Archive for category: Technology

Information and stories about technology news.

Credit Access in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Credit Access in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country ripe with investment opportunities mainly due to its abundant natural resources, population size and predominantly open trading system. At the same time, it is also a challenging country for business because of its weak financial system, widespread corruption and bribery.

Overall, credit access in the Democratic Republic of Congo is limited, therefore the country has a scarce and short-term credit volume history.

Financial System in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Congolese financial system has less than 10 licensed banks, one single development bank, 120 microfinance institutions and has no equity or debt markets. The lack of a substantial financial sector prevents the Congolese from participating in the global market. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (GDRC) is working to improve and enhance regulatory measures over its economic environment.

The GDRC’s National Agency for Investment Promotion (ANAPI) is responsible for monitoring initial investments that have a value larger than $200,000. ANAPI is required to make the investment process streamlined and transparent for new foreign investors with the goal of improving the country’s image as an investment destination. The GDRC has enacted investment regulations to prohibit foreign investors from conducting business in small retail commerce. These regulations also prohibit a foreign investor from becoming a majority shareholder in the agricultural sector.

Partnership for Financial Inclusion

The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo contains laws meant to combat internal corruption, bribery and the illegal activities of all Congolese citizens. Unfortunately, these laws are rarely enforced, and when they are observed, the application is politically motivated. The corruption negatively impacts the country’s exports and the economy as it discourages foreign investors. In 2013, the IMF withdrew a $532 million loan because the GDRC refused to disclose details surrounding the sale of 25 percent of a state-owned copper project. Without foreign direct investment (FDI), job growth remains stagnant and low wages remain, resulting in the inability to get credit. All of the issues contributing to the fragile state of credit access in the Democratic Republic of Congo can be rectified with innovation and reformation.

The GDRC’s push for advancement is not lost on some U.S. investors, evidenced by the Partnership for Financial Inclusion, a $37.4 million joint venture between the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Mastercard Foundation that focuses its interests on financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative aims to expand microcredit and develop digital financial services that are present now in the DRC, as many of the country’s banks are using mobile services.

Credit Access in the Democratic Republic of Congo

According to the World Bank, current statistics show the strength of legal rights index for the DRC to be six on a scale from zero to 12. This score indicates how the GDRC’s collateral and bankruptcy laws protect borrowers and lenders. The country has no electronic infrastructure listing debtors’ names and wages and lacks any unified registry. In DRC, there are no established rules that work on behalf of its citizens to make it easy to establish credit access. The depth of credit information index shows the DRC ranks zero on a scale of zero to eight. This index measures rules that affect the quality of available credit information and its accessibility to credit bureaus.

The World Bank’s statistics show that within the DRC’s economy, an integrated legal framework for secured transactions exists. However, this framework is a one-stop shop where interagency communication and transactions occur in non-digital systems. This framework is comprised of governmental agencies that expedite registration of DRC companies. A digital infrastructure could allow for a much more fluid and rapid increase in the establishment of digital financial services.

Digital financial services include cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual money that use encryption to safeguard, regulate and verify the currency and transfer of funds. Cryptocurrencies are not subject to commercial or governmental control and remove corruption from the equation by preventing illegal facilitation payments. Virtual currencies are the foundation for digital economies and financial inclusion. They can reform the Congolese banking system and fund areas such as health care and education.

A digital economy can pave the way for improved personal savings and increased credit access in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to a study about the impact of digital financial inclusion on inclusive economic growth and development, individuals in rural areas who regularly save their money have more of an ability to feed their families. Results also show they feel socially included with the use of digital services or agent banking, which is not the case with traditional banks.

A nominal percentage of the DRC population has accounts with traditional banks, but thanks to the Partnership for Financial Inclusion, that reality is changing. The country’s goal of expanding microfinance and developing digital services throughout the DRC is slowly actualizing, as is evident by the GDRC’s economic governance of its business climate. It also is evident by their scores for the strength of legal rights index and depth of credit information index.

Because of these scores, the range of credit access in the Democratic Republic of Congo widens, but the country’s laws and corruption still are hurdles that must be overcome in order for the credit access and credit volume to reach ideal numbers.

