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Linking Knowledge to Action iii

Table of ConTenTs

Foreword ix

Acronyms vii

1. About infoDev 1

2. The Challenge 2

3. infoDev’s Value Added 3

4. infoDev’s Focus 4

5. 2006 Highlights 5

6. FY06 in Depth 7

7. Financials 19

8. Looking Forward to 2007 21

TABLESTable 1 - infoDev’s Key Products 1

Table 2 - Incubator Grant Program 15

Table 3 - FY06 Donors 19

Table 4 - Disbursement by Activity FY05–06 20

FIGURESFigure 1 - Mobile Penetration Rates, 1995–2004 2

Figure 2 - ICT Expenditure % of GDP, 2000–2004 3

Figure 3 - Widening Gap to Low-Cost Voice and Data Access 8

Figure 4 - Internet Cost 8

Figure 5 - Disbursement by Region FY06 21

Linking Knowledge to Action �

ANNEXES Annex I: Statement of Expenditures—FY06 24Annex II: Cash Flow Statement 26

Annex III: Donor Contributions— FY01 to FY06 27

Annex IV: Trust Fund Balance by Donor as of June 20, 2006 28

Annex V: Balances by Donor FY03–FY06 29

Annex VI: Disbursement by Theme FY05–06 30

Annex VII: Disbursements by Region FY05–06 31

Annex VIII: Closing the Legacy Core Program 32

Annex IX: FY06 infoDev Workshops and Seminars 34

Annex X: FY06 Work Program Deliverables 35

Linking Knowledge to Action �ii

ACP African, Caribbean, and PacificAFD Agence Française de DéveloppementAPC Association for Progressive

CommunicationBMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Coop-

eration and Development (Germany)CGAP Consultative Group to Assist the Poor-

estCOL Commonwealth on LearningCRC Center of Research and Consulting on

ManagementDFID Department for International

DevelopmentDGF Development Grant FacilityDMP Development marketplaceDST Department of Science and

TechnologyEASSY East Coast of AfricaEBRD European Bank for Reconstruction

and DevelopmentEHAS Enlace Hispano Americano de SaludEU European UnionFAO Food and Agriculture OrganizationGICT Global Information and Communica-

tion Technology GroupGNI Gross national incomeGSM Global Standard for Mobile

CommunicationsIADB Inter-American Development BankICT4D ICT for DevelopmentICTs Information and communication

technologiesIDRC International Development Research

CentreIFC International Finance Corporation

IICD International Institute on Commu-nication and Development

infoDev Information Development ProgramIP Internet protocolITES/BPO IT-Enabled Services/Business Pro-

cess OutsourcingITU International Telecommunications

UnionIXPs Internet Exchange PointsM&E Monitoring & evaluationMDGs Millennium Development GoalsMDTF Multi-Donor Trust FundMIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee

AgencyNASSCOM National Association of Software

and Service CompaniesNEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s

DevelopmentNGO Nongovernmental organization

OECD Organisation for Economic and Co-operation Development

PDAs Personal digital assistants

SIDA Swedish International Development Agency

SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises

TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

WHO World Health OrganizationWITSA World Information Technology and

Services AllianceWSIS World Summit on the Information

Society

Acronyms and Abbre�iations

Linking Knowledge to Action ix

ForewordinfoDev’s FY06 work program addressed key challenges of importance to its clients in developing countries, and to all its partners in the development community: How can infoDev harness the full power of information and communication technolo-gies (ICTs) as tools to fight poverty, increase opportunity, empower economies and communities, and make government more effective and transpar-ent? infoDev has helped us understand the challenges and opportunities that ICTs bring to the develop-ment agenda, and to recognize how infoDev should turn this understanding into concrete development projects that yield lasting results. infoDev’s work has made a substantial contribution over the past year to the integration of ICTs in the programs that the Bank supports, and infoDev is most keen to ensure that this relationship is strengthened.

Three recent examples highlight infoDev’s growing emphasis on linking knowledge and action:

The European Commission is drawing on advice and guidance from infoDev in designing a $15 million project to establish three business incubators in the Eastern Caribbean. The project aims to support the governments’ efforts to shift their heavy economic reliance away from export crops toward ICT-related industries. This work has now led directly to the development of a toolkit on business incubation for small island developing states.A $40 million World Bank project in Ghana approved by the World Bank’s Board in August 2006 will help the government of Ghana stimulate growth of an ICT-enabled services industry. This project was designed in large part using the results of an infoDev study on the opportunities and constraints facing Ghana in the ICT sector. This work is informing develop-ment of a framework for evaluating opportuni-ties in the ICT-enabled service sector.Guided by a pioneering infoDev study on open access models, the Bank and several other donors

worked intensively with key decision makers to imbed “open access“ principles in the major submarine telecommunications cable project on the East Coast of Africa (EASSY). This project will provide more than 20 coastal and land-locked countries in East and Southern Africa with high-bandwidth connectivity to the rest of the world.

These examples illustrate the potential of the knowledge infoDev generates, and its unique advantage as a consortium of donors to contribute to—and leverage—this knowledge for the benefit of infoDev’s clients and the development agenda at large. This is further evidenced by the fact that in the past year infoDev has been able to leverage additional financial resources to undertake several activities, from donors and partners alike. For example, for the Ghana country study, the govern-ment provided about half of the total cost of the work, and for infoDev’s work on business incubation in the Eastern Caribbean, the European Commission contributed more than half of the cost.

infoDev is about partnership. infoDev is itself a partnership, and its network of collaborating organizations stretches far beyond us as donors. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) continues to be a key partner on the well-regarded Telecommunications Regulatory Handbook. Last year, key new strategic partners included the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which collaborated on ICTs and Education, and the government of India, which contributed extensively to infoDev’s work on ICT-enabled Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Informal working relationships with other organiza-tions, such as the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the International Institute on Communication and Development (IICD), also serve to strengthen and enrich infoDev’s work. The in-kind and financial support of organizations such as these enabled infoDev to tap into knowledge and networks, and to have access to richer research

2006 Progress Reportx

and a more extensive network of direct beneficiaries. Partnership with the donors, and with the other key stakeholders in the development community at large, will continue to be of key importance to infoDev’s strategy and success going forward.

On behalf of infoDev, I would like to thank you, the donors, for your generous support to the program. I know that many of you have made new commit-

ments and pledges for the upcoming years, and for this infoDev is grateful. The hard-working and committed infoDev team has delivered an impressive result for FY06 and I am pleased to present this annual report to you on their behalf.

Katherine Sierra, ChairpersoninfoDev Donor Committee and Vice President, Sustainable Development, World Bank


�. About infodevinfoDev is a research, capacity building, and advisory service focused on using ICTs to help promote sustainable development and reduce poverty. infoDev is governed by a global partnership of international development agencies and, increas-ingly, developing country governments. It is coordinated and served by an expert Secretariat located in the Global Information and Communication Technology Group (GICT) of the World Bank.

�.� GoalsinfoDev’s mission is to enable effective use of informa-tion and communication technology to promote sustainable development and reduce poverty.

Implied in this mission is infoDev’s goal to provide its clients with the knowledge necessary to deliver high-quality and high-impact ICTs for Development (ICT4D) initiatives, and to serve as a vehicle through which key ICT4D stakeholders can align and coordinate efforts to maximize their impact.

�.2 ClientsinfoDev’s core clients are the sector and country staff of multilateral and bilateral international develop-ment agencies, and through them, developing country policy makers, practitioners, and the private sector. Although international donor agencies are infoDev’s core clients, the ultimate beneficiaries of its work—and the greatest sources of insight into

the challenges it seeks to address—are those policy makers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders who struggle with these issues in their own countries every day.

�.3 ProductsinfoDev provides an integrated set of knowledge services to its clients, combining global good practice with local experience and cutting-edge research. infoDev’s core service is to provide its clients with actionable knowledge in ICT4D and to translate that knowledge into program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and learning in flexible ways adapted to the particular needs of each client.

�.4 ApproachSelection Criteria for Research ActivitiesinfoDev sets priorities for its work by focusing on those issues for which there is:

Broad and urgent need and demand in the donor community and among developing countries for better knowledge, guidance, best practice, and innovative approaches. Not already a substantial body of rigorous and well-synthesized knowledge available to donors in forms that they can easily use. Opportunity to influence policy and practice.

Operational ModelinfoDev strives for an operational model in which each input and output is mutually reinforcing:

Table1. infoDev’s Key Products

Applied Research

Capacity Building

Advisory Services

Monitoring and Evaluation

Coordination

Knowledge maps

Analytical Studies

Pilot projects

workshops

training seminars

toolkits/handbooks

technical assistance

Program/project design

Assessments of lessons learned

e�aluation methodologies and handbooks

Consensus building and network facilitation

2006 Progress Report2

In the last 10 years, there has been much hope that ICTs could have a similar impact in developing countries, leading to considerable investment in ICT infrastructure, and experimentation with ICTs as a tool of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Policy makers in developing countries have demon-strated a growing interest in ICTs, increasing investments in technology and expanding the role of ICTs in development programs. As a result, access to ICTs, particularly mobile telephones, has grown rapidly in recent years. In many developing coun-tries, mobile telephones are more in demand than fixed lines, connecting people (including those who never before had access to the telephone) locally, and to the rest of the world.

Increased access represents an enormous opportu-nity. How can ICTs, and particularly mobile telephones, be used to deliver key information and services to the poor?

The last 10 years have witnessed broad and ambi-tious experimentation in developing countries with applying ICTs to achieve development goals. This includes using more advanced ICTs, notably the

infoDev initiates research with a mapping exercise to understand “what we know and do not know” in that field. infoDev may then conduct analytical research, surveys, and evaluations of past experiences, or initiate a pilot project designed to yield further knowledge of the field. Experts within and external to infoDev provide input on the substance of the research. Stakeholder work-shops are held to ensure that client needs remain as the focus of the work. Finally, a panel of experts reviews the knowledge product before it is disseminated.The knowledge is then leveraged to provide workshops, training seminars, toolkits, briefs, and program advice. In providing these services, infoDev incorporates the feedback it receives to strengthen the knowledge base and identify new research opportunities.

