Suriname ICT Vision 2020 Roadmap

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Suriname ict vision 2020

A sectorial approach to optimally benefit from the Digital Age

June 2015

ICT Associatie Suriname

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Content
List of abbreviations....................................................................................................................................... 3
Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5
1. National vision on ICT ............................................................................................................................... 6
2. Situational analysis.................................................................................................................................... 8
Strengths and weaknesses........................................................................................................................ 8
Opportunities and threats......................................................................................................................... 15
3. Industry insights & recommendations ..................................................................................................... 18
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 18
Organizational design .............................................................................................................................. 18
Educational impulses ............................................................................................................................... 21
Legislation................................................................................................................................................ 23
IT infrastructure........................................................................................................................................ 25
Funding .................................................................................................................................................... 26
4. Benchmarking in National ICT development........................................................................................... 29
5. Recommendations for a National ICT Strategy Plan .............................................................................. 35
6. ICT Association Suriname’s Vision 2020 ................................................................................................ 39
7. Business Model for the ICT sector .......................................................................................................... 40
General .................................................................................................................................................... 40
Customer Segments and Customer Relationships.................................................................................. 40
Channels.................................................................................................................................................. 41
Value propositions ................................................................................................................................... 41
Key Activities............................................................................................................................................ 42
Key Resources......................................................................................................................................... 42
Key Partners ............................................................................................................................................ 43
Cost Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 45
Revenue Streams .................................................................................................................................... 46
8. Roadmap ................................................................................................................................................. 47
9. Conclusion............................................................................................................................................... 50
Appendix 1: Methodology............................................................................................................................ 51
Appendix 2 - Bibliography............................................................................................................................ 53
Appendix 3 – List of interviews with stakeholders....................................................................................... 54
Appendix 4: Overview of the implementation of WSIS Action Lines........................................................... 55

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List of abbreviations
Please find below the frequently used abbreviations, definitions and key terms with the explanation of the
definitions used:
ABS - General Bureau for Statistics of Suriname
ADEKUS - Anton de Kom University of Suriname
ATM - Ministry of Labour, Technological Development and environment (as of April
2015 renamed to Ministry of Labour)
BPM - Business Process Management
BIIPAC - Broadband Infrastructure Inventory and Public Awareness within the Caribbean
CBvS - Central Bank of Suriname
CUS - Competitiveness Unit Suriname, work force of the Cabinet of the Vice President
EBS - ‘Energie Bedrijven Suriname’, Suriname’s public power utility
GDP - Gross Domestic Product
HI - Ministry of Trade and Industry
HIPCAR - Harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures in the
Caribbean
IDB - Inter-American Development Bank
ICT - Information Communication Technology1
refers to all the technology used to
handle telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management
systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, and network-based
control and monitoring functions. Although ICT is often considered an extended
synonym for information technology (IT), its scope is broader. ICT has more
recently been used to describe the convergence of several technologies and the
use of common transmission lines carrying very diverse data and communication
types and formats. In this document the abbreviations ICT and IT are
interchangeable.
ICT4D - ICT4D (Information and Communications Technologies for Development) is an
initiative aimed at bridging the digital divide (the disparity between technological
"have" and "have not" geographic locations or demographic groups) and aiding
economic development by ensuring equitable access to up-to-date
communications technologies. The United Nations, through its UN Development
Programme, actively promotes ICT4D as a powerful tool for economic and social
development around the world.
1
Source: http://www.techopedia.com/definition/24152/information-and-communications-technology-ict

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ICT-AS - ICT Association Suriname
IDB - Inter-American Development Bank
IMIT - Institute of Management and Information Technology
IP - Intellectual Property
IPv6 - Internet Protocol version 6
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network
ISO - International Standards Organization
ITU - International Telecommunications Union
IXP - Internet eXchange Point
KKF - Chamber of Commerce of Suriname
KPIs - Key Performance Indicators
LAN - Local Area Networks
MINOV - Ministry of Education and Community Development (as of April 2015 renamed to
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture)
NATIN - Senior secondary vocational education (‘Natuurtechnisch Instituut’)
NAICS - North American Industry Classification System
NOB - National Development Bank (‘Nationale Ontwikkelingsbank’)
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology
OAS Organization of American States
PTC - Polytechnic College – Bachelor degrees studies
R&D - Research and Development
SBDC - Suriname Business Development Center
SME - Small and Medium Sized Entities
SMP - Small and Medium Sized Practices
STI - Sustainable Technology Development & Innovation
VSB - Association of Surinamese Business
TAS - Telecommunication Authority Suriname
TCT - Ministry of Tourism, Communication and Technology
UNASUR - Union of South American Nations
VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol
WAN - Wide Area Network
WEF - World Economic Forum
WiFi - Wireless Internet
Wimax - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WSIS - World Summit on Information Society

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Executive summary
The ICT Vision 2020 envisions the ICT Association of Suriname’s perspective of the role of the ICT sector
in the development of the Republic of Suriname and its impact on the Surinamese economy. Inspired by
researches in the ICT industry of Suriname combined with insights of relevant stakeholders, the
discussion paper ‘ICT Vision 2020’ aspires to guide the potential growth of the ICT sector in an effective
manner and addresses the preconditions and recommendations to policy makers.
The first chapter describes the National vision on ICT, which is based on the National Development Plan
2012-2016. The Government of Suriname states to provide full support to the ICT sector and recognizes
the role of ICT in the development of Suriname. The recommendations for the preparation of a National
ICT Strategy Plan is described based on the benchmark with other jurisdictions and based on national
researches and recommendations of from the World Summit Information Society Programme (WSIS) for
establishing an ‘information society’.
In order to describe a future outlook, the situational analysis will provide a basic understanding of the
environment, of which the local ICT sector derives from. Industry insights and recommendations from
Industry leaders and relevant stakeholders will help to define the road map for the ICT sector. These
recommendations are conveniently structured in the following themes:
 Organizational design;
 Educational impulses;
 Legislation;
 IT infrastructure;
 Funding.
Based on the situational analysis, insights & recommendations, benchmarking and results from prior
researches, the ICT Association Suriname’s Vision is rephrased into:
‘‘ICT-AS shapes the ICT sector to benefit from becoming an Information Society and a significant pillar of
the Surinamese economy’.
In order to reach this ambition the nine building blocks of the Business Model Canvas have been used to
reflect on a feasible business case for the sector.
The roadmap for the period 2015-2020 concludes with the high priority targets, responsibilities and key
performance indicators (output) to measure the progress of the ambition of the ICT sector.

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1. National vision on ICT
Introduction
According to Bain & Company2
less than 30 percent of IT projects are successful, often due to the lack of
alignment with business needs and priorities. Business alignment is at the core of realizing the full
potential from IT:
 Business strategy and business initiatives must drive the direction and priorities for IT
investments;
 IT capability must enable innovative business strategies and business capabilities.
Business alignment is required in companies across all industries and is critical in those where IT plays a
central role in business operations.
Above statement also applies to a country’s IT strategy ensuring that the Country Development Strategy
and National Initiatives are driving the direction and priorities for IT investments. IT capabilities must
enable innovative development strategies and capabilities. This can be illustrated by the following IT
business alignment wheel:
Source: Bain & Company Germany
Suriname’s vision on ICT has been described in the National Development Plan 2012-2016 of the
Government of Suriname, which is conveniently summarized and analyzed hereafter.
Education & ICT
Education is aimed to provide in graduates with practical knowledge and competences which fulfill the
labour market needs and support the country’s development goals. Science, researches and Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) should have a special place in education, on which modern society
is more and more based on.
2
Source: http://www.bain.de/en/managementkompetenzen/informationstechnologie/it-diagnostic.aspx

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Information Society
The Government of Suriname aims to develop an ‘Information Society’, which give every citizen equal
access to adequate and qualitative ICT infrastructure. An optimal use of ICT is therefore stimulated by
the Government.
National ICT Policy
In accordance to the National Development Plan 2012-2016, the most important policy activities are:
 Modernizing legislation:
Laws and regulation are important for a sound competitive environment, a fair level playing field
and to stimulate adoption of new technologies. With regards to harmonization within the region,
the “Harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures in the Caribbean”
(HIPCAR)-project3
will be implemented.
 Improving communication infrastructure and geographical spread:
The Telecommunication Authority Suriname (TAS), as regulator of the telecommunication sector,
will stimulate telecommunication companies to expand their IT infrastructure and improve
connectivity by providing fixed telephone, mobile and internet services.
 Improving frequency management and frequency distribution by introducing digital television;
 Drafting a National ICT Strategy:
In order to harmonize the ICT policy with the region, the Government of Suriname will integrate
the region’s ICT for Development Strategy Plan (‘ICT4D strategy’) in its own National ICT Strategy
Plan. Based on the National ICT Strategy Plan a National Institute should be established to
monitor the implementation of the development goals. As part of the National ICT Strategy is an
e-Government Strategy, which will organize, simplify and digitalize the governmental services to
society with use of ICT. This should lead to strengthen and improve the relationship between
consumer, the government and business.
As stated in the National Development Plan 2012-2016, the Government of Suriname confirmed to be
aware of the vital role of ICT and aims to give ICT a prominent place in the development of the
Surinamese economy.
Concluding on the National ICT vision
It is encouraging that the Surinamese Government fully supports the ICT sector and recognizes the role
of ICT in the development of Suriname.
The next chapter will describe a situational analysis, followed by insights of industry leaders and relevant
stakeholders in the ICT, which will help to formulate a future outlook and roadmap for the ICT sector.
3
Source: Harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures in the Caribbean’
(HIPCAR) – Electronic Transactions: Assessment report ; by ACP, EU, Caricom, CTU and ITU; 2011.

