IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Three obstacles to extending the reach of the Web — and thereby reducing poverty in developing countries — can be fixed.

One of the most effective ways to reduce poverty in developing countries is to extend the reach of the Internet. Over the last 20 years, the online world has created millions of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity. Entire new sectors have emerged, such as e-commerce, social media, and data analytics. In developing countries, the Internet is even more powerful than it is elsewhere. It can connect people who have known only subsistence to the modern economy, and provide them with opportunities for social and economic advancement. Yet most people in developing countries, some 56 percent of the world’s population, still do not use the Internet.

Read more: Why Are 4 Billion People without the Internet?

The second UN World Public Sector Report 2003, stresses that even in today’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-rich environment, it will not be ICT by itself that redirects and re-shapes the functions of governments and makes them somehow different or better.

However, ICT can certainly contribute to changes in the ways in which governments operate. More importantly, it can force us to collectively re-examine some of the fundamental building blocks of the organization of human society.

Read more: E-Government at the Crossroads ICT Technology re-shapes the functions of governments and societies

Raúl Zambrano is the Global Lead and Policy Adviser in the ICT for Development and e-governance team at UNDP's Democratic Governance practice based in New York. For the past 20 years, Mr. Zambrano has supported the deployment and use of ICT in nearly 100 developing countries. His current focus is on mobile technologies and social networks to enhance access to public information, advance service delivery for under-served populations and promote the participation of stakeholders in public policy and decision-making processes. Mr. Zambrano is also working on open government and open data and the use of cloud computing by developing countries. A Colombian national, Mr. Zambrano has previously worked in academia in the United States and has an MA in Economics with a major in Economic Development from the New School for Social Research, USA.

Read more: 'Low connectivity is no barrier for e-governance services'

Some interesting but disturbing messages are emanating from Europe and America. With countries slowly coming out of the economic crisis and employment picking up again, it has become clear that the new jobs becoming available are driven by companies operating in the digital economy; very few of the 'old jobs' will become available. Many people in western countries are unprepared for this change and many new skills that are required are simply not available in sufficient numbers to counter the downfall in employment that has occurred over the last five years.

The early signs of this development were already visible a couple of years ago when the economic crisis hit Spain and much of its young hi-tech talent was recruited by companies in Germany, as there was already a skills shortage here for jobs in companies which wanted to move into the digital economy.

Read more: Developed Economies Not Ready for an ICT-Driven Recovery