2. the ChAllenGe2.� ICt4d todayICTs have proven to be a powerful tool of economic transformation and social empowerment in Organisation for Economic and Co-operation Development (OECD) countries. With the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web, the transfor-mational power of ICTs in the economy at large became even more obvious, provoking profound changes and substantial innovation in a broad range of economic sectors.

The Impact of ICTs According to the OECD, ICT investments ac-counted for about 20 percent of GDP growth among OECD countries between 1995 and 2003. Similarly, a separate study by the London Business School indicates that investments in mobile telephone infrastructure in developing countries have twice the impact on GDP growth as similar investments in developed countries.

figure 1.Mobile Penetration Rates, 1995–2004

Linking Knowledge to Action 3

Internet and mobile telephones, as well as combining old technologies such as radio with the Internet and other newer technologies. These projects have begun to create considerable benefits, including more responsive markets, more account-able government institutions, and greater economic and social empow-erment of the poor.

2.2 Positi�e trends, Yet Gaps remain Although access to ICTs is increas-ing, there are still large populations underserved because the infrastruc-ture is lacking, or access is simply too costly. As an example, a recent World Bank study1 shows that, in 14 out of 19 southern and eastern African countries, dial-up Internet monthly access prices range from 100 percent to 1,000 percent of monthly gross national income (GNI) per capita. ITU estimates that fewer than two out of 100 people in Africa have access to the Internet.

infoDev sees promising results from pilot projects testing new approaches to using ICTs. But many pilot initiatives are still in the embryonic stage, and it is too early to determine the long-term impact of ICT innovations on core development priorities. In some cases, the projects may be mature, but the outcomes, experiences, and lessons have not been documented. There is a wealth of experience waiting to be analyzed and leveraged in future program design. Opportunities also exist to leverage

successful, small-scale projects to extend their benefits to larger population segments.

There are many examples of ICT projects that have gone wrong. “E-development is not easy,” as stated in the report, E-Development: From Excitement to Effectiveness, published by the World Bank Group. “Poorly designed projects can waste precious re-sources…, and lack of crucial pre-requisites can derail even well designed projects,” according to the report.

Developing countries face many opportunities today, as well as complex and difficult choices that affect access and effective, affordable use—choices on investment, policy, and regulation of ICTs. Policy makers and other stakeholders in the ICT4D arena therefore need better access to evidence, guidance, and good practices in harnessing ICTs as a tool of economic and social development. What are the appropriate business models and technologies for extending access to information and communi-cation to the poorest?

3. infodev’S vAlue-AddedinfoDev seeks to help development agencies, policy makers, and others understand how to tackle the

1 E-Development: From Excitement to Effectiveness, The World Bank Group.

ICTs as Job Creator, Government as EnablerIn 1999, 180,000 PCs were available in Algeria. The government launched an initiative to create 100 cybercafés in the capital, in parallel simpli-fying the licensing process and making it afford-able to obtain authorization to provide Internet service. Three years later, the number of cyberca-fés jumped to 4,000, and more than 120,000 Internet-related jobs were created.

figure 2.ICT Expenditure % of GDP, 2000–2004


opportunities and challenges offered by ICT through an integrated research, advisory, and capacity building program. infoDev is in a unique position to provide these services effectively because of the following factors:

1. Efficient Response to Common Needs: info-Dev’s donors have similar needs for knowledge and information. Rather than individually investing in the same knowledge and informa-tion, it makes sense for donors to pool their resources in those areas where they share a common research agenda. A shared advisory service on ICT4D that draws lessons from infoDev’s work with each member and consoli-dates these lessons for use by all would help members apply global best practices to their own programs more efficiently.

2. Flexibility and Nimbleness: infoDev has the flexibility to quickly adapt to emerging issues, new ideas, innovative approaches, and unex-pected challenges faced by donors and their partners in developing countries. This is particularly important, given the fast-changing nature of the technologies, business and service models, and policy and regulatory issues in the ICT4D field.

3. Arms-Length Research: Thinking outside the box, and exploring new models and approaches, might be easier to do collectively at arm’s length. An “arm’s-length” shared mechanism for exploring new models and approaches would permit all participating agencies to benefit from such innovative thinking, and direct it to their priority issues and concerns.

4. Global Scope: infoDev is not limited in scope by certain regions or countries. It is able to identify lessons and good practices in one country that may apply to another, and to connect people and institutions in different countries that are facing similar issues and challenges.

5. Experience: infoDev has a decade of experience with ICT4D issues, and a substantial knowledge base of projects on which infoDev can draw. This experience provides infoDev with an extremely valuable grounding in the realities of implement-ing ICT4D projects in the challenging environ-ments of developing countries.

6. Multidonor Consortium: The multidonor nature of infoDev helps assure that each donor

has access to ideas, models, and good practice in the ICT4D field, emerging from the experiences of all donors. Since infoDev is financed and governed by several donors, and is not the sole instrument of any one donor, it can more easily serve as a neutral convener and coordinator for dialogue and joint action among all its donors. It can also serve as a natural point of contact with a range of other partners and initiatives in the ICT4D field on behalf of all infoDev donors.

7. Access to World Bank Expertise and Networks: infoDev has strong ties and daily contact with World Bank teams working on ICT infrastruc-ture, policy, and regulatory and investment issues across all developing regions. infoDev staff members work closely with colleagues from sectoral and regional departments across the World Bank Group, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

4. infodev’S FoCuS infoDev’s long-term research strategy focuses on three interrelated themes that address particular research questions. These themes and the relation-ships among them reflect the complexity and multisectoral nature of ICT4D:

Access: In a fast-moving technological environment, how can infoDev develop effective policy, regulatory, and investment models that enable affordable, competitive, and sustainable access (voice, data, and services) for all?

Mainstreaming: How can ICT applications and services, appropriately adapted, serve as effective tools in meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as education, health, and public sector reform?

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: How can ICTs help increase the competitiveness of economies? How can one stimulate the creation of a domestic ICT industry, creating access to ICT services, while also creating employment opportunities, particularly for youth? How can ICTs be used to increase the productivity and profitability of small- and medium-sized enterprises?


Some of the most challenging aspects of ICT policy, strategy, and investment in developing countries are at the intersection of these three dimensions of access, mainstreaming, and innovation and entrepre-neurship areas. For example, in FY06, infoDev started devoting more attention to the challenge of rural poverty, and how ICTs can contribute to improving the livelihoods of the poor. infoDev will continue to address this issue in FY07. Similarly, infoDev is leveraging its work and experience across its three themes to provide clients with an improved understanding of how ICTs can be leveraged to achieve the MDGs.

�. 2006 hIGhlIGhtS2

�.� building CapacityA primary focus for infoDev in 2006 was providing capacity-building tools that would help policy makers and practitioners better understand issues relevant to their work, and to make decisions that maximize the effectiveness of their initiatives.

Under the Access program, infoDev is partnering with ITU to launch version II of the widely used regulatory toolkit. Version II will be entirely Web-based and includes the latest knowledge and good practices on regulation of ICTs. Two modules were completed in FY06, and the remaining five modules will be completed by early 2007. The complete version II of the toolkit was used as a basis for a key training seminar for regulators, to be held in Hong Kong in December 2006 in collaboration with ITU.

As part of infoDev’s Mainstreaming Program, infoDev developed an e-government toolkit that will

provide policy makers and development practitio-ners with a comprehensive understanding of the various aspects of e-government program design, implementation, and management. This toolkit will be launched in January 2007.

Under infoDev’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, infoDev provided capacity building grants to 60 business incubators and conducted five regional business incubator workshops to provide training on financing approaches, business models, influencing policy makers, and market strategy. All the workshops were geared toward spurring ICT-enabled entrepreneurship in developing countries. These workshops also facilitated the development of formal business incubator networks and com-munities that enable knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

�.2 exploring new ApproachesAs part of its core mission to develop a better understanding of new approaches to tackling common challenges, infoDev completed two breakthrough pieces on new business models. infoDev’s Open Access study addresses a paradigm shift in the telecom industry that separates infra-structure provider from service provider, with the goal of reducing cost by increasing competition. This study was the basis for the design and develop-ment of the EASSY Submarine Cable project. Separately, infoDev partnered with the IFC, the Department for International Development (DFID), the Global Standard for Mobile Communications (GSM) Association, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP) to conduct a knowledge-map and study of the mobile commerce (m-Commerce) service models emerging in East Asia and Africa. The objectives of the study were first to identify the opportunities provided by mobile networks in facilitating financial transactions for the poor, including remittances, and secondly to establish the drivers for successful implementation of new business models.

�.3 de�eloping new Ser�icesinfoDev developed knowledge and advisory services that build on its investment in research and analysis. Its work on business incubation of ICT-enabled enterprises laid the foundation for advice provided to the European Commission’s work in the Caribbean. The recently completed modules of

Capacity-Building Products in FY06• Version II of the Regulatory Toolkit• Six workshops for regulators• Sixty capacity-building grants to business

incubators• Five regional business incubator workshops• ICT and education training for World Bank

Education staff• Eight workshops on ICT, entrepreneurship,

and competitiveness (See Annex IX for the full list of workshops.)

Capacity-Building Products in FY06• Version II of the Regulatory Toolkit• Six workshops for regulators• Sixty capacity-building grants to business

incubators• Five regional business incubator workshops• ICT and education training for World Bank

Education staff• Eight workshops on ICT, entrepreneurship,

and competitiveness (See Annex IX for the full list of workshops.)