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2. Situational analysis
General
In order to formulate the ICT vision 2020, the following SWOT analysis will help to understand the
current ICT market in Suriname.
Strengths and weaknesses
Lack of ICT statistics
The Board of the ICT Association Suriname is convinced that the ICT sector could become a multibillion
dollar business. However, in order to measure the performance of the sector reliable ICT statistics are
needed. As presented below, the General Bureau of Statistics currently does not have a separate
designated part for the ICT sector in the statistics of Suriname, in terms of contribution to the Gross
Domestic Product:
Source: www.cbvs.sr; Gross Domestic Product by Economic Activity at Current Prices in Millions of SRD;
Rebased Series (Base Year 2007, SNA 1993 compliant).

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In general companies are not willing to disclose revenue information. The earning capacity of the ICT
industry is mentioned per individual registered company at the Chamber of Commerce and included in
the totals of the other above mentioned industries.
With reference to ‘Industry Canada, Canadian ICT Statistical overview”, the following information could
give a better insight in the economic performance of the ICT sector in Suriname:
 Population spread:
o Companies by ICT sub-sector (in % of total population): Software & computer services,
ICT wholesaling, ICT manufacturing and Communications Services;
 Employment ratios:
o Companies by Employee size (in % of total population);
o ICT sector employment 2015-2020 (in amounts and in % of total);
o Employment by ICT sub-sector (in % of total population);
o Percentage of workers with a university degree by major ICT industry;
o Average annual salaries by major ICT industry;
 Earnings ratios:
o ICT sub-sector revenues 2015-2020 in million dollars;
o Revenues by ICT sub-sector (in % of total revenues);
o ICT sector GDP 2015-2020 in million dollars and as percentage of total GDP;
o GDP by ICT Sub-sector;
 R&D Expenditures by ICT Industry:
 Return on Investment of ICT projects on industries listed by the General Bureau for Statistics;
 Export ratios:
o Exports of ICT goods by product group (in % of total population);
o Export of ICT goods by region (in % of total population);
o Exports, imports and trade balance of ICT goods 2015-2020.
The Global IT report 2015, including Suriname
In contrary to above, surprisingly, the World Economic Forum was able to derive information on the ICT
sector in its ‘Global Information Technology Report 2015: ICTs for Inclusive Growth’, which was
published in April 2015.
The first section of the Country Profile presents the economy’s performance in the overall Networked
Readiness Index (NRI), the four main components and the 10 pillars. For each of these dimensions, the
economy’s rank (out of 143 economies) and score (on a 1-to 7 scale) are reported. A score of 1
corresponds with the worst outcome and a score of 7 with the best possible outcome.
The second section represents the Networked Readiness Index in detail. Analyzing the results from the
Country Profile, Suriname ranks at a poor country position of 114 of 143 countries, with an NRI index
score of 3.2. Strengths have been noted in the ‘Readiness subindex’ in the field of Infrastructure (score of
4.5) and Skills (score of 4.8). However, Affordability of the infrastructure has a poor score of 3.4, which
ranks Suriname on 119 of the 143 countries. Weaknesses have been identified in the ‘Impact subindex’

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on Economic impacts (score of 2.7) and Social Impacts (2.6), which indicates a low adaption level of
global ICT trends.
The main findings of the Country Profile of Suriname are summarized in the page hereafter.

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Global Competitiveness of Suriname
The following spider graph visualizes Suriname’s score in competitiveness factors:
In the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, Suriname is classified as an efficiency driven economy.
The next step is to transform into an innovation-driven economy, focusing on factors such as business
sophistication and innovation, which factors are also key for the ICT sector. The strengths and
weaknesses are detailed below:
Suriname decreased 4 places to 110 (of a total of 148) in the country ranking. There is a small change in
the overall score from 3.8 to 3.7. As shown above, Suriname still has a long way to go especially in terms
of innovation of business sophistication.
Strenghts Weaknesses
• Health and Primary Education (5.7/7) • Market Size (2.1/7)
• Macroeconomic Environment (4.8/7) • Innovation (2.6/7)
• Labour Market Efficiency (3.7/7) • Business Sophistication (3.4/7)
• Technological Readiness (3.7/7) • Institutions (3.4/7)
• Infrastructure (3.6/7)

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The World Economic Forum, further states that government bureaucracy and corruption remain a major
issue for doing business in Suriname. Business process management (BPM) with effective use of ICT
could lead to significant reduction of bureaucracy and corruption, when pursuing a more systematic
approach to making the governmental organization's workflow more effective, more efficient and more
capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment.
Furthermore, the market size shows the opportunity of exporting future 'fruits' of the Surinamese
information society with a well-developed community of generic and specialized educated ICT
professionals.
ICT Market
Suriname historically did not have an active governmental program to increase the potential of the ICT
sector. Quoting from an interview with the Suriname Business Development Centre, “when you promote
supermarkets, you will get an economy consisting of predominantly supermarkets’. The actual ICT sector
could be nuanced as follows.
The current ICT market in Suriname consists of mainly small and medium size ICT companies, which are
struggling for survival in a highly competitive market. Instead of fiercely competing each other, ICT
companies could collaborate in order to be able to gain access to large ICT projects at the government.
Entrepreneurs experience a noticeable preference of the Government of Suriname for large foreign ICT
companies above the local entrepreneurs. The cause of this preference might be found in the low
commercial presence in the media and scientific publications, but also the lack of public knowledge of
available local ICT resources and expertise.
ICT business’ needs
The Surinamese business landscape consists of more than 95% of small and medium-sized entities, which
mostly consist of family-owned companies and sole entrepreneurships.
ICT solutions for companies are considered as hands-on tools for communication, business processes
enabling tools. The difference of the ICT maturity level between companies is extensive. ICT for micro
and smaller and medium sized entities is considered in the lower maturity level. Although companies
should continuously invest in ICT, this often conflicts in the vision of doing business by the former
generation.
ICT awareness amongst entrepreneurs should be raised to emphasize the benefits for the micro and SME
companies, while also raising the level of services provided by ICT providers. A mirror should be held in
front of entrepreneurs in order to raise the quality of the ICT services provided by third parties and to
measure internal ICT performance. When properly used, ICT could enable business improvements.
Before capitalizing benefits, ICT should be more tangible and practical: ICT should be noticeable in the
front of the value chain. Examples of business improvements in the agriculture are increased production
due to more efficient growth monitoring and harvesting planning, while decreasing monitoring costs of
crops and less labor incentive activities.

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Lack of ICT legislation
In order to safely benefit from the fast pacing ICT trends, ICT awareness on IT security will be needed.
The ease of doing business will improve by utilizing mobile devices for example for mobile payments.
However, in order to profit from these comforting ICT trends, legislation will be a precondition, relating
to electronic payments and to electronic transactions in general.
Reliable and available national power supply
In order to develop the ICT sector to its full potential, there is a desperate need for reliable and available
power supply. The growth rate of Suriname’s electricity demand is averaging 6.8 percent annually over
the past 5 years. Energie Bedrijven Suriname (EBS), Suriname’s public power utility, has a transmission
and distribution infrastructure, which currently struggles to cope with a steadily rising energy demand,
and the replacement of several aged components will allow for no delays, so as to prevent energy
shortages and reduced quality of service.
In December 2014, the Inter-American Development Bank4
(IDB) has approved a loan of USD 33 million
to provide financial support for EBS. The overall objective of this investment loan is to contribute to the
sustainability of the power sector in Suriname through strengthening EBS’s operational procedures and
corporate performance by financing improvements in information technology and by upgrading and
retrofitting critical infrastructure in the National Power System.
Connectivity
The internet penetration rate is estimated to be 8% for 2015 (excluding mobile internet), which means
that a small portion of the population can profit from the ICT innovation through cloud solutions. After
inclusion of mobile internet connectivity the penetration rate for 2015 could be between 25% - 30%
based on estimates of the Telecommunication Authority of Suriname.
The price-quality relation of broadband internet could be improved, but is deemed reasonable for
business purposes.
The next chapter describes the opportunities and threats for the ICT sector of Suriname.
4
Source: News release from the Inter-American Development Bank of 18 December 2014:
http://www.iadb.org/en/news/news-releases/2014-12-18/suriname-power-sector,11034.html.

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Opportunities and threats
ICT trends
In its annual global trend watch dated January 2015, Gartner identified the following categories of ICT
trends:
 Merging the Real World and the Virtual World:
o Computing Everywhere;
o The Internet of Things;
o 3D Printing;
 Intelligence Everywhere:
o Smart Machines;
o Advanced, Pervasive and Invisible Analytics;
o Context-Rich Systems;
 The IT Reality Emerges:
o Web-scale IT;
o Software-defined Applications and Infrastructure;
o Risk-based Security;
o Cloud/client computing.
The ICT trends can be visualized as follows:
The business community should be proactive towards ICT trends and trigger the government on the
necessary preconditions (including IT security and legislation) to shape the ICT environment.