– Julianne Russo
Photo: Pixabay

Tech Hubs in Ghana

Tech Hubs in Ghana
Even with the challenges the country faces in establishing complete infrastructure, the positive influence of internet coverage in Ghana can be seen from the following data from 2016:

  • Over 18 different service providers offer easy access to the internet all over Ghana. These providers include BusyInternet, Africanus.net and Africa Online.
  • Over 2,900,000 of the Facebook users live in Ghana.
  • As of 2016, 28.4 percent of the Ghana population had access to the internet, opposed to a mere 0.2 percent in 2000.
  • The number of 7,958,675 internet users means that 20,074,700 people still live without internet access in Ghana.

Community-Influenced Tech Hubs

An African organization called Developers in Vogue provides a haven for Ghanaian women pursuing the education in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Women make up over 50 percent of the population in Africa but less than 20 percent of the science and engineering world in Africa. Developers in Vogue combats gender preconceptions on one level and lack of opportunity on another. Providing scholarships, training courses and a project-based curriculum for women seeking a STEM career, Developers in Vogue connects students with internship and jobs. Their aim is to inspire social impact through technology and problem-solving by using real-life cases from their communities in their curriculum.

Another company, Hopin Academy in Tamale, Ghana, works toward supporting students by connecting them to the courses most appropriate for their interests and skills. Through peer-to-peer development and local innovators, the tech hub connects Ghanaians from different backgrounds to practical niches in the local job market. One of the school’s students, Mercy Hammond, is studying BA in Development Education and had her secondary education at Aburi Girls’ Senior High School in the Eastern Region. She is the owner and director of Sparkle House Enterprise that was registered on June 28, 2017, and is involved in the production of jewelry made of both beads and soft metals.

Companies Partnering with Ghana Tech Hubs

As Christoph Fitih, Sales Director for Africa branch of Parallel Wireless states, African countries need to adopt new technologies to prevent further marginalization of Africa from the world economy and eliminate the widening of the current digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world.

Businesses in Ghana understand the time is ripe to create an online presence and even necessary as the world market starts to move more and more toward internet users. MEST, a Pan-African organization partnering with global tech giants, offers aspiring entrepreneurs a rigorous, fully sponsored 12-month program to top-graduates in several African countries including Ghana. Training includes business, communications and software development as well as hands-on project work, giving graduates the chance to pitch their final idea to the board and receive seed funding for their entrepreneurship. Academics and teachers from all over the world bring their experience to the company.

More internet coverage in Ghana means tech companies such as Hubtel and Rancard have become Pan-African brands and according to Nana Prempeh, co-founder and CEO of Asoriba, Ghana has great strengths when it comes to the tech ecosystem. MEST has been a strong backbone of the community. Other global companies partnering with Ghana’s many startups and tech hubs include Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, all connected through MEST.

Ghana Technology Development Issues

Ghana’s comparatively stable electricity, security and internet infrastructure exists despite the series of damaging military coups the country went through before 1981. Even though fewer than 1 percent of African retail sales happen online, e-commerce will sky-rocket in Africa, according to the technology review Ghana’s Last Mile by Jonathan Rosen. He hopes issues with unpaved roads and confusing street-labeling will soon be solved through the same spirit of innovation that is already sweeping the nation.

Broader internet coverage in Ghana brightens its future in tech and the online market. There are obstacles of infrastructure to overcome and yet great hope for keeping up with world-wide tech hubs remains. Perhaps the country’s name, roughly derived from the words meaning Warrior King, gives a glimpse of the spirit of the country.

Investment from giants like Google and Amazon Web Services spearhead the beginning of partnerships with corporations all over the globe, as other companies begin to take notice of Ghana’s local hubs and competitive training. Most encouraging is seeing the hands-on training of MEST addressing communities and providing a stream of trained tech-students into the job market.