2 FY06 began July 1, 2005 and ended June 30, 2006.


infoDev’s ICT Regulation Toolkit have already served as the basis for an advisory workshop for the staff of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India and Egypt. infoDev’s work on ICTs and Education is helping to guide the prepara-tion of European Commission ICTs-for-Education projects in St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The infoDev study on opportunities to grow the ICT-enabled services sector in Ghana served as a key design input into the $40 million World Bank e-Ghana project (approved by the World Bank Board in August 2006). In FY07, infoDev will continue to provide such on-demand services.

�.4 In�esting in researchFundamental research was conducted in FY06 in the Access, Mainstreaming, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs. A few new areas of focus were also added: health, mobile banking (m-Banking), and rural livelihoods. Research is now underway on ICT applications for health care administration and delivery, and ICTs as enablers for improvements of rural livelihoods. This work will be strengthened and leveraged in the coming year to enable infoDev to provide high-quality advice and capacity-building products in these new areas.

�.� engaging PartnersinfoDev is very proud of its continued collaboration and partnerships with both international and local stakeholders on various research topics and services. These partnerships have been core to the success of infoDev, particularly in ensuring that the research is demand-driven and reaches the targeted audiences. By leveraging partnerships, infoDev is able to deliver more to its clients in a more efficient manner. Some of the partnership highlights for this year included:

ITU on the ICT Regulation Toolkit: This partnership has ensured infoDev’s continued credibility as a knowledge resource on ICT policy and regulation. UNESCO on the ICT for Education agenda: The partnership with UNESCO is increasing infoDev’s visibility and influence with education ministries and other key stakeholders in develop-ing countries, and enabling it to leverage the important work UNESCO has undertaken in education.

Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India: infoDev’s partnership with this department led to the Second Global Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship held in Hyderabad in early November, as well as an incubator manager exchange program, and joint development of case studies. This partner-ship offers a model for stronger linkages between infoDev and developing countries. IFC, the GSM Association, DFID, and CGAP: infoDev has forged partnerships with these groups on the m-Commerce study to identify new approaches for delivering financial services to the poor, and expand its reach to mobile operators in developing countries.Alcatel: infoDev completed a joint report with Alcatel highlighting the opportunities for harnessing new technologies and innovative business models to meet the information and communication needs of rural and underserved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. This report was launched at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005, in Tunis and laid the groundwork for infoDev’s further work on ICT-enabled financial services.Informal working relationships with other organizations such as the IDRC on telecom regulation in Africa, UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) on ICTs and education, and the IICD on review of infoDev’s ICT and competitiveness country studies, have also greatly enriched infoDev’s research and outreach.

�.6 dissemination and outreachAll infoDev publications are publicly available both in print and on the infoDev Web site. In FY06 the infoDev Web site was revamped, leading to greater emphasis on dissemination of infoDev materials, including publications, newsletters, highlights of infoDev activities and events, and links to other sources of knowledge on ICT4D. Work on this will continue in FY07. In terms of direct reach, in FY06 infoDev reached more than 1,100 policy makers and practitioners through workshops and seminars. In addition, 6,000 professionals subscribe to the infoDev electronic newsletter. A focus for infoDev in FY07 will be to develop methodologies to track how policy makers and practitioners may have benefited from infoDev’s work.


The key outreach event for infoDev in FY06 was the World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunis, November 16–18, 2005. At the invitation of the Tunisian government, infoDev organized one of the largest and most well-attended parallel events at the Summit—a day and a half, high-level forum on “Extending the Information Society to All.” The forum attracted strong interest from summit participants, including government officials and international experts. In the keynote speech of the forum’s opening plenary, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal warmly praised infoDev for its role as a catalyst of international cooperation and innovation on ICT4D. The forum provided an opportunity for infoDev to present the results of its research and work program, and to solicit input and feedback from a broad range of stakeholders. infoDev’s publications were well received, and resulted in several follow-ups on specific aspects of its work program.

Other workshops and events hosted by infoDev throughout the year also provided an opportunity to disseminate publications and materials. A full list of these events is provided in Annex IX.

�.� Closing of the legacy ProgramBetween FY96 and FY04, infoDev funded 139 ICT pilot projects. The phasing out of the legacy

program began in FY05, and at the start of FY06, 15 projects remained active. Thirteen projects are now closed, while two legacy projects remain active, one under the Mainstreaming Program and the other under the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. Both will be completed in early FY07.

6. FY06 In dePthIn FY06, infoDev deepened its understanding of its three core themes, Access, Mainstreaming and Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and provided key products and services covering them.

6.� Access—extending ICts to AllUniversal low-cost access to voice and data is a paramount goal for the infoDev Access Program. There is little argument about the benefit of universal access for economic growth and poverty reduction. Yet, despite the recent dramatic rise of mobile telephone penetration rates in developing countries, where the number of telephone lines for the first time in history surpassed that of developed countries, many challenges still remain.

Challenge 1: Extending telephone service coverage beyond affluent urban populations. Reaching rural and underserved communities where

The Fruits of Pilot Projects in TajikistanA few years ago, infoDev provided a grant to Khujand Computer Technologies, Inc. and Youth Opportunities, a very small nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Tajikistan. The grant was com-pleted in 2005. However, sustainability was a key element in the project from inception through today. According to recent communication with the grantee, “the investment that infoDev made was like plant-ing seeds. Now the rewards are beginning to grow.”

Youth Opportunities opened a computer center, not in a regular school like many, but in the roughest of environments, a 900-student orphanage. These students have no opportunities in life and almost all be-come “street kids” without any life skills on graduation at age 14 or 15. The computer center provided hope, allowed the development of goals, and offered a view of the world beyond the “protective” walls around the facility. And yes, some even earned a little while learning computer skills and helping with the project. Most important for some, it provided an ICT education that was the ticket for admittance to “high school” after leaving the orphanage.

Now these youths are finding employment opportunities. An example is Bobo Rozikov, now a 19-year old orphan from the center. He will start work as a computer teacher at School No. 21 in September 2006, leading computer classes for students from grades 7–11 at the Computer Linux Center.

2006 Progress Report�

the provision of service may not be economically attractive to private sector operators is a key challenge that faces many of infoDev’s clients in the developing world. Policy makers are looking for ways to develop sustainable and competitive service delivery models that would make these markets more attractive to service providers.

Challenge 2: Extending access to and reducing the cost of the Internet. Many in the developing world have been inspired by the way in which

investments in data networks in India have enabled the creation of the largest business process, off-shoring industries in the developing world. The potential impact of data networks in enabling economic growth not only for export purposes, but also to serve the domestic economy, is profound. However, most developing countries still have very low Internet penetration rates, and the cost of access is often twice that of high-income countries. The underlying challenge facing development practitioners is therefore to keep abreast of new techno-logical advances and innovative business and regulatory models to achieve

their development objectives. The rapid pace of technological change presents policy makers with complex and difficult choices on investment, policy, and regulation of ICTs. The structure and use of telecommunication infrastruc-ture are directly influenced by regulatory standards that also affect the participation of private investors. The degree to which market considerations are incorporated into the decisions of regulators affects the way that infrastructure is developed and operated, as do the relationships established between regulators and the ICT sector, the government, consumers, and the media.

infoDev’s Access Program responds to these chal-lenges by covering four broad interrelated areas:

1. Policies and Regulation: Designing and imple-menting effective policies and regulation for ICT infrastructure and services.FY06 Highlight: ICT Regulation Toolkit In an effort to provide regulators with the knowl-edge and information they need to make informed decisions, infoDev and the ITU are jointly develop-ing a Web-based ICT Regulation Toolkit, based on infoDev’s earlier Telecom Regulator’s Handbook. Two modules were completed in FY06: Authorization and Licensing, and Legal and

figure 4.Internet Cost

figure 3.Widening Gap to Low-Cost Voice and Data Access


Institutional Framework for Regulation. Other modules will be completed by early 2007 including: (i) Overview on Regulation; (ii) Radio Spectrum Management; (iii) Universal Service; (iv) New Technologies and Their Impact on Regulation; and (v) Regulating Competition, Prices, and Interconnection.

2. Business Models: Developing new models of public and private partnerships to expand access to ICTs.FY06 Highlight: Study on Local Open Access Networks for Communities and MunicipalitiesThis global study on municipal open access net-works, the first of its kind, was aimed at leaders and local policy makers in underserved communities who are faced with the complex and daunting task of delivering to citizens, businesses, and government the benefits accrued from accessing the Internet. It also serves as a useful source for donors and development agencies who may wish to understand more fully the dynamics of emerging markets when considering the provision of loans and grants for specific localized initiatives. This study is expected to be completed in early FY07.

3. Technological Innovations: Using technological innovations to help address the challenge of broadening access to the poor.FY06 Highlight: Open Access Models This completed study lays out the opportunities created by new technological and business models for financing and building telecommunications and information infrastructure, particularly at the backbone level. By separating out transmission infrastructure from the services provided over that infrastructure (something made easier by the transition to Internet protocol [IP] networks), Open Access Models permit greater competition and creativity in service offerings while also creating opportunities for public and private partnership in infrastructure build-out to traditionally underserved areas.

4. Capacity Building: Building capacity and awareness at the policy- and decision-making levels to provide developing countries best practices and good models in a rapidly changing sector.FY06 Highlight: Capacity Building for Regulatory Agencies In collaboration with ITU and other partners, infoDev conducted several capacity building events

in FY06, using the toolkit as a basis for training. A few examples follow: CEO training at the Global Symposium for Regulators, in collaboration with ITU (November 2005); a workshop to help Indian regulators at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) brainstorm on future strategies on unified licensing and voice-over IP (April 2005); a workshop to help Egyptian regulators and Ministry of ICT brainstorm on the convergence of media and ICT sectors (May 2006); and joint workshops with ITU to showcase various modules of the toolkit in Cameroon, Doha, Egypt, Geneva, and Moldova.