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The adaption capacity of Surinamese companies to latest ICT developments is deemed favorable. For
example, a telecommunication company in collaboration with a security company provides home
security services to clients to monitor activities in their home environment through cameras.
In order to benefit from ICT trends, the possibility of electronic payments could lower the threshold for
consumers to buy mobile apps developed by Surinamese entrepreneurs. For example, legislation is
necessary in able to connect to Google e-Wallet. Also see earlier mentioned remarks noted in the
paragraph ‘Lack of ICT legislation’.
It is not expected that the ICT industry will significantly contribute in the manufacturing of innovative ICT
products. However, the ICT sector could be adaptive to such trends and subsequently improve their ICT
services and profit from innovative solutions to clients. The successful deployment of innovative
solutions on the Surinamese market and whether the ICT sector will profit from the trends as
producer/IT service provider rather than as mass consumers of IT products, will depend on the factors as
listed below.
Integrated approach: ICT as part of a business concept /government policy
ICT should be more integrated into business’ and government’s activities and is a key factor for success.
In order to make ICT interesting for policy makers, entrepreneurs and citizens, ICT solutions should be
made more practical rather than abstract.
ICT awareness programs could further engage the public and private sector to acknowledge that ICT is an
enabler for their personal growth, better public services and adaptive business concept. By raising
awareness the actual ICT needs of the public and private sector could be detailed in specific IT plans,
which is aligned with the company’s/government’s strategic plan. ICT will be considered less as
mandatory investments and more as profitable, when ICT is a logical part the business concept of the
management.
Education
The current generation of students is likely to be more adaptive and interested in the possibilities of
smart devices, such as smart phones, smart wearables and tablets. Smart devices could be incorporated
as learning tools in the education systems. From a technological perspective, the ICT environment and
tools are readily available. The transformation process is yet to be made, which include training of basic
ICT skills (also for lecturers), widely availability of broadband internet and the development of e-learning
based materials.
Insourcing opportunities
Suriname could be the next location for Google, besides Serbia or Poland, to base their data center,
taken into account the strategic location of Suriname, which is free from large natural disasters.
Suriname already has a modest industry for call centers, insourced accounting services and IT test
activities from the Netherlands.

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Each of these IT service providers will be highly dependent of its uptime and should have business
continuity solutions which could be costly, unless facilitated by a shared service center providing
redundancy and a secondary recovery site. The Government of Suriname is planning to facilitate local
business with a Paranam Industrial Park, which could be designed as an e-Business park with shared high
automated processing capacity and business continuity solutions.
Key success factors will be a.o. ICT specific education and the ability to provide sound & qualitative high
level of services from IT engineers and IT professionals. The Government will also have an important role
in improving the IT infrastructure by promoting connectivity.
Chamber of Commerce’s ambition to facilitate e-services for business solutions
In its policy paper 2015-2020 the Chamber of Commerce envisions itself as an independent organization
for business in Suriname to fundamentally contribute to the economy of Suriname.
In order to realize this ambition the Chamber aims to upgrade to a professional ICT environment, where
entrepreneurs can easily publish their financial statements in accordance to the Trade law (‘Wetboek
van Koophandel’), but also retrieve financial statements from other companies and sector specific
information. A combination of cloud solutions as internet accounting, standardization of accounting and
ICT practices and practical training should provide in said ambition.

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3. Industry insights & recommendations
Introduction
After a situational analysis using a SWOT analysis of the ICT industry, we interviewed a selection of
champions in the ICT industry and relevant stakeholders, to list insights and recommendations to
optimally benefit from ICT trends and defend ourselves against cyber threats. The recommendations are
conveniently structured in the following themes:
 Organizational design;
 Educational impulses;
 Legislation;
 IT infrastructure;
 Funding.
Organizational design
ICT & government
ICT policymaking
The National ICT policy is not formally defined and clearly communicated. From an organizational
perspective, ICT policy is spread in at least three Ministries:
 Ministry of Tourism, Communication and Transport (TCT);
 Ministry of Labour, Technological Development and Environment (ATM); and
 Ministry of the Interior (‘Ministerie van Binnenlandse zaken’).
As of April 2015 the Ministry of ATM is changed into Ministry of Labour, which Ministry acknowledges
that Technological Development was not in effect and Environment is transferred to the Ministry of the
Interior. The Ministry of TCT interprets ‘Communication’ as ‘Telecommunication’ for the country, under
which supervision the Telecommunication Authority Suriname operates. The result of described situation
is a lack of ownership for ICT policymaking for strengthening the ICT sector as a significant economic
pillar for Suriname.
As mentioned in the chapter ‘National vision on ICT’, the Government of Suriname aims to establish a
National Institute to monitor the implementation of the development goals from the National ICT
Strategy plan. In 2013 a ‘Directorate e-Government’ has been established (not operational yet), directly
under supervision and control of the Cabinet of the Vice President. The scope of the Directorate does
not fully cover the task of monitoring the progress of national ICT development goals, but is more
focused on the implementation of e-government activities.

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e-Government
Before establishment of the Directorate e-Government, the e-Government Commission has been
installed in 2011 as work force of the Cabinet of the Vice President of the Government of Suriname. The
e-Government Commission aims to improve transparency, active participation, public responsibility,
effectiveness and cohesion. This governmental workforce initiated and prepared the implementation of
GovGrid, software and hardware protocol, drafting of a Governmental ICT Policy, Citizen care, drafting of
an Electronic Transactions Act, Governmental web application for e-services.
Although the preparation and implementation of the backbone for the e-government activities are in a
near-to-completion phase, citizens do not experience the benefits of government to citizens (G2C)
e-transactions yet, since the governmental web application is yet to be launched. Also the much
anticipated Electronic Transactions Act is yet to be enacted.
It is strongly recommended to structure these initiatives into a future-proof master plan for not only the
ICT of the Government itself, but also further translated into a strategy document how ICT could be
aligned and could contribute to the country’s economic development. More specific a National ICT
strategy plan could be designed to diversify the economy, including the ICT sector as a significant pillar
contributing to the Country’s economy.
National ICT strategy plan
Ten years ago, at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in its two phases (Geneva 2003, &
Tunis 2005), representatives of the world adopted a common vision on the Information Society,
identifying its main principles and challenges towards a people-centered inclusive and development-
oriented Information Society. The WSIS principles and recommendations are currently not integrated in
a formal national ICT strategy plan. Although the national ICT strategy plan is not formalized yet,
Suriname already participates in regional ICT initiatives such as the Caricom activities for a better
connectivity (‘CARICOM ICT single space’). Also the e-Government Commission prepared an e-
Government Strategy Plan, which should be part of the National ICT strategy plan. The e-Government
Strategy Plan addresses Government-to-Business, Government-to-Citizens and Government-to-
Government e-activities.
After defining the country’s ICT vision, ambition, strategy and ICT policy, it is highly recommended to
appoint the execution of the ICT strategy plan to a National Institute for a more effective progress
monitoring of the implementation of the planned activities to effectively improve the Nation’s state of
ICT operations. This recommendation is in conformity with Suriname National Development Plan 2012-
2016.

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Governmental ICT promotional schemes
Duty free import of ICT hardware
The government of Suriname has implemented duty free import of ICT hardware. A research could be
conducted to evaluate the actual price deducting effect on ICT goods in Suriname. In spite of this
governmental ICT promotional scheme, the ICT manufacturing industry activities are still low to
insignificant.
Tax incentives needed for insourcing and offshoring activities
As mentioned in the chapter ‘Opportunities and Threats’ insourcing and offshoring of IT services are one
of the fast growing markets in the ICT sector, providing flexible and tailor-made, cost-effective solutions
for companies abroad. Although the opportunities of insourcing IT services are well-known and
recognized by interviewed stakeholders, there are no specific tax incentives identified, which could
stimulate and facilitate the ICT sector in this respect.
Improving Internet inclusiveness by tax incentives
In order to improve the internet inclusiveness in the interior, governmental support such as tax
incentives, tax exemption for ICT investments for the inlands or government grants, could stimulate ICT
companies and especially telecommunication companies to invest in connectivity and ICT services in the
inlands. Without government support, ICT investments in the inlands are not deemed financial feasible.
ICT public awareness campaigns
There is currently no publicly known ICT awareness campaign by neither the government, nor the ICT
sector, although adoption of good practices of ICT security is considered as a precondition to facilitate
innovative ICT products and services. A joint effort between the governmental institutions involving ICT
security and the ICT sector through ICT public awareness campaigns, could be most beneficial to create a
firm basis for implementation of innovative ICT solutions. As in many change management efforts, the
‘tone at the top’ relating to ICT security will define the success of its implementation and effectiveness in
the public and private sector, which means close involvement of senior management from government
and leading industries.
The annual ICT Summit by the ICT Association Suriname is one of the largest national initiative for
knowledge sharing and networking, which contributes to ICT awareness in Suriname.
The ‘Hour of Code’ is another example of an annual initiative from the ICT sector to raise ICT awareness,
which exposed an increased interest from youth in ICT since its introduction. In order to further feed the
interest in ICT in an early stage of development, it is recommended to integrate ICT as educational tools,
but also raise the basic ICT skills of educators. Also see recommendations and insights in the paragraph
on ‘Educational Impulses’.