– Hannah Peterson

Photo: Flickr

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How Technology Transforms Agriculture

Technology Transforms Agriculture in Developing Countries
Smallholder farmers and their families make up to almost 75 percent of the world’s poor population. Struggling with access to health care, clean drinking water and education are just some of the daily challenges these people face. A digital technology company called Ricult is striving to improve the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers in developing countries by solving agricultural problems with technology-based solutions. Ricult has already helped 10,000 farmers across Thailand and Pakistan and continues to prove that technology transforms agriculture in developing countries every day.

Technology Transforms Agriculture

Ricult requires farmers to enter in their geo-coordinates through their app. It then uses geospatial data streams that monitor the environment through weather, satellite, and soil analytics. This provides the farmer with valuable data such as soil conditions to ensure optimal growth.

Some of the basic problems that poor farmers face include inadequate access to weather data, no pest attack forecast, storage issues, low-profit margins and credit access. According to Usman Javaid, the CEO of Ricult, the biggest reason why microfinance institutions haven’t been able to alleviate poverty in developing markets is that they only focus on one part of the problem by providing credit.

The Work of Government of Pakistan

Providing credit is the main way the Government of Pakistan seeks to transform agriculture. The government has adopted a long-term development strategy that aims to remodel the country into an upper middle-income country by 2025. The government developed the Five Year Plan that aims to ensure national food security and reduce rural poverty by increasing productivity, competitiveness and environmental safety. Through this program, the government provides $3 billion in subsidies, grants and loans. They are also providing credit to farmers who own up to 12.5 acres of land and are facing massive irrigation costs.

Ricult as Example how Technology Transforms Agriculture

Javaid says that one of the biggest problems in developing countries is that when farmers receive cash, they will use it for anything and everything but not for agriculture. The country gives an in-kind loan of inputs delivered to the doorstep of the farmers and accompanies this with insightful and actionable agronomic data from optimal sowing times to yield forecasts. This is just one of the examples of how exactly technology transforms agriculture.

Another great component about Ricult is that it allows farmers to get paid within 48 hours. Farmers generally use a middleman who delivers produce from the farm to the markets. Middlemen often stagger payments and cost additional input. Ricult offers five times lower interest rates than middlemen. Ricult has received a $100,000 grant from the Gates Foundation and continues to transform agriculture in developing countries by making a positive impact in the lives of farmers.

A Pakistani farmer named Faraz Shah has said that the current system of informal credit was not working for the farmers. They were very upset, but Ricult has greatly improved their lives by offering credit at much cheaper prices and improving them with high-quality products. Thailand farmer BubpaWorawat said that Ricult dashboard with its color coding system lets him know in which part of his land growth is stunted so he can take immediate action unlike before when he could not personally scout the areas and he would not know about the problem until it was too late.

Ricult is only one example of how does technology transforms agriculture. Since agriculture is a prevalent way of life in less developed countries, in which most of the poor people of the world live, it is very important to develop the new ways and to use technology to help these people to be more effective in their line of work. By doing so, technology can help poor people get out of the cycle of poverty.

– Grace Klein

Photo: Flickr

Artificial Intelligence in Africa

Artificial Intelligence in Africa
With many of the world’s fastest-growing economies and tech markets, Africa’s next logical step of developing artificial intelligence (AI) and assimilating it into various industries is quickly becoming reality. Despite fears of worsening unemployment rates and widening wealth distribution disparity, many tech companies and governments are finding ways of using artificial intelligence in Africa to improve lives.

The Current State of Technology

In countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia, whose steadily growing economies are due in part to the rise and success of tech industry growth, local startups are addressing issues unique to the areas in which they operate. Despite the technology growth and development, many people are afraid that the implementation of artificial intelligence in Africa will take jobs away from workers, leading to increased unemployment rates that have long troubled various African countries.

Understanding that many Africans do not currently have access to the level of education needed to qualify for loftier jobs, governments of the African countries have set out to make education more attainable and more specialized, and global tech giants have made it clear that they see potential in Africa in the tech industry, specifically in artificial intelligence in Africa, and are looking to take advantage of this potential.

