IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The government has secured an additional US$55.1 million to scale up digital inclusion, content development, and e-government and shared services. According to the World Bank ,the new funding will increase financing under the Kenya Transparency and Communications Infrastructure Project to US$169.5 million.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications urged a working group to draft a digital government policy framework in line with digital economy policy.

Minister Chea Vandeth said on Tuesday during a meeting at the ministry that it is working on drafting the framework to further study trends at the regional and global level, and collect input from key experts who have expertise in the preparation of such policies.

The workshop, dubbed “GoSKN – Brightpath Mobile Applications Development Workshop”, will be hosted by the Ministry of Information Technology at the Marriott Hotel and will run from January 24 to 27.

Acting Director in the Department of Information Technology Christopher Herbert told SKNVibes that the workshop is a tangible expression of the vision of Prime Minister Dr. the Right Hon. Denzil L. Douglas and Minister of Information Technology Glen Phillip who envision a St. Kitts-Nevis knowledge-based economy.

Beating the United States, China and Japan, South Korea had the highest levels of “access, usage and skills.” Scandinavian countries follow closely behind South Korea; with Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland trailing the advanced Asian economy.

Presight, the region’s leading big data analytics company powered by artificial intelligence and based in Abu Dhabi, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Astana City Administration in Kazakhstan, WAM reports.

Aimed at contributing to Astana's development as a thriving hub of innovation and economic prosperity, the MoU was signed between Erlan Bekmurzayev, Deputy Mayor of Astana, and Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight, during the Forum of Mayors that took place as part of Astana’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

As part of his working visit to the Zhambyl region, Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev familiarized himself with the implementation of the state program Digital Kazakhstan in the region, and also examined new educational technologies at the IT Lyceum, the press centre of Prime-Minister reports.

The Head of the Digitalization Office D. Yegizbayev reported that the Smart Taraz project, which includes 20 projects in five key areas: education, health, housing and public utilities, transport, agribusiness and security, is being implemented within the framework of the state program Digital Kazakhstan.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Kim stressed on areas where telecommunication can be used, in mitigating disaster risks, economic empowerment of the rural community and in creating new job opportunities for the country.

The ‘Information Economy Report 2012’ shows that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) software and services are dominated by the developed world but developing economies are catching up.

It says that piracy, poor ICT infrastructure and inadequate protection of intellectual property rights are some of the major challenges hindering ICT software development and service expansion in developing regions such as Africa.

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) on July 19 announced its Digital Investments Future5 (DIF5) Strategy, a plan focusing on five key thrusts aimed at attracting investments and advancing Malaysia’s digital economy in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL).

In a statement, it the DIF5 Strategy’s targets by 2025 include 50 billion RM investments in the digital economy; attracting 50 Fortune500 tech companies to land and expand in Malaysia; the establishment of five Unicorns; and the creation of 50,000 high-value jobs in MSC Malaysia.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) - the lead agency of digital transformation in Malaysia, has unveiled its five-year plan which sets a target of attracting 50 billion ringgit (about 11.84 billion USD) to the country’s digital economy.

In a statement, MDEC said that the five-year initiative, which will run from 2021 to 2025, aims to ensure high quality digital investments as the Southeast Asian country seeks to unlock new drivers of growth in the digital economy.

Malaysia will develop a National Robotics Roadmap (NRR) to step up productivity, reduce the country's reliance on foreign labour and minimise currency outflow.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the NRR aimed to push the country's robot density from only 55 robots for every 10,000 workers in 2019 to 195 robots for every 10,000 workers by 2030.

Malta was categorised as being among the ‘fastest growing’ European digital economies by the European Digital and Society Index (DESI). This index summarises the European Union’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU Member States in digital competitiveness. This index is categorised into five main elements: connectivity, human capital, use of internet, integration of digital technology and digital public services.

Malta’s scores are above EU average and Malta’s growth rate is faster than that of the EU as a whole. Malta performs best in the first category, connectivity. It ranks 9th among EU countries and well above EU average. Malta is particularly strong in broadband deployment and take up. All Maltese households have access to fixed broadband and local networks provide at least 30Mbps. However, Malta has room for improvement in provision of 4G mobile services. Although 4G is available for 75% of the population, participation in mobile broadband services is below EU average.

In developing a comprehensive methodology to measure the impact of digitization, international strategy consulting firm Booz & Company found greater benefits linked to the growing usage of digital technologies and applications, rather than access alone. The benefits are not just economic, but encompass social and political spheres as well. Digitization offers incremental economic growth: countries at the most advanced stage of digitiza­tion derive 20 percent more in economic benefits than those at the initial stage. It also has a proven impact on reducing unemployment, improving quality of life, and boosting citizens' access to public services. Additionally, digitization allows governments to operate with greater transparency and efficiency.

This is demonstrated by their steady climb in rankings such as the World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index. Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for instance, have entered the NRI’s top 30. Much more, however, remains to be done.

The information and communications technology (ICT) sector represented 5.9 per cent of regional gross domestic product and a value of $81bn in 2010. With the right efforts, it has the potential to reach 7.5 per cent of GDP and $173bn in value by 2015. It could also create more than 300,000 jobs in the same period, in a part of the world that needs them urgently.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, has reiterated the federal government’s commitment to develop digital policies that would attract more foreign investments to Nigeria.

Pantami restated the government’s commitment during the recent launch of MDXi Lekki II Data Centre by MainOne in Lagos.

Malta is no exception. Digital technology is a pillar of our economy. The digital economy within a digital society is our present and future.

Within this context, the Government, in line with its mandate and the EU Digital Agenda, will spearhead initiatives to create the ideal entrepreneurial climate and leverage investment in technologies and human resources. This will lead to value-added economic opportunities and improvements to social wellbeing.

Over the years, emerging technologies have fuelled innovation and transformed entire industries.

While there are significant opportunities to be realised by exploiting these technologies to innovate and create new sources of value, this digitalisation has put pressure on companies to reflect on their current strategy and explore new business opportunities systematically and at early stages.

The strategy which covers till 2020 is based on three main pillars - citizens, business and the government. The aim is to promote more the use of social networking, mobile applications, bridge the digital divide and promote research and innovation. Other objectives are to promote Malta as a digital hub, seek strategic alliances with multi national companies and improve the government's online platform. The strategy also includes plans for e-democracy through which citizens have their say in certain decisions as part of a commitment to promote open government.

THE government expects information and communications technology services and electronic-commerce (e-commerce) to be the largest contributors to Malaysia's digital economy, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The sectors, he added, would push the goal of digital economy initiative, Digital Malaysia, to contribute 17 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.