21
Identification of business’ ICT needs
Besides ICT awareness for citizens, ICT awareness campaigns should also be aimed at entrepreneurs. The
transformation from consumer to producer of ICT products and services is yet to be made in order to
fully benefit from global ICT trends.
Currently, Surinamese companies do not have adequate ICT governance policies formalized and
effectively in place to adopt fast moving ICT trends and innovative solutions. Entrepreneurs should be
more willing to make the financial offers and necessary ICT investments. When barriers are identified,
the Government could facilitate to overcome those barriers to further shape the industry. As mentioned
in the ‘Situational analysis’, there are no ICT statistics available on historical ICT expenditure and
budgeted R&D investments made by the public and private sector, which information could be relevant
for ICT policymaking.
Educational impulses
ICT educational needs
ICT Education should be aligned with the business needs, specifying the need for ICT professionals. The
Human Resource needs should be reflected in the National ICT strategy plan to stimulate educational
initiatives in order to improve the population of ICT professionals and ICT engineers.
ICT Research and development
As part of the National ICT strategy plan, the government could dedicate programs to stimulate ICT
research and development activities by facilitating research departments at the university and other
educational institutions.
ICT is not publicly recognized yet as one of the fundamental tools for technical development, while other
sectors of the economy as agriculture and transportation could be improved with effective use of ICT.
Greenhouse agriculture, food processing and animal husbandry could be more effective with use of
applied ICT tools, needing less labour force and less land for cultivation.
Quality of ICT education
The private sector is reasonably content with the quality of IT education provided by private educational
institutions as PTC, IMIT, UNASAT and Janssen & Partners, which provides in the need of graduated ICT
engineers on a bachelor’s degree level. NATIN also provides practical ICT knowledge on a senior
secondary vocational level5
.
The Ministry of Education is in the process of valuing ICT diplomas and certificates in an accreditation
process. Most of the private educational institutions have partnerships with foreign accredited
educational bodies, who are providing internationally accredited diplomas. More publicity could be
provided on the renowned ICT educational bodies in Suriname.
A clear shortage of lecturers with a PhD degree in ICT has been identified, who should be able to lecture
on a master’s degree level. The ‘Anton de Kom’ University of Suriname (ADEKUS) has no ICT faculty at
5
Source: ‘Nuffic, Landenmodule: waardering van buitenlande getuigschriften in Nederland’; NUFFIC,
2014

22
this moment. Further research is recommended to identify the shortage of ICT professionals in order to
execute the national ICT strategy plan and to further shape the ICT industry.
It is publicly not well-known that private educational institutions, such as Suriname College of
Accountancy and Didacticum, provide specialized professional education in Certified Information
Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator
(CHFI).
Scholarships and study grants
In order to stimulate students to specialize or to promote on a PhD level, it is highly recommended to
facilitate scholarships and study grants to high potential graduates from earlier mentioned educational
institutions. The study grants of the Government are currently limited to mainly studies from the
ADEKUS University. The Government is investigating whether the Fund for Scholarships and Study Grants
(as facilitated by the National Development Bank, NOB) could be utilized also for other educational
institutions, including those specialized in ICT education.
The private sector should also increase their willingness to invest in human capital for specialized ICT
security and ICT governance functions to facilitate growth of their business from innovative solutions.
Affordable high speed internet for educational purposes
By comparison6
, the proportion of schools with Internet connectivity is relatively low in most countries in
Latin America and the Caribbean. In fact, the proportion of schools with Internet connectivity was less
than 15 per cent in a number of South and Central American countries, including Dominican Republic (12
per cent) in 2013, Guyana (4 per cent), Nicaragua (6 per cent) and Paraguay (9 per cent) in 2010 and
Suriname (6 per cent) in 2009. Also see below graphical overview:
6
Source: Partnership on measuring ICT for development: Final WSIS targets review - Achievements,
challenges and The way forward; ITU, 2014.

23
ICT provisions such as high speed internet should be made affordable by Government for education
purposes. This will create more possibilities to integrate smart devices and cloud educational software in
the educational program.
Possible use of smart devices integrated in the educational program
Students should be given the opportunities to discover and learn. Suriname’s education system is
traditionally more directive towards students, creating a passive attitude.
Primary education is mainly limited to the interaction during plenary class sessions. Students and
lecturers should also be able to interact after school hours. An upgrade of the basic ICT skills of lecturers
is needed to transform from the traditional way of lecturing to the future form of education.
The time between travelling from the capital city, Paramaribo, and the inlands is getting shorter due to
better roads infrastructure. However, educators are still reserved to be based in the inlands or to travel
the relative long distance from Paramaribo to other populated destinations. Modern educational
facilities such as high-speed internet connection, laptops, beamers and high quality cameras will bridge
the distance between the capital city and other districts. Distance learning is well-adopted in other
jurisdictions and could be a feasible solution for low-dense populated areas in the districts.
Legislation
It is deemed challenging for the ICT sector, the public sector and the private sector in general, to start
with business activities without proper ICT legislation, but also risking the loss of momentum to
competitors in other jurisdictions, while waiting for local lawmakers.
The research paper drafted by ACP, EU, Caricom, CTU and ITU on ‘Harmonization of ICT Policies,

24
Legislation and Regulatory Procedures in the Caribbean’ (HIPCAR, 2011), identified the following ICT
trends and key e-Commerce activities which should be included in ICT legislation:
 Definition of Key Concepts;
 Legal Effect of Electronic Transactions;
 Legal Requirements for the Validity of Electronic Documents;
 Formation of Contracts;
 Electronic Signatures;
 Consumer Protection (including protection of privacy);
 Intermediaries and Telecommunications Providers.
Above recommendations made by HIPCAR have been translated into a Surinamese Electronic
Transactions Act (ETA), which has been offered to the Vice President and Cabinet in 2012.
In addition to the ETA, an Electronic Payments Act has been initiated by the CBvS, which was part of the
Financial Reform Program. Both acts should facilitate financial transactions through the Internet and also
the need for mobile payments through smart devices. Another relevant draft law for the ICT sector is
facilitated by the Competitiveness Unit Suriname (CUS), which is the law on Intellectual Properties. This
law will protect the uniqueness of products and services of inventors and creators.
An urgent appeal is made to the Government of Suriname to enact above laws, which are vital for future
development of business in the ICT sector.

25
IT infrastructure
General
Internet connectivity is deemed the oxygen for country development and establishment of an
Information Society. As stated by WSIS7
: “In order to leverage the transformational power of ICTs -and
broadband in particular- to maximize the social, economic and environmental benefits of the
Information Society, governments need to continue to create a trustworthy, predictable, pro-
competitive, supportive, transparent and non-discriminatory, legal, regulatory and policy environment
that enables innovation, entrepreneurship, investment and growth.”
BIIPAC project
On a regional level, Suriname participates in the ‘Regional broadband strategy: Broadband Infrastructure
Inventory and Public Awareness within the Caribbean (BIIPAC)’ project. This initiative started in 2013 by
CANTO and will be performed by governments and the private sector. The objective of the BIIPAC project
is to support the design of national broadband strategies in the Caribbean and to identify the regional
aspects that need to be incorporated into these strategies to support the Caribbean region, as it evolves
towards universality in broadband access and service, regardless of the location or social strata of our
fellow Caribbean citizens.
UNASUR optic fiber mega-ring
In order to improve the Internet connectivity, Suriname currently participates in a project from the
Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). UNASUR has approved plans for an optic fiber mega-ring
which will break its members’ dependence on the USA, and provide a safer and cheaper means of
communication. The fiber optic ring will become part of a ten-year plan to physically integrate all 12
UNASUR member states. The line will reach up to 10,000 kilometers long and will be managed by state
enterprises from each country it crosses. It is expected to interconnect South America through higher
coverage and cheaper Internet connections. The optic fiber mega-ring will be implemented in the
following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru,
Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Connectivity
As mentioned earlier in the ‘Situational analysis’, the current Internet speed is reasonable for doing
business in Suriname. However an overall penetration rate of 25%-30% is hardly sufficient to build a
business case for the Surinamese market based on web applications and cloud services.
The Telecommunication Authority Suriname (TAS)8
aims to have an Internet penetration rate of more
than 50% by 2020. Also in alignment with ITU’s vision, the ambition of the TAS is to lower the cost of
broadband services to no more than 5% of average monthly income by 2020. Reference is made to the
chapter ‘Business Model for the ICT Sector’ for action lines to improve connectivity.
7
Source: WSIS+10 Outcome Documents; ITU; June 2014
8
Source: Strategy Policy Plan 2015-2019; Telecommunication Auhority Suriname, February 2015.

26
Funding
Traditional funding methods
For Surinamese entrepreneurs it is still challenging to have sufficient access to funds for their ICT
projects. In order to have access to bank loans and to the Surinamese stock exchange, companies should
have a business plan, which is scrutinized for its financial feasibility, supported by underlying documents
such as recent audited financial statements. Much is said about the absence of a Financial Statements
Act (which is currently drafted and sent in 2014 to the Vice President and Cabinet for processing), but
also the corporate responsibility is lacking at entrepreneurs to provide transparency in their financial
performance through annual financial statements and a quantification of their ideas in a feasible
business plan (including cash flow forecasts).
Donor funds
The World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank sponsored several programs to provide technical
assistance in accounting for small and medium sized entities (SMEs) and also in conditions to improve
access to finance for SMEs.
A multi donor sponsored program is also available for innovative projects in the ‘Compete Caribbean’
program, for which companies can apply at the Ministry of Finance, which acts as focal point.
Crowdfunding
Source: www.kickstarter.com
An alternative form of funding great ideas is crowdfunding, which have been introduced in Suriname by
Apura Networks and Crowdfunding Suriname, several years ago.