Unlocking Potential

Artificial intelligence in Africa has already yielded substantial results, promising a bright future as the industry grows so long as it receives proper support from government and tech organizations. For example, governments must change the school curriculums to meet the demands of the modern workforce, cultivating analytical thinkers with the ability to identify and solve everyday problems.

Tech companies including Facebook and Google have already established a respective presence in Africa, acknowledging both the capable minds the continent already has to offer as well as the increasing need for reform in education. Google has opened an AI research center in Ghana, where it has also begun construction of a fiber-optic line that will strengthen the internet for the country. It will draw students from local universities that have already made headway in specializing in computer sciences and other fields of study crucial to the growth of AI and the tech industry as a whole.

In areas such as health care, insurance and manufacturing, AI has already yielded significant beneficial results for Africa. As issues in these and other fields accumulate naturally with growth, tech professionals see AI as the key to maintaining and improving the lives of many people in Africa and around the world.

Looking Forward

While AI still has a stigma and is consider a luxury, other people see the tech industry as vital to solving practical problems whose solutions may not be realized quickly enough by human efforts alone. The fear that artificial intelligence in Africa will take away jobs is legitimate in that the very objective of AI is to accomplish the work of humans more quickly and efficiently.

Governments of African countries can improve and adapt education and if global tech leaders continue to see potential in Africa and support its growth, the tech industry will demand increasing numbers of educated Africans to match the industry’s rapid growth.

– Rob Lee
Photo: Pixabay

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How Technology is Reducing Poverty in India

Reducing Poverty in India
India, one of the most populated countries in the world, is a country that has benefited from the use of programs that are utilizing technology. Several programs have undergone implementation in the last decade that can serve as real examples of how technology is reducing poverty in India.

Reducing Poverty in India

Data from 2012 indicated that India contains the largest number of people living in poverty, at 270 million, with 80 percent of the poor living in rural areas. Most of these people living in rural areas rely on agriculture to make a living, and because men are leaving isolated villages to try and work in urban areas, women make up almost 50 percent of India’s self-employed farmers.

In 2016, the Prime Minister of India introduced a national policy aiming to double the farmers’ income by 2022. According to an India Express article, “he advocated for a three-part strategy under which one-third of the farming sector should focus on traditional crops, such as paddy and sugarcane, one-third for poultry, beekeeping and fishery and one-third for planting trees to produce timber.”

Crop Insurance Scheme

The Prime Minister also implemented a Crop Insurance Scheme to help farmers. They have to pay just 2 percent of the premium for kharif crops and others they harvest in the summer season. Additionally, they only have to pay 1.5 percent for rabi and crops they harvest in the spring, and the horticulture will be at a fixed at 5 percent. Both the state and central government will pay the balance premium. India derives about 17 percent of its GDP from agriculture, and because crop output can change due to weather, this crop insurance scheme gives farmers a safety net.

Nano Ganesh

Nano Ganesh is a useful technology in reducing poverty in India. This is a mobile-based remote controller that is used to control water pumps from a mobile phone with mobile signal connectivity at both ends. The app is useful as an interface between the high voltage starters and the low voltage GSM modules, which allows for farmers to turn the water pumps on and off and to check how much power is available.

Farmers can also check the water levels in the storage tank as well. This app saves farmers from making the long trek to distant water pump sites and also saves them from waiting on-site to switch the water pump off when irrigation is complete. Since the introduction of this app in 2003, it had more than 60,000 installations in India reaching 480,000 people living in rural areas.

National Identity Card

India’s national identity card project was established in India in 2009 and represents yet another successful step in reducing poverty in India through technology. The goal of the program is to issue an identity card to each of the country’s more than 1.2 billion residents. The card contains a unique 12-digit number that links to each person’s fingerprint and iris scans. Eventually, the card should improve India’s basic education and health systems. The card could help check the attendance of students and teachers in rural schools as well as the presence of doctors in rural health centers. It will also serve as the basis for building a complete health information system.

In addition, some have said that the ID card is sufficient for opening a bank account. Currently, more than 50 percent of India’s people currently do not have bank accounts, and 90 percent of the bank accounts that had undergone initiation about a decade ago under a policy of opening bank accounts for all people living in India have either closed or do not receive use.