Linking Knowledge and Action: infoDev’s Support for Improving AccessOpen Access Building on a workshop hosted by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Information Technology (IT) University in Stockholm, infoDev commissioned a study in FY06 on one particularly promising innovation in structuring the build-out and ownership of informa-tion and telecommunications networks—“Open Access Models: Options for Improving Backbone Access in Developing Countries.” Open Access is a broad approach to policy and regulatory issues that starts from the question: what does infoDev want to bring about outside of purely industry sector concerns? It emphasizes empowering citizens, encouraging local innovation, economic growth and investment, and getting the best from public and private sector contributions. It is not simply about

Emergence of IP NetworksIP networks operate in markedly different ways to traditional telephony and this paradigm shift offers considerable potential for unlocking wider access to ICT. It has already allowed the separation of services and infrastructure and it is being built with new technologies that lower both business entry and operating costs. For developing countries, this paradigm shift from a closed to open network architecture offers plen-tiful opportunities to carve out a competitive environment that does not need to follow a single path or necessarily copy all aspects of models adopted in more advanced countries.

Emergence of IP NetworksIP networks operate in markedly different ways to traditional telephony and this paradigm shift offers considerable potential for unlocking wider access to ICT. It has already allowed the separation of services and infrastructure and it is being built with new technologies that lower both business entry and operating costs. For developing countries, this paradigm shift from a closed to open network architecture offers plen-tiful opportunities to carve out a competitive environment that does not need to follow a single path or necessarily copy all aspects of models adopted in more advanced countries.

2006 Progress Report�0

making microadjustments to the technical rules of the policy and regulatory framework, but seeking to produce fundamental changes in the outcomes that can be delivered through it. The “openness” creates a market dynamic at every level in the system, emphasizing the need to innovate in cost terms to expand the user base at a price and in a form appropriate to them. Thus far, Open Access Models have been deployed in several developed countries, but their application in developing countries is under consideration, particularly in the case of the proposed EASSY project.

African Regional ICT Infrastructure: The EASSY Project Building on the Open Access work, infoDev, on behalf of its donors, has become active in several aspects of the policy debates and consensus building surrounding the EASSY project. This project seeks to connect 203 coastal and landlocked countries (more than 400 million people) in eastern and southern Africa through a high-bandwidth, undersea fiber optic cable system and terrestrial backhaul links to the rest of the world. The aim of the EASSY project is to increase accessibility to ICTs by significantly reducing the current prohibitive cost of telephony and Internet connectivity. Consequently, this will boost regional competitiveness and enable Africa to participate more actively in the global economy.

In FY06, with special funding from DFID, infoDev supported the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) e-Africa Commission to enable it to convene a series of expert meetings, ministerial deliberations, and other efforts to build consensus among governments, operators, interna-tional donors, and other key stakeholders. infoDev also provided financial support to the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) for a workshop of key civil society stakeholders in Mombasa, Kenya, in March 2006 to identify options for civil society voice and leverage in the EASSY negotiations. Open Access principles have now been embedded in the provisional agreements reached among all the negotiating parties (govern-

3 Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

ments, donors, private operators, and other inves-tors) to this project.

Municipal Broadband Networks Even if international, national, and regional networks are built and expanded, the individual user encounters and benefits from ICT infrastructure and services in a specific locale. However, that “last mile” of connectivity is often difficult to roll out. In FY06, infoDev commissioned a study on “Local Open Access Networks for Communities and Municipalities.” Targeting local leaders and policy makers in under-served communities who are interested in extending access to the Internet to their local communities, this study and toolkit provides a systematic review of experience with municipal networks in both develop-ing and developed countries. It also provides rich guidance on the rationale for such initiatives; describes various forms of public and private partnership and technology options for building out ICT infrastruc-ture and services at state and local levels; and outlines key steps for implementation. The study includes several recent successes in countries as diverse as India, South Africa, Nepal, Ghana, and Brazil. The study, along with associated case studies and training materials, will be available in early 2007. 6.2 Mainstreaming—Applying ICts to reach de�elopment GoalsConsider this:

The MDGs have set ambitious targets for poverty alleviation. Access to ICTs is listed as one of the key targets of the agenda, and more evidence is surfacing that can make effective use of ICTs to achieve other targets, such as im-proved access to quality education and health care services.

Empowering Local Leaders“The Nepal Wireless Networking Project was not started as a result of the policies and deci-sions made by international organizations or the government of Nepal; it started with a dream, and that dream provides Internet and telephone services while supporting education and health care.” —Mohair Pun, Nepal Wireless Networking ProjectMahabir Pun is one of the local leaders highlighted in the Local Access Study who aspires, on behalf of their com-munities, to deliver services for the common good.

Linking Knowledge to Action ��

Development institutions are increasingly investing in ICT applications across a broad range of sectoral programs in client countries. For example, according to a recent study by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group, approximately $4.2 billion dollars of the Bank’s lending portfolio alone is related to ICTs. These types of projects often require a skill set that bridges sectoral skills with ICT-related skills, which are in short supply. Developing countries are also increasingly integrating these technologies into their develop-ment programs. For example, India alone is developing a $5 billion national e-government program that aims to improve service delivery to citizens through ICTs. The fast pace of technological change is forcing the development of new business models that could potentially have a profound impact on overcoming mainstream development challenges. For instance, many governments are outsourcing certain functions to the private sector, which has become even more attractive with the advent of sophisticated ICT applications.

These drivers create the need for comprehensive, yet practical research that provides policy makers and development practitioners with information on how to design, develop, implement, and manage such programs and to stay informed of new emerging technologies that may benefit their work.It is for these reasons that infoDev has been focusing on the mainstreaming agenda. infoDev’s Mainstreaming Program currently encompasses six broad topics:

1. Education 2. Health 3. Public Sector Reform 4. ICT-Enabled Services for the Poor5. Livelihoods of the Poor6. ICTs and the MDGs

Linking Knowledge and Action: infoDev’s Support for Mainstreaming ICTsEducation and ICTs The infoDev Education and ICT Program focuses on three key areas:

1. Monitoring and evaluation of ICTs in education projects

2. The use of ICTs to support teaching and learning

3. The use of ICTs for education administration

Despite the fact that development practitioners have been experimenting and investing in ICT applica-tions in education for several years, there is still a lack of hard substantiated data that can distill the impact of such investments in reaching development objectives. For example, a recent infoDev survey of 95 World Bank education projects found that 50 contained funding for education management information systems, but no formal evaluation had been conducted of the implementation or effective-ness of these types of investments.

In FY06, infoDev focused on knowledge needs identified in infoDev’s ICT and Education Knowledge Maps, with particular emphasis on monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The Handbook on Monitoring and Evaluation of ICT in Education provides education specialists in donor agencies and in developing country governments and institutions with a comprehensive set of indicators that could be integrated into ICT-related education projects to establish benchmarks at the beginning of the project development. These indicators would help in better assessing the impact of the investments made and pinpointing where problems need to be fixed.

Connecting African Schools to the Internet—infoDev Expertise Leveraged to Assist NEPADNEPAD’s vision is to connect all African schools to the Internet. The African partnership is cur-rently implementing the “e-Schools project” to test various models in 16 African countries. In partnership with the COL, infoDev is evaluat-ing the lessons learned from the ongoing NEPAD e-Schools pilot project. infoDev sup-port for this M&E work ensures that NEPAD, its member countries, and the donors who wish to support them, can rely on independent as-sessments on the ground of what works and what doesn’t to help guide their decisions to invest (or not to invest) in related initiatives in the future.


At the request of several donors planning ICT and education projects, infoDev is surveying a decade of ICTs in education initiatives in Africa and the Caribbean to provide donors and governments with an overview of what is actually happening on the ground, and what lessons can be derived from this experience to inform investments forwarding the future.

In response to growing demand among policy makers for training on ICT and education issues, infoDev has partnered with UNESCO to further develop the ICT in Education Policy Makers Toolkit, which will be used in a series of regional capacity building activities in FY07.

Health and ICTs As with education, the use of ICTs in health can help improve delivery of health services by overcom-ing geographic constraints through telemedicine technologies and improve the efficiency of health administration through health information systems. Service delivery and health administration are the two key focus areas of the infoDev ICTs for Health program. The challenge faced by many development practitioners in this area is lack of understanding of how to best integrate these technologies to achieve development goals in this sector.

The constraint is due primarily to a lack of skill mix in the traditional sectoral specialization that understands the role of IT in health. For this reason, infoDev has been focused on foundational research that would help practitioners better understand the potential impact ICTs could have on overcoming

the development challenges facing the sector. In FY06, infoDev commissioned a knowledge mapping exercise on ICTs for health and a framework paper designed to lay out the key issues and challenges for donors in applying ICTs in the health sector. Several dozen specialists from around the world participated in an electronic discussion that contributed substan-tially to the knowledge map and framework paper, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Geneva hosted a review workshop on the paper in March. This work will help infoDev introduce senior level decision makers in development institutions to the realm of ICTs in health and its potential impact on achieving the challenges they face.

Public Sector Reform and ICTs The service industry in developing countries relies heavily on ICTs to improve efficiency and the quality of service. In many developing countries, the public sector constitutes a significant part of the service sector and it is primarily for this reason that many developing (and developed) countries have been investing heavily in e-government related projects. These applications, if applied and managed correctly, can have a substantial impact on improv-ing efficiency, increasing transparency, increasing accountability, reducing corruption, and reaching underserved communities. Policy makers are also using e-government programs to nurture the development of the local IT industry by outsourcing the development, and in some cases, the operation of such services.

Given the maturity of this industry in the more advanced countries, practitioners and policy makers are inundated with information on the topic. However, much of this information is not focused on the unique needs and characteristics of develop-ing countries where the appropriate infrastructure

PDAs to Improve Health Care in AfricaSatellife has implemented pilot projects to test the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) to collect community health information to sup-port health care planning such as conducting immunization campaigns, improving doctors’ access to current medical information (such as country-specific drug lists and treatment guide-lines), and linking health care professionals so they can share information and knowledge. Pilots have been implemented in 12 developing countries, and show significant productivity and quality gains.