27
Crowdfunding9
is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new
business venture. Crowdfunding makes use of the easy accessibility of vast networks of friends, family
and colleagues through social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get the word out
about a new business and attract investors. Crowdfunding has the potential to increase
entrepreneurship by expanding the pool of investors from whom funds can be raised beyond the
traditional circle of owners, relatives and venture capitalists.
The potential of crowdfunding in Suriname has not been fully reached yet, having a current focus on
social responsibility projects and having a reputation of charity funds.
Crowdfunding could be an alternative source for funding of ICT projects, after revamping and informing
potential investors of the ground rules of crowdfunding. The Brooklyn based, crowdfunding organization,
Kickstarter follows the next basic principles:
 Each project is independently created: inventors have complete control over and responsibility
over their projects;
 All-or-nothing funding: project creators set a funding goal and deadline. Investors do not have to
deposit funds until the funding goal is met;
 Creators keep 100% ownership of their work.
In order to show the potential of crowdfunding for Suriname, Kickstarter have reached an impressive
44% success rate of their funding goals. Since their launch in 2009, 8.4 million people have pledged more
than USD 1.7 billion, funding 82,000 creative projects10
.
Other alternative financing methods
Secured transactions could also be an important part of the law and economy of Suriname. By enabling
lenders to take a security interest in collateral (that is, the assets of debtors), the law of secured
transactions provides lenders with assurance of legal relief in case of default by the borrower. The
Secured transactions Act has been drafted and presented to the Vice President and Cabinet.
Loans provided by third parties (not only financial institutions) will be included in a National Register for
Secured transactions. It is worth mentioning that a Contingency Fund (‘Garantiefonds’) is currently
effective for start-up companies and available at the National Development Bank (NOB Bank). Start-up
companies with financial feasible business plan, but insufficient securities could be eligible for
government guarantee for their bank loans.
9
Source: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/crowdfunding.asp#ixzz3cUbqivlo
10
Source: www.kickstarter.com

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Concluding remarks on funding
A public awareness campaign through business organizations or the Chamber of Commerce is strongly
recommended for entrepreneurs to gain better access to finance. Further investigation is recommended
to have an overview of the currently available investment funds via government agencies, donor funds
and other local funding initiatives.

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4. Benchmarking in National ICT development
General
As mentioned in prior chapters, Suriname does not have a National ICT Strategy Plan developed yet. This
contribution could provide inspiring insights for future design of a National ICT Plan for Suriname by
benchmarking with:
 The National ICT Plan 2014-2018 of the Government of Trinidad & Tobago;
 Vision 2030 of the Government of Jamaica, including an ICT Sector Plan 2009-2030, Strategic
Framework and Action plan;
 Vision 2020 of Digital Europe, the voice of the European digital economy.
Trinidad & Tobago
Introduction
The Government of Trinidad & Tobago, prepared the National ICT Plan 2014-2018 against the backdrop
of boosting national development, bridging deficiencies in access to and usage of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), as well as improving Trinidad and Tobago’s ranking on critical ICT
performance indicators.
Trinidad & Tobago’s National ICT Vision
The National ICT Vision of Trinidad and Tobago is to create:
“A dynamic knowledge-based society, driven by the innovative use of ICTs to enhance the social,
economic and cultural development of the people of Trinidad and Tobago”
The National ICT Plan 2014 – 2018 is grounded in this Vision. The Plan has been named smarTT to draw
urgent attention to the need to make more intelligent use of the country’s financial, human, and other
resources towards the creation of lasting prosperity.
Features in the National ICT Plan
The core of the Plan features the following five thematic areas:
1. Innovation and Human Capital Development;
2. Access and Digital Inclusion;
3. e-Business and ICT Sector Development;
4. Infrastructure Development, and
5. e-Government.
Ad 1. Innovation and Human Capital Development
Innovation and Human Capital Development focuses on fostering a creative e-Ready society as a catalyst
for ICT advancement. This thematic area is the main driver of smarTT and emphasizes the inculcation of
ICT skills and competencies among citizens. This reflects a progression from the previous National ICT
Plan, which focused primarily on infrastructure development and connectivity. The Key Imperatives
identified under this thematic area include: Building an e-Ready Society through ICT Enriched Learning;
Creating and Promoting Local Digital Content; and Establishing a Culture of Research and Development.

30
Ad 2. Access and Digital Inclusion
Access and Digital Inclusion focuses on bridging the digital divide both within and between the islands of
Trinidad and Tobago. This thematic area brings to the fore efforts to increase ICT availability among
underserved communities and the digitally excluded. The Key Imperatives associated with this thematic
area include: Providing ICT Services for Digital Inclusion; Increasing the Accessibility and Affordability of
Technologies; Increasing ICT Learning and Awareness; and Facilitating Research and Development (R&D)
Focused on Bridging the Digital Divide.
Ad 3. e-Business and ICT Sector Development
e-Business and ICT Sector Development focuses on building a pro e-Enterprise environment within
Trinidad and Tobago and highlights the importance of increasing e-Business and e-Commerce adoption
both in the Business-to-Business as well as Business-to-Consumer realms. The Key Imperatives under this
thematic area include: Stimulating ICT Demand to encourage e-Commerce Adoption; Developing e-
Business Capacity; Enabling the Production, Distribution and Promotion of Local ICT Products and
Services; Enabling Other Sectors through ICT; and Facilitating Leadership and Coordination of Efforts
among Key Stakeholders.
Ad 4. Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure Development focuses on enhancing accessibility, usage and governance by addressing
gaps in the underlying national hardware and software infrastructure, particularly with respect to
telecommunications and broadband infrastructure. The Key Imperatives include: Enhancing
Infrastructure, Access, ICT Policies and Regulatory Oversight to Facilitate Sustainability; Instituting
Appropriate Governance Structures for ICT Planning and Development, and Building Information Society
Capacity to Ensure Availability of Internet Resources and Viability of the Internet Economy.
Ad 5. e-Government
e-Government focuses on working as an integrated Government and seeks to improve the Government’s
operational efficiency and customer service delivery. The Key Imperatives associated with this thematic
area include: Migrating to Transactional e-services and Collaborating to Implement Shared ICT Systems
and Processes.
Pillars for Sustainable Development
These earlier mentioned thematic areas have been strategically developed to align to six of the seven
Interconnected Pillars for Sustainable Development, as illustrated below:

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ICT Governance
Defining a national ICT Governance Model is vital for the successful implementation of the Plan, which
will guide decision-making. A National ICT Steering Committee will drive the development and adoption
of major ICT projects within Government, ICT projects requiring cross-ministry participation, and ICT
projects with nation-wide impact.
A smarTT Secretariat will be established, which coordinates and integrates efforts across the various
programmes of the National ICT Plan, and ensure alignment with other national development efforts.
Funding
Two types of funding arrangements for smarTT are proposed:
• a central fund for cross-agency ICT projects,
• and a Public Private Partnership (PPP) fund.
Performance management
The National ICT Plan, furthermore, includes a five-year implementation roadmap for smarTT, along with
the Performance Management and Reporting Framework, inclusive of annual outputs and outcomes.
Jamaica
Introduction
In 2009, The Government of Jamaica prepared the Vision 2030: ICT Sector Plan. This Sector Plan for ICT is
one of the strategic priority areas of the Vision 2030 Jamaica - National Development Plan. It is one of
the thirty-one sector plans that form the foundation for Vision 2030 Jamaica – a 21-year plan based on a
fundamental vision to make ‘Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business,’
and on guiding principles which put the Jamaican people at the center of the nation’s transformation.
Sector goals and outcomes
Derived from the Strategic framework and action plan from Vision 2030 Jamaica: ICT Sector Plan, are the
following sector goals and outcomes:
1. Sector goal: A strong and competitive ICT sector, which have the following outcomes:
a. A business environment which is conducive to the development of the ICT sector;
b. Jamaica is established as a regional investment center for ICT companies and ICT reliant
service industries;
c. ICT becomes a major contributor to the country’s GDP;
2. Sector Goal: Jamaica’s national development is advanced by widespread adoption and
application of ICT. This could have the following outcomes:
a. Universal and open access to ICTs;
b. A populace that knows and values the capability of ICTs and their potential impact on
economic and social life;
c. An educated and trained workforce and citizenry that can function optimally in a
knowledge –based society;
d. Widely accessible, affordable and efficient ICT networks;
e. E-government services are widely provided by government and used by citizens;
f. Enabling environment for research and innovation in ICT;
g. Culture and creative industries enhanced by application of ICT;
h. A national ICT policy and legal framework which promotes the use of ICTs for the benefit
of the entire society.

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Europe
Introduction
Leading ICT companies and National Trade Associations are united in ‘Digital Europe’, which organization
prepared a white paper ‘Vision 2020’ in 2009 to draw together a wide range of expert opinion. Bringing
together research and analysis from many different sources, Digital Europe provides a new and
compelling action plan to ensure a successful and competitive future for Europe in the ‘Digital Age’. The
research-based White Paper, is aimed to provide European policymakers with essential tools and
information about Europe’s digital future and what it requires to compete in a globalized world.
The transformational power of digital technologies
The Europe 2020 strategy is rightly focused on competitiveness as the essential condition for economic
growth and job-creation in the global 21st century economy. Digital technologies will increasingly drive
productivity, sustainable growth, innovation and employment throughout the European economy in a
myriad of ways. These are best demonstrated at the disaggregated levels of industry sectors, individual
organizations and individual empowerment. European trends, and success factors from the following six
sectors help to create a wider vision of productive, innovative digital Europe by 2020.
Energy
Europe’s three long-term energy policy objectives – greater energy independence, reduced greenhouse-
gas emissions and a competitive, continental scale Single Market – are squarely predicated on the power
of digital technologies to transform, starting with our grid infrastructures and extending to consumer
control over consumption.
Manufacturing/Automotive
The transformation in all manufacturing sectors to customer-driven innovation based on the sustainable
use of resources and integrated manufacturing cycles will depend on the pervasive penetration and use
of digital technologies.
Transportation and logistics
Transport and logistics companies are evolving from forwarding and warehouse-managing companies to
highly industrialized, ICT-driven supply-chain providers. Services based on a mobile ‘Internet of Things’
hold particular strategic importance for the sector, as do digital solutions for traffic congestion,
emissions reduction and intermodal transport.
Small-and medium-sized enterprises
Entrepreneurial activity represents 99% of an estimated 23 million enterprises in Europe, providing two
thirds of private sector jobs (75 million), and more importantly around 80% of new jobs created over the
past five years. Enterprises need access to digital tools on-demand, which will help eliminate distance,
assist in delivery of services on-demand, virtual organizations and enhance networked innovation.