India is the second most populated country in the world. Due to this reason, and the fact that a large percentage of the population lives in poverty, the country’s government must do everything it can to improve the situation and alleviate poverty. Technological improvements and their usage were a great help in reducing poverty in India, and the country should take similar steps in the future in order to improve the situation in the country.

– Casey Geier
Photo: Flickr

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How Technology is Reducing Poverty in Thailand

How Technology is Reducing Poverty in Thailand
Thailand, the Southeast Asian Nation, is a country that has benefited from programs that use technology to help people living in poverty. There are several examples of how technology is reducing poverty in Thailand, and this article is going to present some of them.

Internet Centres

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand have established more than 20 rural internet centers nationwide. NBTC-ITU Volunteers programme built this network, and each of the more than 20 centers is equipped with at least 10 computers connected to the internet. The centers, located in 16 provinces across the country, strengthen information and communication technology (ICT) skills among students and are helping to promote social and economic development in some of the most remote areas of the country.

At the centers, students, youth and members of the local community are trained in how to use computers and are given courses for basic digital literacy needed to access information online. The center is useful because it gives students the ability to do online research in order to widen their knowledge of various subjects taught in school. They have also been able to transfer the computer and internet knowledge they have gained back to their families and communities, allowing them to use e-commerce platforms to do business and thus expand their family incomes.

Internet Advantages

While global connectivity is rapidly expanding and empowering billions of individuals around the world, ITU data shows that more than half of the global population remains cut off from the vast resources available on the internet. Access to information and communication technologies can help facilitate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in rural areas. Access to the internet allows citizens to access basic services such as education and health care and is helping to lift people out of poverty through e-commerce and job growth. Nowhere else is this more pertinent than in rural and remote areas. In 2016, Thailand had more than 29 million internet users or 42.7% of the total population, which puts the country in 24th place in the worldwide ranking of internet users.

Thai People Map and Analytics Platform

In 2018, the Office of National Economic and Social Development Board (NESSB), the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the Ministry of Science and Technologies joined up to help alleviate poverty in Thailand. The NECTEC center developed the Thai People Map and Analytics Platform (TPMAP) to pinpoint the problems people are facing in Thailand in different areas. Policymakers can use TPMAP to decide on which poverty programs are suitable for each poverty-stricken area specifically. The data system TPMAP collects can help improve the quality of people’s life by increasing income, boosting employment opportunities and reducing living costs.

Suttipong Thajchayapong, a senior researcher at NECTEC, said that to understand poverty in Thailand, one needs to question who the poor are, what their basic needs are and how their poverty can reduce. TPMAP can precisely answer these questions by integrating data from different government agencies. It can also compare individual indicators year to year to see if poverty is reducing. TPMAP uses five poverty benchmarks to determine levels of poverty. These benchmarks include education, health care, income, living standards and access to public services. The total number of people surveyed this year was 36,647,817 people and out of this number, 1,032,987 were poor people.

Establishing internet connections as well as various platforms such as TMPAP are examples of how technology is reducing poverty in Thailand. If Thailand continues to implement programs utilizing technology, people living in poverty will have more access to basic services. The country has implemented multiple programs that have addressed the issue of reducing poverty in Thailand. Utilizing technology is crucial for helping people living in poverty to access basic services.

– Casey Geier
Photo: Flickr

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Tech Industry in Cameroon

Tech Industry in Cameroon
As Africa experiences the highest rate of growth of digital consumerism in the world, Cameroon finds itself at the forefront of the continent’s technological boom.

This rise of the tech industry in Cameroon is quickly changing the landscape of the country, and the investment opportunities these companies are bringing in, as well as the digital products they produce, could prove key to building Cameroon’s economy and improving the lives of its impoverished citizens.

Rise of Startups

Despite the steady improvement of living conditions in Cameroon, many citizens still struggle to survive. As a result, numerous startups in the country have set out to use advancements in technology to work for people in need.

Noticing that the cost of smartphones is lowering every day while access to health care is still difficult and that the infant death rate remains high, tech startup GiftedMom created an app allowing pregnant women and new mothers to text health care professionals for help when they cannot afford to see a doctor in person.

