2005
People living on less than $1.25 (PPP) a day (millions)
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. Mobile revolution is reaching the LDCs
bringing interactive connectivity for the first time
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.
Penetration of selected ICTs in Least Developed Countries, 2000-2009
(per 100 inhabitants)

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

8. 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

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

10. Affordability is key
South Asian model attractive to low-income mobile users
Source: Idea, MTN, Orascom, Portugal Telecom and Zain operating reports.
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”

11. Exploit the diversity of ICTs
• 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

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. The Policy Challenge
How to bring more benefits to the poor from ICTs in enterprises
1. Expand mobile coverage in places with no mobile signal
2. Make services affordable – learn from South Asia
3. Focus more on ICT adoption at low levels of economic
activity and sophistication, incl. for subsistence enterprises
4. Make interventions more demand-driven – needs of
enterprises differ by size, industry, location and skills
5. Assign greater role to mobile solutions in policy
interventions
6. Work in partnership with development partners, private
sector and civil society
7. Feature ICTs in poverty reduction strategies and UN
Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs)

16. 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

17. Thank you!
The Information Economy Report 2010
can be downloaded free of charge at
www.unctad.org.