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Healthcare
The traditional healthcare delivery model, built around dealing with acute episodes, will no longer be
sustainable as European society ages. Harnessing the transformational power of digital technologies is
the key for moving to a “continuum of care”, while improving quality and productivity, as the practice
and delivery of care continues to evolve.
Individual empowerment
Democratic societies will embrace and respond to the collective and individual voices of their people as
they express themselves via digital platforms. Individual empowerment is at the core of the
transformational power of digital technologies throughout our economy and society. As the power of
digital technologies grows, so will individual empowerment.
The future of the ICT sector in Europe
Europe must be both host and home to a dynamic ICT sector that is tightly interwoven with the
manufacturing, environmental, cultural, and political fabric. Home-grown ICT is indispensable and
nothing less than central to this newborn Digital Age.
Next Generation Networks & Mobile Broadband
A vast global market for Mobile Broadband lies ahead, an area in which existing European leadership
must be carefully nurtured and exploited as Europe faces the fierce competition set to arrive from low-
cost new entrants, particularly Asia.
Software
The innovation necessary to create economic growth, drive societal change and address environmental
challenges relies on ICT, at the heart of which is software. But software is undergoing major changes as it
moves from being used and perceived as a product to a service. This paradigm shift challenges all current
market players and offers huge opportunities for Europe’s software industry. This is a new world, with
new rules, and Europe must compete.
Future Internet
Many, if not most of these software-driven opportunities will arise from the continuous development of
the Internet as the primary communications infrastructure of the Digital Age. Key in this respect will be
the ‘Internet of Things’ and the ‘Internet of Services’. Exploiting the limitless opportunities created by
the ‘Future Internet of Things and Services’ will become the central growth engine in all knowledge-
based societies.

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Building blocks for the future
Achieving the digital vision for Europe set out in earlier demands a concerted effort, starting to put in
place the following seven essential building blocks:
1. Digital Infrastructure/Next-Generation Networks:
Europe is strongly positioned for digital infrastructure, but aims to stay at the leading-edge of
technology development and implementation to provide ‘ubiquitous participation’.
2. Future Internet/Next-Generation Services: ‘The Future Internet’ will drive innovation in almost all
industries and will shape the future of the service-based economy.
3. Digital Single Market: Online channels for internal trade in the very same goods and services
may run into severe internal market fragmentation due to diverse national regulation of on-line
activity.
4. ICT Research & Development: A renewed and concerted effort across Europe is needed to secure
productive, leading edge ICT research and development, competitive at the global level.
5. e-Skills: Europe needs to both grow its ICT sector and drive the development of individuals with
the necessary understanding and skills at all levels of the value chain. At present the outlook is
alarming. To exploit the opportunities of the Digital Age, Europe should change the trend.
6. Online Trust & Security: A trusted and safe online environment is a prerequisite for the further
development of Europe’s digital economy and Digital Single Market. As reliance on the Internet
grows, so do concerns about its security and safety for all categories of users – private
individuals (including children), business and governments. The foreseeable explosion in digital
services will reinforce demand for robust and secure networks, including a framework for secure
online payments.
7. Trade Policy: To be successful and competitive on the global stage, the European digital
technology industry needs to take advantage of the opportunities offered by international trade.
ICT products often comprise hundreds of components that come from a variety of countries and
suppliers. Those products can and should be sold to customers world-wide. To ensure
international access to innovation, the highest quality, the lowest prices and the largest market,
there is a need for a liberal trade environment.
Conclusion on benchmarks
Above overview of National ICT development plans includes insights of other jurisdictions on future
opportunities, prerequisites and building blocks to optimally benefit from the Digital Age.
The next chapter describes ICT researches performed in Suriname, which are still considered important
and relevant for policymakers in their future efforts of drafting a National ICT Strategy Plan.

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5. Recommendations for a National ICT Strategy Plan
General
As mentioned in prior chapters, there is no clear National ICT Strategy Plan yet in Suriname. The relevant
recommendations from prior researches are conveniently summarized below to contribute in
determining a National ICT Plan for Suriname.
The last ten years Suriname was subject of researches focused on ICT development and implementation.
Latest and important studies are from the Government of India (Chatterjee, 2006), Government of South
Korea (2012) and the Organization of American States (OAS, started in 2014 and is still pending). The
results of last two mentioned research papers have not been shared yet with the general public and ICT
sector in specific.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour, Technological Development and Environment with technical
cooperation of the Inter-American Development Bank, published a policy document and action plan
“Suriname National Technology Project” (2007), which recommendations are still relevant for the ICT
sector.
Suriname also committed itself through membership of the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) to contribute in becoming an ‘Information Society’ by implementing recommendations and
principles from the World Summit Information Society Programme (WSIS), which are also listed in this
chapter to be adopted in the National ICT Strategy Plan. Please note that a National ICT Strategy Plan
goes beyond the scope of the current e-Government Strategy Plan, covering the Nation’s ambition and
development goals to contribute in the growth of the economy and improvement of the quality of life of
its citizens. For more detailed information, also see Appendix 4 “Overview of the implementation of
WSIS Action Lines”.
Two other relevant researches are not included in this chapter, since these reports are not publicly
available. For future reference, the e-Government report (prepared by IBM) and the ICT research paper
by the OAS (currently in progress as mentioned earlier) could benefit in drafting a National ICT Strategy
Plan for Suriname.
The three earlier mentioned research papers and its recommendations, which are still relevant for the
ICT sector are explained below.
Road Map to ICT Policy of Suriname (2006)
The ‘Road Map to ICT Policy of Suriname’ of Dr. Sandip Chatterjee on behalf of the Government of India
is still deemed applicable as an eye-opener for room of improvements in the field of ICT in Suriname.

36
The major and relevant findings of this research are conveniently summarized below:
 Organizational perspective:
o The Government of Suriname has realized that Information Communication Technology
(ICT) is an area, which could expedite the growth of its economy and improve the quality
of life of its citizen in a faster pace.
o However, government policy, mission and vision are missing towards an overall
development of ICT. A coordinated and centralized effort is needed to expedite the
process further and to build a center of excellence in ICT area.
 Education:
o The possible reason of slow ICT development in Suriname is the lack of ICT education
and lack of people’s awareness.
o The course content in 2006 in primary, secondary and university level was unable to
provide adequate ICT awareness for its youth. During the period of research Suriname
had no bachelor, master or doctorate degree courses in Computer Science or
Telecommunication, therefore, students, who are interested to pursue such courses,
leave the country. Therefore, local industry is either recruiting foreign manpower at
higher cost or trains the local semi-skilled manpower and is incurring higher project cost.
 IT infrastructure:
o The growth of ICT sector in Suriname is also struggling due to its low ICT penetration,
lack of government promotional scheme for local ICT industry especially small and
medium enterprises (SMEs).
Suriname National Technology Project (2007)
Interesting and still relevant recommendations for improvements from the Suriname National
Technology Project are summarized below in the following phases:
1. Catching-up:
a. Raising awareness of the importance of Sustainable technology development &
Innovation;
b. Promotion of quality standards and assurance by quality catch-up, export quality,
standards and certification;
2. Outreach:
a. Utilizing technology to contribute to poverty reduction, meeting basic needs, in order to
bring the benefits of technology to all citizens;
3. Balanced approach:
a. Achieving equilibrium, taking into account human resources and the impact on the
environment;
b. Balancing technology stages, by adaptation of technology development and diffusion of
existing technologies;

37
4. Productivity and Innovation:
a. Promoting enterprise creation, productivity and innovation as tools for wealth creation;
5. Systemic approach:
a. Capacity building, taking to account human resources, supporting institutions and
financial mechanisms;
b. Promoting a National Innovation System, that interconnect and embed technology
considerations in legislation and regulation;
c. Establishing Technology platforms to remove obstacles, strengthen existing capacity and
add value to a resource intensive economy.
WSIS Guidelines on ICT priorities (2004, updated in 2014)
Another interesting source to modern guidelines on ICT priorities in societies are referred to in the World
Summit Information Society Programme (WSIS). WSIS is an initiative of the United Nations to create a
Global Information Society using ICT. There are 145 member countries united to reach this shared goal.
The WSIS programme describes the following action lines to move towards a Global Information Society,
which could be included in Suriname’s National ICT Strategy Plan:
 The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICT for development:
This action line includes a.o. improvement of the Cooperation amongst stakeholders,
Mainstreaming ICTs, National e-strategies and Public/Private Partnerships (PPP).
 Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs: This action line includes a.o. improvement of
Authentication, Building confidence and cyber security, Consumer protection and Countering
misuse of ICT.
 Information and communication infrastructure, which is considered an essential foundation for
an inclusive information society: This action line includes a.o. improvement of Access,
Accessibility, Affordability, Broadband network infrastructure and Enabling and competitive
environment.
 Access to information and knowledge: This action line includes a.o. improvement of Access to
public official information, Access to scientific knowledge and Multi-purpose community public
access. The e-Government Commission could have a significant role in providing access to public
official information and e-government services.
 Ethical dimensions the Information Society
This action line includes a.o. improvement of Ethics, protection of Human rights and preventing
abusive uses of ICT.