Similarly, Agro-Hub set out to help farmers, who make up nearly 70 percent of Cameroon’s population, as they fight to keep their work profitable. The startup helps farmers adapt to market changes, sell their products and find a community among other farmers who may offer help.

As unemployment remains a constant issue, web platform Njorku helps people from Cameroon to find jobs by offering an easy-to-use interface for both people looking for work and recruiters trying to find well-suited candidates.

These startups, only a few among many, use technology to solve real-world issues with practical solutions. As they succeed, the users they target (impoverished peoples, mothers and infants, unemployed individuals) also succeed.

Through Education Comes Potential

Seeing the possibilities that can arise when people are educated and knowledgeable about technology, many tech industry professionals both within Cameroon and abroad have invested time and resources to prepare young people for participation in the industry.

In 2015, German software corporation SAP hosted Africa Code Week in 17 African countries, including Cameroon, with the goal of spreading digital literacy and preparing African youth to work and compete in an increasingly digital world.

The Genius Center in the Cameroon city of Douala teaches children coding, computer skills and the ability to think of digital solutions for real-world issues, preparing them not only for employment but also to use these skills to improve their communities.

While Africa’s fast-growing population raises alarms of poverty and unemployment, the rise in technology training provides hope for job openings increase and creation of well-educated workers who are capable of performing in these roles.

Looking Forward

As the tech industry in Cameroon continues to grow, significant changes are necessary for the growth to be sustainable. The country is still reeling from a three-month government-imposed internet shutdown in English-speaking regions that ended in early 2018, leaving tech professionals wary of the government as it announces plans to support the industry in the coming years.

Due to tech professionals’ suspicion of the government and Cameroonian business peoples’ hesitation to invest in this industry, many startups have sought investment from investors outside of the country.

For Cameroon to fully enjoy the benefits of this growing industry, domestic investors must understand and support the rapidly evolving direction in which the world market is trending.

While these changes are necessary for the benefits of the tech industry in Cameroon to be realized, the country has already made significant headway in establishing itself as a global competitor in the industry.

 – Rob Lee
Photo: Flickr

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D-Rev Technology is Helping to Reduce Poverty 

6. D-Rev Technology Helping to Reduce Poverty 
In today’s world, technology is everywhere. Our cell phones are constantly glued to our hands, and our eyes are glued to the screens. Although many may say that our technologically advanced world has created many negatives, there are certain positives as well. Technology has more uses than just convenience, entertainment and connections. Modern technology companies can drastically change the lives of those in poverty by aiding them with technology that helps improve their lives, health and overall well-being.

D-Rev Technology is Helping to Reduce Poverty

One company that has stepped up and focused its technological equipment and research on helping the well-being of those in poverty is D-Rev Technology. D-Rev Technology, or Design Revolution, is a newly established company whose mission is to design and deliver affordable, innovative medical devices that protect and transform the lives of those in poverty.  

The company has partnered with organizations like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Stanford School of Medicine, Child Relief International, One Heart World-Wide, US Aid, UK Aid, Saving Lives at Birth and many others who are interested in helping those less fortunate. The team has worked hard to build this company to ensure that D-Rev technology has a positive impact on the health and well-being of its patients.

As for the products, its most recent product is the ReMotion Knee, a prosthetic device, and the Brilliance phototherapy machine, which is used to treat jaundice in newborns. D-Rev Technology uses its products to address global health inequalities by recognizing that treating health is one of the biggest steps in treating poverty.

D-Rev Technology’s Main Focus

Through its innovative products, D-rev is able to focus on the main problems and solutions. The biggest problem it has seen so far is the” lack of access to high-quality, affordable medical devices for hospitals and clinics serving the world’s poor”. The healthcare gap has created a cycle of poverty that is never-ending.

D-Rev Technology focuses on two specific problems for now: severe jaundice and prosthesis. Newborns in developing countries are often born with jaundice, which is a yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes. This is usually easily treated with phototherapy. However, in developing countries, phototherapy machines are not easily accessible because they are very expensive. If the children are not treated, jaundice can lead to severe brain damage, which is why D-Rev wants to focus on developing affordable devices to help treat these children.

