World Bank launches global consultation on ICT strategy

World Bank launches global consultation on ICT strategy

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank Group is launchinga global consultation to gather inputs from a wide range ofindividuals and organizations for a new strategy that will guide howit helps developing countries mobilize information and communicationtechnologies (ICT) for poverty reduction and growth.

According to a statement released by the World Bank on Wednesday,interested parties can submit their comments and recommendationsduring one of the three dedicated live webcasts that will be heldthis month, starting on Friday, February 4 or via the ICT Strategywebsite until March 31, 2011.

"You just have to be in any developing country, and you'll seethe power of ICT," says World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. "There are over 3 billion mobile phones now in thedeveloping world. We want to take it to the next level and supportthe use of mobile phones and the Internet as a platform for socialservices, green growth, and social accountability--as a way to helpboost the well being and incomes of poor people."

During the last decade, the 187-member Bank Group has supportedmajor reforms of telecom markets around the developing world,contributing to attract massive amounts of private investment inmobile phone networks. Mobile connectivity networks now reach morethan three billion people in developing countries.

The Bank Group has also financed connectivity infrastructure andsupported regulatory reform, including privatization of state- ownedtelecoms providers, liberalization efforts, human capacitydevelopment, and ICT applications in public administration, healthand education, among others. These new consultations will help setthe scene for the Bank's work in this area in the years to come.

"The ICT field is moving so fast that our strategy should be toleverage expertise outside the World Bank and make it available toour clients," said World Bank Vice-President for SustainableDevelopment, Inger Andersen. "It is about using the World Bank as asmart intermediary, connecting countries to solution providers whoseinnovations can help them address the development challenges theyface."

Altogether, the Bank Group has provided over 7.7 billion U.S.dollars in funding for ICT components in projects, supported over20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in over 80 countriesthrough 300 incubators in infoDev's incubator network, and enabledover 30 billion dollars in private sector investment in low-incomecountries from 1997-2007.