38
 Capacity building: This action line includes a.o. improvement of e-literacy, Distance learning, Life-
long learning, Research and development (R&D), Training ICT professionals and programs aimed
for the Youth.
 Enabling environment: This action line includes a.o. improvement of Consumer protection,
Dispute settlement, E-commerce, E-government strategy, Entrepreneurships, ICT forums,
Intellectual property, Legal, regulatory and policy environment.
 ICT applications as benefits in all aspects of life: This action line includes a.o. implementation of
Disaster recovery, E-agriculture, E-commerce, E-employment (such as teleworking),
E-environment, E-government, E-health, ICT waste disposal, Sustainable production and
consumption.
 Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content: This action line includes a.o.
improvement of Cultural diversity, Cultural exchange and information, Cultural heritage
(sustaining traditional knowledge) and Language-related ICT tools.
 Media, including improvement of Combatting illegal and harmful content in the media, defining
the Role of media in the Information Society and Training of media professionals.
 International and regional cooperation, such as improvement of Financing of ICT networks and
services, Infrastructure development projects and Progress evaluation.
Concluding on recommendations for a National ICT Strategy plan
Establishing an overall and holistic National ICT Strategy Plan for Suriname, which is aligned with the
country development themes, will be most important for the ICT sector in the period 2015-2020. The
above mentioned overview of recommendations is aimed to support in drafting a national ICT plan.
The upcoming chapter will describe the ambition and the role of the ICT sector, embodied in the ICT
Association Suriname, for the period 2015-2020. This paper will conclude with recommendations and
business needs in the chapter ‘Road map’, including targets, prioritization, responsibility and
performance indicators (output).

39
6. ICT Association Suriname’s Vision 2020
General
The recommendations & insights of industry leaders and stakeholders, combined with the
recommendations from prior researches performed in Suriname, not only provide a good reflection of
the current situation of the ICT sector, but also could mount into a road map for a better e-environment.
The road map will be described in the last chapter. This chapter describes the role of the ICT Association
Suriname for the development of the ICT sector.
Establishment
The ICT Association Suriname has been established on 19 January 2011 and is located in Paramaribo. The
ICT-AS is an industry association for companies registered at the Chamber of Commerce in Suriname,
which members have an IT related core business activity. The current member base amounts to 47
organizations.
Mission
ICT-AS is the industry association in order to help the Surinamese society to increase performance with
ICT.
Vision
The vision of the ICT Association Suriname for 2020 is:
‘ICT-AS shapes the ICT sector to benefit from becoming an Information Society and a significant pillar of
the Surinamese economy’.
Narrative
In 2020, the ICT-AS aims to have transform the ICT sector into a multibillion dollar business and
contributes in the preconditions for the ease of doing business in Suriname and further development of
our Nation.
Based on above mission and vision of the ICT-AS, the road map for the period 2015 until 2020 describes
improvements in the following themes:
1. Organizational development;
2. Educational development;
3. Legislative development;
4. Infrastructural development;
5. Funds creation.
Before defining the road map 2015-2020, the nine building blocks of the Business Model Canvas have
been used to reflect on a feasible business case for the ICT sector, which is described in the next chapter.

40
7. Business Model for the ICT sector
General
The Business Model Canvas is used to structure the next steps in an orderly fashion to consider each
building block for a business case for the ICT sector. The building blocks consists of the following:
Source: www.businessmodelgeneration.com
Customer Segments and Customer Relationships
Introduction
To build an effective business model, the ICT sector must identify which customers it tries to serve. To
ensure the survival and success of any businesses, companies must identify the type of relationship they
want to create with their customer segments.
Customer needs
Customers of the ICT sector are government, business and consumers with a need of top-of-the line ICT
products and services. The ICT sector would like to contribute in having ‘educated customers’, which
customers are aware of the price-quality trade-off of ICT products and services.
Additional research is needed to clearly identify the impact on the ICT industry of global ICT trends and
the potential customers’ needs created. In order to have a better understanding of the potential ICT
market, the public and private needs, the research could provide in valuable ICT statistics, which could
include R&D expenditures by the ICT sector, public and private sector and other earlier mentioned
relevant ratios such as contribution of the ICT sector to GDP.

41
An adaptive approach from ICT companies to the fast changing needs of consumers and clients could be
implemented by combining:
 flexible cloud solutions for IT infrastructure,
 partnership with educational institutions for research and knowledge,
 strategic alliances between local and international ICT companies in order to deliver excellent
services for large ICT projects.
Channels
Introduction
ICT companies can deliver its value proposition to its targeted customers through different channels, but
the most important channel will be cloud solutions.
Connectivity
In order to improve connectivity in Suriname, a combination of activities could be performed:
 Implementation of IPv6 as announced by the TAS;
 Implementation of an internet exchange point (IXP) as announced by the TAS;
 Government subsidies and tax incentives for investments made in the inlands for not only
telecommunication companies, but also IT companies for related services;
 Liberalization of the market for Internet service providers.
Value propositions
Introduction
The value proposition is the collection of products and services a business offers to meet the needs of its
customers.
Cloud solutions
As mentioned earlier, the ICT sector could provide in flexible cloud solutions in the design of IT
infrastructure including software matching the business needs. The cloud solutions provided by local
data centers and service providers could easily be deployed in other markets outside our country
borders. A precondition, as mentioned earlier, will be adoption of legislation on Electronic Transactions
and Electronic Payments.
ICT services, ICT wholesaling and retailing
Other activities include the traditional ICT services, ICT wholesaling and retailing. Taken into account the
relative small population of IT professionals and lack of funding of ICT researches, it is not expected that
significant revenues could be generated from ICT manufacturing.

42
Key Activities
The most important activities in executing the value propositions are mentioned below.
IT researches
The ICT sector has a need for practical impact studies and projections of global ICT trends on the
Surinamese society from a social and economic point of view. These researches could be catalysts for ICT
infrastructure reform, such as the implementation of IPv6 and a Surinamese IXP. Furthermore,
researches could help in raising public awareness of cyber threats and practical solutions to harden the
ICT environment against such cyber attacks.
Service level management
ICT companies could provide more transparency in which extent their services could meet the service
levels of their clients. Clients could be better informed on the limitations of the services provided by
their IT departments and outsourcing service providers. This could be achieved by requesting for reports
on IT performance monitoring, effectiveness of IT processes and IT security.
ICT education
Especially, the last five years the educational needs on vocational and bachelor’s degree have been met
by institutions as PTC, IMIT, Natin, Janssen & Partners. However, for ICT researches and ICT policy
making, there will be a need for academic knowledge on a Master’s and PhD level. A collaboration with
foreign renowned and accredited universities could strengthen the Anton de Kom University to provide
in such needs, using modern distance learning technology in a cost effective manner.
IT security
As noted earlier, ICT awareness will raise the need for proper IT security from ICT companies providing
services and governmental institutions providing public services. The next step, could be a collaboration
of the ICT Association Suriname with business organizations and the public sector for enrolment of an
ICT awareness campaign. The Chamber of Commerce, The Competitiveness Units Suriname, Suriname
Business Development Center and the Association of Surinamese Business (VSB) are willingly to
participate in an advice and working group with the ICT Association Suriname to decrease
e-lliteracy and raise ICT awareness.
Key Resources
Introduction
Key resources are the resources that are necessary to create value for the customer. They are considered
an asset to the ICT sector, which are needed in order to sustain and support the business.
Funding
Innovation fund
The planned ICT researches could be financed by creating an Innovation fund. The innovation fund could
be part of the national stability fund which aims to diversify the national economy and decrease the
dependence of income from natural resources, such as fossil fuel.

43
Bank financing
The conservative approach of local banks prevented Suriname from large influence of the financial crisis
of ten years ago. However, a less persistent focus on collateral and better recognition of the earning
capacity of projects could provide a starting ICT company in Suriname a fair chance of success as in other
jurisdictions.
Crowdfunding
Initial public offerings are scarce in Suriname due to the limiting possibilities of our Suriname Stock
Exchange. Better understanding of crowdfunding could provide in the necessary financial resources,
while limiting the financial risks for the investors, since depositing of funds only occur after the desired
funding need have been met.
IT professionals
As mentioned in the paragraph ‘ICT education’ there is a need for IT professionals on an academic level
for IT researches and IT policy making. In order to promote the ICT profession, there could be a more
focused policy of the Government to provide in scholarships for educational streams with high need of
professionals. ICT companies should also provide sufficient funds in their ICT budgets to further invest in
knowledge building.
Legislation
Legislation should be conducive for business in Suriname. The ICT sector will benefit in great extent when
the following draft laws are enacted:
 Electronic Transactions Act,
 Electronic Payments Act,
 Intellectual Property Act and
 Secured Transactions Act.
Key Partners
In order to optimize operations and reduce risks of a business model, organizations usually cultivate
buyer-supplier relationships so they can focus on their core activity.
Government
In order to improve Suriname in the global competitiveness index, the ICT sector has a specific need for
improvement of public services to shorten the duration for establishing companies, encouragement of
ICT investments and protection of intellectual properties. Many necessary legislation, as listed above,
has already been drafted, which are awaiting treatment by the parliament (‘DNA’) and approval of the
Board of Ministers.
Cooperation between governmental institutions
e-Government services
In order to optimally benefit from e-Government solutions, a closer collaboration and transparency is
advisable. Taking into account the limited IT resources (in funds and civil servants), a centralized
approach is deemed practical, providing a better alignment of electronic public services.