Secondly, in developing countries, millions of amputees don’t have access to affordable, high-quality prosthetics that would allow them to live longer and healthier. Cheap knees are unstable and can create problems for those who live in environments that are not paved or are very crowded. So, D-Rev Technology wants to help those in developing countries have access to these critical devices.

A lack of proper healthcare is one of the key reasons for poverty in many developing countries. The people in these countries can’t afford the equipment to treat their patients. However, companies like D-Rev Technology want to help create and deliver high quality, low-cost products that are easily accessible to doctors and patients. Quality medical treatment allows individuals in poverty to be more productive, happy and independent.

– Negin Nia

Photo: Flickr

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Developing Asia and Technological Progress

Developing Asia
Over the past 25 years, developing Asia has annually created 30 million jobs in industry and services. Job creation improves productivity, raises earnings for workers and largely reduces poverty.

The Impact of Technological Progress

Shifts in employment from sectors with low productivity and pay, typically subsistence agriculture, to sectors with higher productivity and pay in the modern industry are contributing to this process of raising wages. Productivity improvements come from technological progress within sectors, such as diverse high-yielding crops, innovative machine tools in manufacturing, information and communication technology in the service industries.

A common concern with technological progress affecting the economy is the predicted accompanying job displacement; However, recent studies invite a more optimistic prediction of productivity gains that will generate a positive feedback effect of creating more jobs than are being lost. Furthermore, industries that improve productivity with new technology will lower production costs in industries that depend on them, creating a ripple of higher demand and employment in other industries.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) supports the power of rising demand with data from 90 percent of the region’s total employment spanning 12 developing Asian economies between 2005-2015. The analysis predicts an 88 percent increase in employment, which is equal to an annual addition of 134 million jobs with rising incomes.

The ADB has also reported that jobs that necessitate cognitive and social skills and use information and communications technology have increased 2.6 percent faster than the total employment rate annually over the last decade. The wages associated with these jobs also increase faster than those of manual jobs.

Reasons For an Optimistic Outlook for Technological Progress in Developing Asia

The ADB emphasizes that most new technologies are implemented in only some aspects of a job, usually routine tasks, so that they create more time for complex tasks for workers. For instance, ATMs allow bank tellers to prioritize customer relationship management. The more obvious benefit entails the job creation to manage these new technologies.

In the last decade, 43 percent to 57 percent of jobs in India, Malaysia and the Philippines were in informational and communication technologies. The category of India’s craft and related workers is expanding to include specialized technicians who manage machines. Moreover, job sectors that would incorporate technological progress have a large capacity for growth.

Healthcare and education jobs make up 15 percent of jobs in The U.S. In lower and middle-income economies in developing Asia, healthcare and education jobs make up 3.5 to 6 percent of jobs, and business services jobs make up 1.5 to 6 percent of jobs, indicating a high potential for expansion.

Technology in the farming industry can have a positive impact on agriculture. In developed countries, waiters tend to receive the poorest wages; whereas in developing Asia, the agricultural workers receive the poorest wages. Technological progress can help farmers the most directly.

Mobile applications such as phone apps or text messages can assist farmers with tracking agricultural inputs. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have been supporting farmers in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Fiji, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Sri Lanka to implement emerging technologies.

The Necessity of Job Creation

Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP) has suffered from instability and militancy for several decades with increasing out-migration and shrinking private industries. Since 2014, the government, in partnership with The World Bank, has recognized the demand for job creation, especially for the half its population of 30.5 million that are under the age of 30.

Turning to the opportunities of the digital revolution in 2018, the government created a program, Digital KP, that directly addressed this youth unemployment issue by preparing the younger generation for occupations in the technology sector. By supporting the youth with advancing technology, the region is on its way to stability and success.

Many educational programs are being implemented to provide foundations for learning necessary skills. Another strategy involves increasing local IT and digital businesses and attracting investment for them through tax relief programs, promoting co-working spaces and sponsoring annual tech events such as The Digital Youth Summit.