India: National e-Government Program expected to cost $5 billionThe government of India is developing a na-tional e-government program that aims to im-prove service delivery to the public in more than 25 various services. The government plans to adopt public and private partnership models for many of the services in order to conserve public resources and improve service delivery through private operators. Source: The Hindu Business Online–June 14, 2006.

Linking Knowledge to Action �3

and skills are in short supply. As a result, infoDev first commissioned a comprehensive knowledge map of what is already available on these issues to help guide policy makers and practitioners interested in the topic to separate the wheat from the chaff, identifying the most useful and relevant resources and best practice examples in the field. A draft of the knowledge map was completed in FY06. An e-government toolkit is being developed in early FY07, aimed at covering a broad range of related topics, such as strategy, change management, organizational structures, standard setting, M&E, public/private partnerships, and best practice applications. This toolkit is primarily being devel-oped for mid-level policy makers and practitioners in developing countries.

ICT-Enabled Services for the PoorIncreased access to ICTs in the developing world offers new opportunities to extend valuable services and information to the poor. infoDev started work investigating such applications through a study conducted in collaboration with Alcatel, to identify opportunities for leveraging new technologies and innovative business models to meet the information and communication needs of the rural and under-served communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. This report was launched during the second phase of the WSIS held in Tunis November 16–18, 2005.

Building on this work, infoDev began to examine how the spread of mobile telephones makes it possible to extend the reach of formal financial services beyond the realm of urban physical locations. infoDev therefore partnered with the GSM Association and the IFC to analyze two of the most promising recent examples of these business models, both in the Philippines.

The case studies analyzed market conditions, user segmentation, banking concerns, and regulatory concerns to be a resource for mobile operators, regulators, and policy makers alike. This report and a recent DFID report on “The Enabling Environment for Mobile Banking in Africa” provided the basis for a joint infoDev and DFID knowledge map on mobile banking (m-Banking), completed in FY06. The knowledge map identifies gaps in which further work is needed and in which donor assistance may most usefully be deployed. infoDev’s ongoing work in this area will be designed to address these gaps, and conducted in partnership with CGAP, GSM Association, and others.

ICT-Enabled Livelihoods for the PoorAccording to the World Bank, about 70 percent of the target group for the MDGs live in rural areas, particularly in Asia and Africa. Much has also been said about how ICTs can potentially help extend needed services and information to the rural poor.

Rural poverty is not confined to Access, Mainstreaming, or Entrepreneurship, but rather extends across them. infoDev laid the groundwork in the second half of FY06 to further integrate the focus on the rural poor across themes. Building on important work already conducted by the DFID, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank, infoDev initiated a knowledge-mapping and framework exercise focused in the first instance on the impact of ICTs on the livelihoods of the poor.

ICTs and the MDGsinfoDev’s FY06 work program laid the groundwork for an integrated set of capacity building and policy materials on the contribution of ICTs to the MDGs. These materials will serve as the basis for capacity building workshops for policy makers and other key stakeholders in several developing regions in FY07.

The Philippines: Remittances through Mobiles Save MoneySMART Communications and GLOBE are two Filipino companies that enable remittances to be submitted over mobile telephones as opposed to traditional bank channels. SMART Communications’ customers are sending US$50 million per month of inward remittances over their mobile telephones. Assuming a similar level of usage per capita on the GLOBE G-Cash accounts and considering the ongoing growth of the services, infoDev estimates that remittances into m-banking accounts provided through these two major cellular networks are at a level of at least US$1 billion per year. As remittances using mobile telephones can be up to four times cheaper than those through traditional bank channels, this translates into significant eco-nomic benefits for the Philippine economy.


6.3 Inno�ation and entrepreneurship—ICt-enabled Pri�ate Sector de�elopment

Enabling ICT entrepreneurship is important to developing countries from three interrelated perspectives:

1. To ensure the sustainability of ICT investments, developing countries must have the local skills and support infrastructure in place to respond to new demands by the public and private sector for maintenance, support, and new solutions. A viable local ICT industry thus ensures that whatever ICT investments are made can be maintained locally, and local content can be developed to serve local needs.

2. ICTs bring about new business opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, such as business process outsourcing and other IT-enabled services. This, in turn, can generate new employment opportu-nities, particularly among youth, who are often drawn to and easily grasp new technologies.

3. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in traditional sectors such as agriculture can also benefit enormously in terms of increased productivity and market reach by applying ICTs to their operations. By making available appropriate and affordable ICT tools, the competitiveness of traditional sectors can thus also be raised.

Realizing these opportunities, and in parallel observing the rise of the IT industry in such leading countries as India and Brazil, many policy makers in developing countries are prioritizing growth of the local IT industry as a development objective. However, many challenges stand in the way for effective nurturing of ICT entrepreneurship on the policy, business development services, financing, and infrastructure levels.

infoDev’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program responds to these opportunities and challenges through the following:

1. Financial Support and Capacity Building—The Incubator Initiative aims to increase the capacity of local incubators that promote ICT-enabled entrepreneurship, and leverage a network of incubators to conduct applied research on the topic.

2. Analytical Work and Toolkits—infoDev assesses the challenges that face local ICT

ICTs as Enabler for Reaching the MDGs“There is already a strong correlation between ICTs and the MDGs based on a mutually shared objective: namely the efficient, scalable, afford-able, and pervasive delivery of goods, services, and information flows between people, govern-ments, and firms. Significantly, of all the MDG targets, it can be said that ICT has made the most rapid progress to date and is ‘on-track.’ Ultimately, however, despite the obvious benefits to economic growth, including pro-poor growth, of the global explosion of ICT supply and de-mand, it is as a generic technology and develop-ment enabler (Goal 1-7) rather than simply as a stand-alone production sector (Goal 8) that ICT will most impact the MDGs.” Source: UN ICT Task Force on “Mainstreaming

ICTs for the Achievement of the MDGs.”

The Promise of IT-Enabled Services/Business Process Outsourcing (ITES/BPO)The global market for ITES/BPO has been estimated at US$300 billion (and thus far, only 10 percent has been realized). India is the dominant player, witnessing dramatic growth in employment in the sector from 42,000 in 2002 to an estimated 470,000 in 2006. This sector’s strong potential for direct and in-direct job creation (the National Assocation of of Software and Service Companies [NASSCOM] esti-mates that for every job created in the ITES/BPO sector, four jobs are created in other service sectors), and relatively low capital and physical infrastructure investment requirements have generated significant interest across the developing world. In some cases, this interest has led to well-intentioned, but poorly designed ITES/BPO initiatives. At the request of its donors, infoDev is therefore developing an analyti-cal framework for strategically assessing the opportunities the global ITES/BPO can or cannot offer a developing country.


entrepreneurs through applied research on issues such as access to financing and use of ICTs, and provides support tools.

3. Advisory Services—Through sector and country level assessments infoDev provides guidance to donors and policy makers on enhancing economic competitiveness through ICTs.

Linking Knowledge and Action: infoDev’s Support for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipIncubation of ICT-Enabled EnterprisesinfoDev’s global network of incubators now consists of more than 60 business incubators across Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the Middle East. These organizations reflect the enormous diversity of business models for delivering business development services to ICT entrepreneurs,

and the common and unique challenges faced in the respective local environments.

In FY06, this initiative, largely funded by the government of Japan, received additional funds from the government of Finland, which is further leveraged through counterpart funds from local governments, private sector partners, and other donor agencies, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), IDRC, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Commission at the country level.

In FY06 infoDev also signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of India, through the Department of Science and Technology (DST), which provides for joint work to be undertaken on (i) the second Global Forum on Business Incubation, which took place in November 2006; (ii) cofinancing of capacity building grants (approximately $400,000); (iii) a joint study on India’s experience and lessons learned with incuba-tion; and (iv) a fellowship program enabling incubator managers from other countries to travel to India on study tours.

The Incubator Initiative can be viewed as both a capacity building program and as a vehicle for research. The knowledge generated is used to provide advice to donors implementing programs on ICT innovation and entrepreneurship.

Capacity Building: infoDev (i) provides the necessary financial and technical assistance to help existing

Supporting Innovation and Creating Opportunities“Growing economies need innovation. Many path-breaking innovations are developed into new products, outside of laboratories of leading industry giants, in small entrepreneurial compa-nies. Business incubators help by offering solu-tions for the common people to articulate their genius and turn it into commercial products. Especially in local and regional tiers of govern-ment, policy makers have turned to business incubation as a means of achieving a wide range of economic and social objectives, such as com-bating unemployment.” — H.E. Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister of State for Science

and Technology and Ocean Development

Table 2. Incubator Grant Program—Summary

Region

(2003)

(2004)

(2006)Total

numberTotal funding

($US)

Africa � � � �3 2,020,000

Asia (east and South) 6 � � 22 3,��0,000

europe and Central Asia 3 6 � �4 2,6�0,000

latin America and Caribbean 6 4 � �� 3,3�0,000

Middle east and north Africa � 2 � � �,4��,000

total �� 26 2� �2 $�3,4��,000


business incubators improve and scale up their operations; (ii) facilitates the development of new business incubators in areas that are not currently served; (iii) encourages innovative uses of ICTs and entrepreneurship at the local level and based on local needs; and (iv) has established a network of knowl-edge sharing among business incubators that support ICT-enabled SME development.

Thirty new incubators joined the network in FY06, among them the war-torn nations of Angola and Rwanda, seeking to establish incubators to create new opportunities, jobs, and contributing to economic revival.

Research: infoDev leverages the global network of incubators to identify and understand the primary constraints to ICT-enabled innovation, new business creation, and expansion across the economy, including financial and human resource limitations, as well as policy and regulatory challenges. The Financing Gap study discussed in further detail below builds on needs identified through this network. Related to this work, infoDev has commis-sioned an Assessment of International Best Practice for the Establishment of Sustainable Information Technology Parks, including three country studies (Russia, Jordan, and Vietnam). These were also launched in FY06, and will be completed in early FY07.