44
Law enforcement
Legislation is not fully effective when there is a lack of law enforcement. A fair level playing field could be
provided by –for example- monitoring ICT companies on proper use of intellectual properties and
meeting standards for IT security when cloud services and other IT services are provided.
Strategic alliances between companies
The ICT sector in Suriname mostly consists of small and medium sized companies. In order to have access
to tender for large ICT projects, ICT companies have the need to form strategic alliances between non-
competitive ICT companies. The ICT Association Suriname could facilitate in forming such alliances by
mapping the field of expertise in each their members into a publicly available database.
Public Private Partnership (PPP)
Public private partnership will be necessary, especially, for raising awareness on ICT security, envisioning
the national ICT plan and implementation of the preconditions for establishing a significant pillar to the
economy in contributing to the GDP. The ICT Association Suriname could participate in the discussions of
existing platforms as the Suriname Business Forum and the Competitiveness Unit Suriname.
Synergy of partnerships
The upcoming years, the ICT Association Suriname (ICT-AS) will continuously work towards becoming
part of an international network of collaborating ICT sector organizations and relating professional
bodies in the Caribbean and in South America. Knowledge sharing and resource planning from this
network could lead to a priority list from business communities and government (‘demand’) and the
needed ICT professionals and ICT services (‘supply’).
An ICT Innovation Board could function as an advice board to harmonize the ICT demand and supply.
This institute could be a public-private partnership, which is a global ICT trend watcher, explorer for
opportunities and technological developments. The Institute could share its findings with the Educational
bodies and Business communities for further research, development and implementation.
In 2020 the ICT-AS aims to have a structural collaboration with all relevant educational institutions
related to the ICT sector. The ICT-AS should also have an extensive and up-to-date job vacancy
department for the ICT sector in Suriname, which could be the platform for demand and supply of the
ICT labor market.

45
Earlier mentioned synergy in partnerships can be illustrated as follows:
Source: Gerard den Dekker, UCC
Cost Structure
Introduction
This describes the most important monetary consequences while operating under different business
models.
Flexible IT budgets
As mentioned earlier cloud solutions could create more flexibility in ICT budgets for the government,
companies and consumers. ICT Association Suriname could assist the General Bureau for Statistics (ABS)
in gathering the necessary ICT statistics on R&D expenditure. A precondition for statistics is transparency
in the financial performance of companies. This need will be fulfilled upon adoption of the Financial
Statements Act, which have already been drafted and presented in 2014 to the Government.
The ICT Association Suriname could also facilitate the Surinamese Bureau for Planning (SPB) for ICT
sector studies, projections, forecasts and impact studies of global ICT trends.

46
Revenue Streams
Taken into account the value proposition and the increase in ICT needs, the ICT sector could benefit from
providing ICT services, such as:
 Software and computer services;
 ICT training and education;
 IT Governance & ICT Security;
 Outsourced IT services.
The ICT wholesaling and retailing will benefit from the duty free import of IT hardware. The trade
balance will tend to be negative, since no significant manufacturing of ICT components for export are
anticipated.

47
8. Roadmap
General
Based on the nine building blocks as mentioned in prior chapter the important opportunities and
preconditions have been described to create momentum for the ICT sector to help in meeting
development objectives of Suriname.
The ICT Roadmap, specifies the themes, priorities, targets, responsible actors and key performance
indicators in order to execute the ICT vision 2020. Each action lines and targets per theme is explained
hereafter. The roadmap consists of:
Development objectives Priority Action lines / Targets Responsibility Key Performance
(why and what) (when) (what) assigned to (who) indicator (output)
1. Organizational development
Define National ICT Strategy High 1.1 Develop a National ICT Strategy Plan which is aligned with
the National Development and Innovation Plan.
PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. ICT statistics: contribution to
GDP, employment, R&D and
amount of ICT professionals.
National ICT Security awareness
campaigns
High 1.2 Develop a National ICT Security awareness campaign for
safe and secure adoption of ICT trends.
PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. More than 90% awareness of
citizens on known
cyberthreats.
National Organizational-
completeness-awareness
campaign
High 1.3 Develop a National campaign to motivate Organizations
to get organized in a more mature fashion so that the ICT
sector can adapt more structurally and effectively.
ICT Sector Higher maturity level of
organizations.
ICT sectorial awareness
campaign in Business-ICT
alignment and in ICT-ICT
alignment
High 1.4 Develop a sectorial campaign to motivate the ICT-sector to
develop solutions under Achitecture, in order to create of
Business to Business alignment.
ICT Sector Business solutions aligned
with expectations of
business and government.
2. Educational development
Adapt education to needs High 2.1 Adapt all primary and secondary school curricula to meet
the challenges of the information society.
PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. Modern and needs adaptive
education.
High 2.2 Encourage the development of content and put in place
technical conditions in order to facilitate the presence and
use of different languages on the internet.
ICT Sector. Relevant and readily
available content.

48
1. Organizational development
National ICT Strategy Plan
In order to have a structural growth in the ICT sector, there is an urgent need for determining a National
ICT Strategy Plan, which is aligned with the National Development and Innovation Plan. The ICT-AS could
support the Government of Suriname in drafting the National ICT Strategy Plan based on consultation
sessions with relevant stakeholders.
The effectiveness of the implementation and progress of the National ICT Strategy Plan could be
measured by designated ICT statistics, such as the contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP, employment
growth in the ICT sector per subsector, growth in R&D investments and growth in amount of ICT
professionals in Suriname.
National ICT Security awareness campaigns
The ICT sector could collaborate with governmental institutions to draft a National ICT Security
awareness campaign.
The effectiveness of the campaigns could be measured by polls to verify that at least 90% of citizens are
aware of known cyber threats.
National Organizational-completeness-awareness campaign
The ICT Sector will develop a National campaign to motivate Organizations to get organized in a more
mature fashion. Based on a better understanding of the business of the organizations, the ICT sector
could adapt more structurally and effectively to the company’s specific needs.
ICT sectorial awareness campaign in Business-ICT alignment and in ICT-ICT alignment
Development objectives Priority Action lines / Targets Responsibility Key Performance
(why and what) (when) (what) assigned to (who) indicator (output)
3. Legislative development
Adopt draft laws High 3.1 Adopt Electronic Transactions Act, Electronic Payments
Act, Intellectual Property Act and Secured Transactions Act.
GoS. Business enabling
legislation.
4. Infrastructural development
Increase connectivity High 4.1 Ensure that more than 50% of the citizens have access to
ICT within their reach and make use of them.
PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. Internet penetration rate of
more than 50% of citizens.
Medium 4.2 Connect all villages with ICT and establish community
access points.
GoS. e-Government services.
High 4.3 Connect all secondary and primary schools with ICT. PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. Connected schools.
High 4.4 Connect all scientific and research centres with ICT. PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. Connected research
facilities.
Medium 4.5 Connect all public libraries, museums, post office and
national archives with ICT.
PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. Connected public services.
High 4.6 e-Health: Connect all health centres and hospitals with
ICT.
PPP: GoS with health sector. Connected health services.
High 4.7 e-Government: connect all central government
departments and establish websites.
PPP: GoS with the ICT Sector. e-Government services.
High 4.8 e-Business: connect all businesses with ICT. ICT Sector and Business. e-Commerce activities.
Provide infrastructure High 4.9 Improve ICT infrastructure by implementing IPv6 and
Internet Exchange Point (IXP).
GoS. implementation of Ipv6 and
IXP.
5. Funds creation
Access to alternative finance High 5.1 Provide overview and raise awareness on available
Development funds, process of secured loans (non-banks) and
crowd funding.
PPP: GoS with fund providers. Sufficient funds to fuel the
economy.

49
The ICT sector will develop a sectorial campaign to motivate the ICT-sector to develop solutions under
Architecture, in order to create Business-to-Business alignment.
2. Educational development
Adapt education to needs
In order for the ICT sector to fully benefit from global ICT trends, there is a need for an educational
system, in which all primary and secondary school curricula adapt to meet the challenges of the
information society.
The ICT sector could contribute by developing relevant content and put in place technical conditions in
order to facilitate the presence and use of different languages on the internet.
This could result in a modern education system which is adaptable to the needs of the information
society.
3. Legislative development
Adopt draft laws
As mentioned in the chapter ‘Business Model for the ICT Sector’ the following draft laws need to be
adopted:
 Electronic Transactions Act,
 Electronic Payments Act,
 Intellectual Property Act and
 Secured Transactions Act.

50
4. Infrastructural development
Increase connectivity
The Telecommunication Authority Suriname strives to increase the internet penetration rate to more
than 50% of the citizens that will have access to ICT within their reach and also make use of them.
The WSIS goals for an information society could be reached by a.o.:
 Connecting all districts with ICT and establish community access points;
 Connecting all secondary and primary schools with ICT;
 Connecting all scientific and research centers with ICT;
 Connecting all public libraries, museums, post office and national archives with ICT;
 Connecting all health centers and hospitals with ICT.
 Connecting all central government departments and establish websites.
 Connecting all businesses with ICT.
Provide improved ICT infrastructure
The improvements in the ICT infrastructure could be made tangible by implementing IPv6 and Internet
Exchange Point (IXP).
5. Funds creation
Access to alternative finance
In order to facilitate people with bright ideas with the funds for development of ICT projects, further
research is recommended to provide an overview and raise awareness on available (international)
Development funds.
A public awareness campaign is also recommended to explain the process of secured loans (non-banks)
and crowd funding for potential investors and creators.
9. Conclusion
As the road map described the ICT sector has good perspective of becoming a significant pillar of the
Surinamese economy. The ICT Association Suriname will continuously strive to support the ICT sector,
local business, citizens and the Government to contribute to the welfare and development of Suriname.

Suriname ICT Vision 2020 Roadmap

Suriname ICT Vision 2020 Roadmap

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