Addressing the Potential Issues

As developing Asia is expected to grow by 6 percent in 2018 and by another 5.9 percent in 2019, governments are aware of the potential challenges presented by increasing new technologies. Some businesses might not overcome the displacement of jobs.  

“ADB’s latest research shows that, on the whole, countries in Asia will fare well as new technology is introduced into the workplace, improving productivity, lowering production costs, and rising demand,” said Yasuyuki Sawada, ADB’s Chief Economist.

“To ensure that everyone can benefit from new technologies, policymakers will need to pursue education reforms that promote lifelong learning, maintain labor market flexibility, strengthen social protection systems, and reduce income inequality.”

Benefits of the ADB

The ADB offers different strategies, such as tax policies that will fight against income inequality. The same technological progress that may cause issues to workers could also foster skills, job-match and provide social protection. For the unemployed, the government can create programs that support them as they navigate the new labor market.

Developing Asia also benefits from the technological progress as it allows older workers to continue participating in the labor force past current retirement age. Artificial intelligence can either substitute or complement physically demanding tasks.

To maximize the benefits of technological progress while compensating for any losses, governments must adapt to the situation with policy changes. Technological progress can then become an optimistic gateway to reducing poverty in developing Asia.   

– Alice Lieu
Photo: Flickr

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Digital Education in Rural Schools

Education in Rural SchoolsEducation is now moving beyond paper and whiteboard. Thanks to a vast network of online learning tools, education has become more attainable particularly to groups in Africa that are suffering from the highest rates of educational exclusion.

Already, $8.15 billion has been invested globally in the first 10 months of 2017 into edtech companies. Realizing the new opportunities made feasible by the advent of educational technology, communities in Africa have incorporated a new digital teaching system that changes education in rural schools.

Ligbron E-learning System (LES)

The rising Ligbron E-learning System facilitates an online network of mathematics and science lessons. Two South African schools, Jabavu and Thubalethu high schools, in the Eastern Cape recently joined the community that is growing close to 39,000 learners with 5,400 being in grade 12.

Since its inception in Mpumalanga in June 2015, 31 secondary schools have been supplemented with this system with great success. The overall pass rate of Umzimvelo Secondary School in Mpumalanga has increased from 38.3 percent in 2009 to 94.5 percent in 2016.

The system connects students in rural areas using live streaming and video technology in virtual real-time classes. Students can communicate with teachers using SMART boards, computers and laptops as well as audio equipment. Prior to each class, they would have full access to class notes and other learning materials via Dropbox.

This program provides teachers the resources for a full curriculum including daily lesson plans, pre-recorded video lessons and more. The live stream lessons can all be saved and replayed for convenience as well. Education in rural schools has suddenly become more exciting and achievable for students.

The productivity of the students and quality of the education have both undergone significant improvement courtesy educational technology. After analyzing this system in Mpumalanga, studies show that it was successful in contributing to the Department of Education’s mandate to increase education, particularly that of math and science.

The Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has been particularly interested in the mission of the Ligbron E-learning System and hopes for its success to materialize in the Eastern Cape as well. “We were very heartened when we partnered with LES on this initiative to hear that learners gain 34.5 percent more knowledge after a 40-minute e-learning maths class, with a 19 percent spike in knowledge after a science class,” said the Head of Community and Stakeholder Partnerships (CCBSA), Nolundi Mzimba, in his speech after the launch of the Ligbron E-learning System’s sponsorship.

The growth of education is inextricably linked to the growth of the economy. Increasing the level of education in Africa will increase the pass rate in important subjects. The community would then have opportunities to acquire the skills they need for better jobs.

The Ligbron Academy of Technology is adamant about being up-to-date with these educational technologies to prepare students and teachers in this new century of technological boom. Its staff members travel to speak with congresses in South Africa on a regular basis to keep the lines of communication open and active.

Africa can bring about a positive change in its education system, especially in rural schools, and eventually resolve the poverty crisis by taking advantage of educational technology.

– Alice Lieu
Photo: Google