Donor Program Advice: The knowledge created through the Incubator Initiative is also used to deliver customized advisory services to infoDev donors. In FY06, as a follow-up to and infoDev study and workshop jointly sponsored with the European Union (EU), on the role of ICTs in improving competitiveness and increasing economic diversification in the Caribbean, the EU has continued to partner with infoDev in designing and implementing business incubators in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This work has resulted in the establishment of the first business incubators in the Eastern Caribbean. The experience in designing these business incubators is being captured in a new infoDev toolkit on business incubation in small island developing states, which will be completed in November 2006.

Networking and Partnerships: Networking and partnerships are key to the capacity building and

research components of the Incubator Initiative. infoDev organized five regional workshops on innovation, entrepreneurship, and business incuba-tion: Europe and Central Asia (June 2005), Middle East and North Africa (January 2006), Asia (February 2006), Africa (May 2006), and Latin American and the Caribbean (May 2006). The main objective of these workshops was to form regional networks to provide a venue for training and cross-border knowledge sharing and collabora-tion. The networks, consisting of the infoDev-supported business incubators in each region, as well as other business incubators and organizations, are now beginning to form and grow, facilitated by grant funding from infoDev to support trainings, regional meetings, shared online collaboration tools, and other activities designed to foster regional networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.

Financing Technology EntrepreneursA key finding from the Incubator Initiative is the gap of available financing for technology entrepre-neurs. Without appropriate financing, the inevitable result is a significant slowdown in the development process, which in a fast-moving business such as ICT may ultimately jeopardize chances of success.

To better understand the financial challenges facing technology entrepreneurs, infoDev commissioned a study in FY06 on “Scaling Up ICT-Enabled Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: The Role of the Private Sector.” The study assesses current efforts by multilateral institutions and investors to address the financing

The Catalytic Effect of infoDev SupportThe Center of Research and Consulting on Management (CRC), an autonomous unit within the Hanoi University of Technology re-ceived a US$50,000 grant from infoDev in 2004 to develop a business plan for a business incubator. The grant enabled CRC to build a model for business incubation that would re-spond to the needs of the community. Today, the business incubator is operational and is cur-rently incubating five early stage businesses. In addition, CRC was able to leverage infoDev’s initial support, to obtain $250,000 from USAID and Microsoft to set up a virtual incu-bator network.


needs of ICTs and ICT-enabled SMEs in developing countries, and identifies the key challenges and constraints to meeting these needs. The assessment is enhanced by 10 country studies4 that provide further detail on supply and demand at the country level across the key regions.

Initial discussions with donors and key stakeholders on the study’s findings and recommendations took place during a joint infoDev and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) workshop held in April 2006, and will continue once the report is com-pleted in early FY07. The study is informing ongoing donor activities, including the World Bank’s US$300,000 project on Enhancing the Environment for Innovation in India.

ICTs, Innovation, and Economic Growth in Transition Economies: Poland, Russia, and the Baltic Countries The transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe face considerable challenges in adapting their economies to compete effectively in regional and global markets and to develop new goods and services that respond to changing domestic and international demand. While some research has been done on the uptake of ICTs as a tool of productivity, competitiveness, and innovation at the industry level in these countries, there is little rigorous data available on the adoption of ICTs at the firm level in key sectors of the economy.

4 Argentina, Brazil, India, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

In FY06, infoDev completed an in-depth study, which included 620 firm-level questionnaires across Poland, Russia, and the Baltic States. The study builds on a similar survey done by the OECD in the EU-15 and has modified the survey to capture issues relevant to firms in developing countries, particu-larly in transition economies. The findings and recommendations from the study, which will be released this fall, aim to inform policy makers and donors on how to design and implement effective policies and programs to promote ICT use across sectors, and will be released in February 2007.

An Assessment of International Best Practice for the Establishment of Sustainable IT Parks, including Three Country Studies (Russia, Jordan, and Vietnam)infoDev is applying the lessons from its firm-level analytical work and Incubator Initiative to under-stand how developing countries can design and implement ICT-enabled economic development strategies that stimulate private sector-led growth in an increasingly global economy. Many developing countries have looked to China, India, and Singapore and have tried to replicate their success stories with costly investments in call centers and IT parks (for example, Technology Park Malaysia, inaugurated in 1996, covers 120 acres and involves a state investment of US$80 million) with mixed results. By leveraging its network of business incubators, several of which are located in IT parks,

Czech Republic Seeks infoDev’s Help to Use EU Structural Funds EffectivelyThe Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade and CzechInvest have had initial discussions with infoDev on how to leverage its work in transi-tion economies to inform the design and imple-mentation of a major ICT support program in the Czech Republic, which will start in 2007. In particular, CzechInvest is interested in using the questionnaire developed for the infoDev study to identify the primary constraints facing entrepreneurs and SMEs in effectively using ICTs to improve productivity. In turn, these findings will not only help CzechInvest to structure its ICT support program, but will also help to further enhance and refine the in-foDev questionnaire.

The Financing GapEvidence resulting from infoDev’s 10 country studies confirms the existence of a financing gap; seemingly attractive ICTs and ICT-enabled SMEs have limited or no access to external financing. The challenge is particularly acute for SMEs that reach the first and second expansion stages, and financing needs increase from US$50,000 to the US$500,000 mark and be-yond. SMEs at these stages, although already in business, and often operating profitably, still do not have a sufficient track record to be accepted as credible borrowers by commercial banks. On the other hand, venture capitalists regard the amounts sought as too small to justify the costs of project appraisal, legal due diligence, and negotiations.

2006 Progress Report��

infoDev aims to shed light on the lessons that can be learned globally and to determine the appropriate policy drivers that are required for an IT park to succeed. The results of this assessment will be published in February 2007.

ICT-Enabled Competitiveness infoDev’s competitiveness assessments respond to increased developing country interest in the success of other countries that have used ICTs to spur economic growth. They seek to assist policy makers in making strategic choices concerning development of a local ICT industry, and enabling the use of ICTs to increase competitiveness across sectors. In FY06, studies of Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda were completed in close cooperation with governments, donors, and other key stakeholders. In all three cases, these studies provided important input into key strategy documents, such as World Bank Country Economic Memoranda and Country Assistance Strategies, and have helped to shape the government’s strategy on these issues (particularly in Ghana, where the infoDev study is guiding the government’s strategy on building competitiveness in ITES and BPO).

Along with these country studies, infoDev commis-sioned a framework paper, which outlines the general analytical model underlying all infoDev country studies. This framework paper examines in detail how ICTs permit the disaggregation of value chains and create opportunities for developing countries to compete in the higher-value intangible portion of those value chains. This paper will be released in February 2007.

6.4 donor Ser�icesinfoDev is a service of and for the international development community. infoDev’s core clients are its donors and through them, developing country policy makers, practitioners, and the private sector. infoDev seeks to provide its donors with a coherent and growing set of knowledge-based services. This depends on infoDev’s ability to raise awareness of, and demand for, its services among a wide range of constituents within these client organizations, and building its reputation and “brand” among these clients by the quality of its work and its relevance to their needs.

Advisory Services

In FY06, infoDev provided donors with both

programmatic and operational advice. For example, infoDev advised the European Commission staff in the Eastern Caribbean on the design of three small-country business incubators that are expected to receive $15 million dollars in support—an experi-ence that is now feeding back into the develop-ment of an infoDev Toolkit on Business Incubation in Small Island Developing States. infoDev also continues to advise Commission staff in Brussels on the final design of a €20 million ICT grant pro-gram for the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, which has been developed largely on the basis of recommendations from an earlier ICT needs assessment for the ACP countries commissioned by infoDev on behalf of the Commission.

Donor CoordinationinfoDev seeks to help facilitate consensus building and coordination among donors in areas of common interest. In FY06, examples of such work included the workshops held around the Ghana competitive-ness study in May, gathering the World Bank and donor private sector development staff to discuss the strategy and roles of the donor community in supporting Ghana’s strategy for ICT development. Similarly, the European Commission convened the donors around infoDev’s ICT and competitiveness study on the Caribbean, to coordinate the approach and intervention of interested donors.

infoDev also seeks to help the donor community stay abreast of the latest developments in leveraging new technologies to address core development challenges. In FY06, infoDev organized several events for this purpose, including:

The Role of ICTs in Extending Financial Services to the Poor—a seminar held in partnership with CGAP illustrating recent examples of how entrepreneurs are now using ICTs to extend financial services to the poor, and also illuminating some of the challenges these entrepreneurs are facing in scaling up their operations.Addressing the Financing Gap for Technology Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries—a workshop held in partnership between infoDev and AFD. This was the first time donors and venture capitalists had met to discuss the challenges of financing ICT entrepreneurs in developing countries.


Staff ExchangeFY06 saw the first of what is hoped to be regu-lar, short-term assignments of donor staff to the infoDev Secretariat, when a representative from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Germany, joined the team for approximately three months. This was followed by a joint infoDev-BMZ workshop held at BMZ headquarters in Germany in June, aimed at raising awareness of the role of ICTs in development among the German donor community.

�. FInAnCIAlS �.� donor ContributionsOver the past 10 years, infoDev received total cumulative contributions of $115 million. New donor contributions in FY06 totaled $4.5 million, as donors met their annual commitments and provided additional funding for infoDev’s work program, particularly through the newly established Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF).

The World Bank’s Development Grant Facility (DGF) was the largest contributor in FY06 at $2.5 million. The World Bank has been the largest donor to infoDev over time, contributing 30 percent of the total contributions from 1996–2006. Japan follows at 15 percent of total contributions. Over the last three years, significant funding has been contributed by Denmark, the European Union, Germany, Japan,

Sweden, Switzerland, Telecom Italia, the United Kingdom, and the World Bank. (Further details on donor contributions are provided in Annex III.)

In FY06, infoDev managed a total of 11 active trust funds, of which eight were single-donor trust funds and three were multidonor. infoDev began FY06 with a balance of $14.5 million. With additional donor contributions received and interest income, total available resources during FY06 totaled $18.6 million. (Further details on trust fund balances are included in Annex IV.)

�.2 expendituresFY06 disbursements reached $9.1 million, up nearly 20 percent compared with FY05.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, including the Incubator Initiative, accounted for the bulk of the total disbursements at 49 percent, owing to the volume and size of incubator grants. Disbursement of incubator grants increased slightly from $2.8 million in FY05 to $3.0 million in FY06 because of the disbursement cycle of the incubator grants. Other disbursements under this program increased by $0.23 million, reflecting infoDev’s work on the financing gap for ICT entrepreneurs, a study that builds on the findings of the Incubator Initiative, and which will be published in the first quarter of FY07.

Approximately $1.5 million, or 16 percent, of the funds were directed toward the access theme.

Table 3. FY06 DonorsCanada - Canadian International de�elopment Agency

denmark - danish International de�elopment Agency

european union - european Commission

Finland -Ministry of Foreign Affairs

France - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Germany - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Japan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

the netherlands - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sweden - Swedish International de�elopment Cooperation Agency

Switzerland - State Secretariat for economic Affairs

united Kingdom - department for International de�elopment

the world bank - de�elopment Grant Facility


Disbursements for the Access Program increased by $0.9 million over FY05, and were primarily allocated to the development of the Regulatory Toolkit to be launched in December 2006.

Disbursements for Mainstreaming increased by $0.25 million. Money disbursed to Mainstreaming funded primarily education and e-government activities. These activities resulted in a solid body of research on education ready for repurposing and distribution to infoDev’s clients in FY07, as well as foundational research for the e-government toolkit to be launched in December 2006.

Disbursements for the legacy program decreased from $1.0 million to $0.5 million, reflecting the phasing out of the former infoDev core program, which funded ICT pilot projects worldwide, starting in 1995.

Outreach events such as the infoDev symposium and infoDev’s participation in the WSIS accounted for $0.6 million of total expenditures. These events provided good opportunities to showcase and disseminate infoDev’s knowledge work and to raise its visibility as a research, capacity building, and advisory service on ICTs for development.

Also included in the expenditures are investments in infoDev’s new and improved Web site, to be launched in September 2006. The new site will provide infoDev with expanded opportunities to engage communities of practice in its research

through online tools, and to make available infoDev’s knowledge products in a more user-friendly manner.

Management, Administration, and Resource Mobilization accounted for 14.8 percent of total expenditures, and has decreased 7 percent in absolute terms compared to FY05, despite a 20 percent increase in total disbursements over FY05 disbursements (for a breakdown by cost category, see Annex VI).

Compared with FY05, distribution of funds by region remained relatively constant, although the percentage of funds disbursed toward global activities increased from 55 to 63 percent of the total disbursements. Global activities encompass products such as the ICT Regulatory Handbook, designed for use by regulators worldwide rather than being limited to a particular country or region, although the product does contain case studies on individual country experiences. The category also includes activities such as the Global Forum on Business Incubation, which gathers ICT innovation and entrepreneurship stakeholders from around the world to share lessons, ideas, and experiences and identify opportunities for partnership.

The increase of disbursement to global activities reflect infoDev’s strategy to invest in such core research and activities that in turn can be leveraged and customized for country or regional interven-tions. infoDev’s disbursements to activities focused

on Africa also increased slightly from 11 to 15 percent of total disbursements, reflecting an increased focus on the African agenda, including the NEPAD e-School and ICT infrastructure initiatives.

�.3 Cash balanceAt the end of FY06, the cash balance in trust funds and resources from the World Bank (including DGF) amounted to $9.53 million, of which $6.1mil-lion is tied to the Incubator Initiative. New contributions already committed and receivable in FY07 amount to $4.7 million.

Table 4. Disbursement by Activity FY05–06 (in U.S. dollars)

FY06 % FY05 %

Mainstreaming 794,624 9 376,023 5

access 1,487,782 16 600,064 8

innovation and entrepreneurship 4,376,442 47 3,962,156 52

legacy Program 486,723 5 1,012,292 13

Dissemination and outreach 699,980 8 203,944 3

Management, admin. and resource mobilization 1,347,006 15 1,450,071 19

grand total 9,129,126 100% 7,604,550 100%

Linking Knowledge to Action 2�

(For further details on trust fund balances, see Annex IV.)

�. looKInG ForwArd to 200�Over the past year, infoDev has developed solid foundational work in key areas across all of its thematic programs, work that infoDev hopes will enable development agency staff, policy makers, practitioners, and the private sector to make informed decisions that maximize the impact of their work. Looking forward to 2007, infoDev’s four main priorities will be as follows:

State-of-the-art analysis, particularly building on work conducted in FY06, to provide infoDev clients with insights and guidance in an increas-ing number of development areas, such as ICTs applied to health. In line with the emphasis on research, infoDev will further strengthen its research development processes and outreach to expert communities of practice to ensure that infoDev’s research maintains the highest quality standards and reflects the latest knowledge in the field.M&E, which go hand in hand with state-of-the-art analysis. A challenge across all thematic areas is the need to evaluate ICT interventions to better understand their impact and keys to success. Fiscal year 2007 will be the year in which M&E of ICT-related issues will become front and center to infoDev’s work. infoDev’s focus on M&E will cover both macro- and

microindicators to assess impact, effectiveness, efficiency, and as a benchmark for performance evaluation. infoDev’s goal will be to go beyond assessing the impact of interventions to developing appropriate M&E tools and methodologies that infoDev’s clients can use to monitor, evaluate, and strengthen their own initiatives. infoDev will also seek to lead by example, and tune its own M&E systems to provide infoDev stakeholders with a solid

understanding of the infoDev program and its effectiveness.Extracting value from the knowledge created. Over the past years, infoDev has generated a wealth of knowledge in areas such as Access and ICTs applied to education, governance, and entrepreneurship. In FY07, infoDev will leverage this knowledge to deliver appropriate products and services to infoDev clients, packaged according to their needs, and delivered in the form of briefs, practice notes, case studies, data sets, advisory services, trainings, and workshops. Work will also be undertaken to strengthen infoDev and partner distribution channels to ensure that the knowledge generated effectively reaches infoDev clients.Client responsiveness. Key to infoDev’s success is listening to its clients. In FY07 infoDev will therefore continue to expand and strengthen its linkages with operational staff in development agencies, and through them, with local stake-holders. infoDev also seeks to expand its successful experiments with extensive client involvement in the research process, to keep the research grounded and responsive to the needs of infoDev clients, and to expand direct access to the beneficiaries of its work. In this way, infoDev clients become its partners in a common quest for innovative and effective use of ICTs to address development challenges.

�.� Priorities by themeIn FY07, infoDev will continue its focus on Access, Mainstreaming, Innovation and Entrepreneurship as the key themes for its research, capacity building, and advisory service work.

figure 5.Disbursement by Region FY06


In its Access Program area, in FY07 infoDev will focus on:

Delivering a fully revamped version of the Telecommunications Regulatory Handbook, filled with state-of-the-art research, and completed in a user-friendly Web and print formatContinuing to leverage the Regulation Toolkit for training regulators in partnership with Australian Agency for International Development, ITU, and other partnersCompleting and publishing the study on local open access networks for communities and municipalitiesInitiating new work on building local capacity for ICT policy and regulatory research, training, expert assistance, and advocacy in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

In its Mainstreaming Program area, in FY07 infoDev will focus on:

Education—Completing regional surveys and assessments of ICTs in education initiatives in ACP, and leveraging this, as well as other core knowledge generated in FY05–06, to deliver training and workshops geared toward informing planned, donor-supported ICT and education initiativesHealth—Building on the knowledge map conducted in FY06, identifying the key opportu-nities for using ICTs to plan, administer, and deliver health care to the poor, and deriving lessons learned from programs and projects that have previously been implemented Public sector reform

Delivering an e-government toolkit to policy makers, with particular focus on public and private partnerships in e-governmentDeriving lessons from (1) effective applica-tions of ICTs for government service delivery at the local level, and (2) use of the full range of ICTs (including radio and television) to empower civil society as advocates for transparent and effective government service delivery at the local level. In both cases, infoDev’s core objective will be to provide donors and decision makers with evidence-based guidance on these issues.

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Livelihoods of the poor—Completing a knowl-edge map and framework paper on ICTs and the Rural Poor. ICT-enabled services for the poor—Expanding infoDev work in this area, particularly in financial services, building on the work com-pleted in FY06 and in FY07 will include:

A report on mobile-enabled remittance in the Philippines A global assessment of operators and service providers, including a brief description of service delivery model and customer base The development of an analytical tool to identify the critical issues regarding the enabling environment (telecom and banking regulation) and market conditions that need to be addressed to support the expansion of mobile-enabled financial services.

ICT and the MDGs—Developing the curricu-lum for, and delivering, capacity building workshops for policy makers and other key stakeholders in ACP.

In FY07, in its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program area infoDev will focus on:

Completing an extensive international evalua-tion of infoDev’s global Incubator Initiative, learning from the experience of implementations in 60 countries, and leveraging infoDev’s four years of experience with promoting ICT-enabled entrepreneurship through incubation Hosting the second global forum on business incubation, gathering the global network of incubators, along with key experts in the field, to increase the capacity of the incubators and develop regional plans of action to facilitate ICT-enabled entrepreneurship Establishing a Web-based knowledge resource for entrepreneurs and policy makers on supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries, that captures lessons from the network of business incubators and disseminates infoDev’s analytical work on these issues Leveraging infoDev’s analytical work on financ-ing technology entrepreneurs and on ICTs, inno-vation, and economic growth in transition economies to develop targeted capacity building tools

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Continuing to enhance and strengthen infoDev’s sectoral and country analytical work and advisory services to help developing countries and their donors think more strategically about how ICTs can be harnessed to improve competi-tiveness, facilitate trade, and spur economic growth

Increasing support and involvement from donors and other partners in the regional incubator networks to ensure sustainability and to maxi-mize the wealth of knowledge that exists on how to promote ICT-enabled entrepreneurship in developing countries.


annex i. Statement of Expenditures—FY06Theme Program Project/Activity Total

Mainstreaming education use of Technology to Train Teachers (handbook) 109,280

M&e of iCT on education Projects (handbook) 82,925

scalability evaluation of nePaD e-schools 41,038

education Management information systems (case studies) 35,000

iCT in education Knowledge Map and briefs 17,729

Public sector reform e-government Toolkit 236,295

Health Health & iCT Knowledge Map 59,241

iCT-enabled services m-banking study 40,545

Knowledge Work Project Preparation (iCT & MDgs, livelihoods) 104,432

iCT-enabled services Promoting Private sector investment and innovation (Joint study with alcatel) 64,465

Knowledge for africa Dev 3,674

Mainstreaming Total 794,624

access iCT regulatory Toolkit legal & institution aspects of reg. Module 235,303

Managing radio spectrum reg. Module 153,451

Competition & Price regulation Module 137,767

new Technologies regulation Module 96,820

Policy & regulation Module 1,283

Telecom regulatory Toolkit 77,221

Capacity-building Workshops for regulators 78,858

impact of ixPs in africa Concept note 20,230

regulation online 9,033

open access local open access networks for Communities and Municipalities (study, toolkit, case studies) 312,757

open access Models: options for improving backbone access in Developing Countries focused on africa (study)

51,545

affordable access 30,000

support for eassY & africa iCT infrastructure 240,000

expanding broadband broadband Toolkit 43,514

Access Total 1,487,782

innovation & entrepreneurship

Competitiveness assessments Competitiveness framework Paper 120,767

ghana Competitiveness study 120,539

uganda Competitiveness study 83,906

Caribbean & Tanzania Competitiveness studies 24,418

firm level assessment of the impact of iCT in Poland, russia, and the baltics 65,663

e-Commerce study 200,000

incubator initiative incubator grants 2,437,203

Technical assistance & network Development 933,097

support Center (iDisC) 154,055

siDs Toolkit 23,591

financing Technology entrepreneurs

assessment of the financing gap for Technology entrepreneurs (study and case studies) 213,203

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Total 4,376,442


annex i. Statement of Expenditures—FY06Theme Program Project/Activity Total

legacy Program Pilot Projects 486,723

Legacy Program Total 486,723

Dissemination and outreach symposium (Wsis— infoDev forum), conferences 575,700

Web site 60,850

Dissemination and Outreach Total 636,550

Management, administration, & resource Mobilization

general administration 639,992

Program management 310,356

resource mobilization 377,088

staff Training 19,570

Management, administration, & resource Mobilization 1,347,006

Grand Total 9,129,126

Note: The amounts indicated do not reflect the total costs of these activities, as activities span fiscal years.


annex ii. Cash Flow Statement Actual Actual Actual

July 2005– July 2004– July 2003–

Notes June 2006 June 2005 June 2004

Inflows

Donor contribution received & interest income 4,552,088 3,951,909 14,983,069

Cancellations & adjustments a/ (509,198) (136,275) (184,547)

Total inflow 4,042,890 3,815,634 14,798,522

Cash outflow

salaries and benefits b/ 1,906,311 1,635,195 1,321,744

Communications & iT expenses 143,150 115,405 113,259

office space, equip. & buildings 195,364 131,528 140,144

short-term consultants and temps b/ 371,527 561,099 485,786

extended-term consultants b/ 358,484 99,166 0

Travel expenses b/ 508,653 500,367 334,981

Contractual services 107,475 116,821 89,158

Communications, publications 80,913 20,936 131,715

grants 5,247,022 4,403,307 3,274,974

all other expenses 210,229 20,724 23,722

outflows from operations 9,129,127 7,604,548 5,915,483

net increase/(decrease) in cash (5,086,237) (3,788,914) 8,883,039

bank balance beginning of fiscal year 14,536,091 18,325,005 9,441,966

bank balance end of fiscal year 9,449,854 14,536,091 18,325,005

a/ This expense category includes foreign exchange gains and refunds to trust funds because of grant cancellations.

b/ Expenditures in these categories included both administration and research and services activities.


annex iii. Donor Contributions—FY01 to FY06 FY96–03 FY04 FY05 FY06 Total

Donor Contributions—Core Program belgium 511 511

brazil 250 250

Canada 1,271 1,271

Cisco 50 50

Cisco in-kind 141 141

Colombia 240 240

Denmark 896 216 117 160 1,389

el salvador 100 100

european union (multidonor) 854 18 16 888

european union aCP 285 285

european union (in-kind) 80 80

finland 1,013 2 2 719 1,736

france 522 522

france (in-kind) 287 287

germany 1,108 250 40 1,398

germany (in-kind) 171 171

ibM 375 375

ireland 171 171

italy 3,716 3716

Japan 7,252 9,875 233 219 17,579

luxembourg 500 500

Motorola 200 200

Motorola (in-kind) 135 135

The netherlands 1,164 1,164

sweden 2,225 70 2,295

sweden (in-kind) 337 337

switzerland 2,515 491 3,006

Telecom italia (in-kind) 400 70 50 520

united Kingdom 1,517 416 620 18 2,571

Subtotal 27,147 12,038 1,080 1,623 41,888

Y2K

australia Y2K (in-kind) 107 107

Canada Y2k 1,148 1,148

france Y2K 330 330

italy Y2K 295 295

The netherlands Y2K 5,423 5,423

sweden Y2K 1,230 1,230

switzerland Y2K 1,024 1,024

united Kingdom Y2K 16,468 16,468

united states Y2K 12,000 12,000

Subtotal 38,025 38,025

investment income 835 185 179 8 1207

World bank budget 5,830 111 177 422 6,540

World bank Dgf 19,603 2,650 2,500 2,500 27,253

Total 91,440 14,984 3,936 4,553 11,4913

2006 Progress Report2�

annex iv. Trust Fund Balance by Donor as of June 20, 2006

Donor TF Number Date of

ExpiryBalance,

FY06 Start

Contrib. & Investment

IncomeDisbursements Admin Fee &

Other Adjust.Balance, FY06 End

Canada Tf021844 12/31/05 889,453 839,510 (44,157) 94,100

Denmark Tf024698 12/31/06 668,095 159,821 50,000 7,991 769,925

eu Tf053066 12/31/06 713,984 15,755 197,827 531,911

finland Tf070366 04/30/08 718,740 35,937 682,803

Japan** Tf050565 06/30/07 9,213,792 218,652 2,836,405 490,374 6,105,664

Multidonors* Tf024570 12/31/05 1,184,407 8,213 1,154,130 (62,302) 100,792

new Multidonors(germany and switzerland)

Tf070385 06/30/08 490,756 33,671 24,341 432,744

sweden** Tf023173 10/01/06 842,892 124,244 718,648

united Kingdom Tf053392 06/30/06 741,688 17,985 755,329 (8,923) 13,267

World bank, Dgf bbsPl 06/30/06 281,781 2,500,000 2,715,845 65,936

World bank budget bb 06/30/06 422,166 422,166

Total

4,552,088

9,129,127

509,198

9,449,855

* Expired in FY06—unused funds to be returned to the donors.**Funds in these trust funds are committed to ongoing activities.


annex v. Balances by Donor FY03/FY06

Donor Expiry date Balance, FY03 end

Balance, FY04 end

Balance, FY05 end

Balance, FY06 end

Canada* 12/31/05 842,731 842,731 889,453 94,100

Denmark 12/31/06 280,595 500,013 668,095 769,925

eu (multidonors) 12/31/06 811,035 713,984 531,911

eu (aCP) 01/31/05 210,048

finland 04/30/08 176,408 163,893 682,803

Japan** 06/30/07 3,321,919 12,107,991 9,213,792 6,105,664

old multidonors*** 12/31/05 3,143,161 2,251,657 1,184,407 100,792

The netherlands 12/31/03 15,090

new multidonors(germany & switzerland) 06/30/08 432,744

sweden** 10/01/06 983,748 925,222 842,892 718,648

united Kingdom *** 06/30/06 315,000 411,428 741,688 13,267

World bank—Dgf 06/30/06 378,404**** 85,897**** 281,781

World bank budget 06/30/06

Total $9,441,966 $18,325,005 $14,536,091 $9,449,855

*Extension of this trust fund is underway.

**Funds in these trust funds are committed and thus are not available for new activities.

***Expired—unexpended balance to be cancelled and returned to the donor.

****Funds rolled over to the next fiscal year.


annex vi. Disbursement by Theme FY05–06 (in U.S. dollars) FY06 % FY05 %

Mainstreaming 794,624 9 376,023 5

access 1,487,782 16 600,064 8

innovation & entrepreneurship 4,376,442 47 3,962,156 52

legacy Program 486,723 5 1,012,292 13

Dissemination & outreach 636,550 8 203,944 3

Management, admin., & resource Mobilization 1,347,006 15 1,450,071 19

Grand Total 9,129,126 100% 7,604,550 100%


annex vii. Disbursements by Region FY05–06 (in U.S. dollars)Region FY06 FY05

africa 1,380,960 15 843,950 11

east asia 259,893 3 506,370 7

europe and Central asia 533,606 6 881,274 12

latin america and Caribbean 658,045 7 681,652 9

Middle east and north africa 207,162 2 418,729 6

south asia 321,711 4 81,149 1

global 5,767,748 63 4,191,426 55

Total 9,129,126 100% 7,604,550 100%


Annex vIII: CloSInG the leGACY Core ProGrAMBetween FY96 and FY04, infoDev funded 139 ICT pilot projects under its core program. In 2005 infoDev started phasing out this portfolio, now referred to as the “legacy program,” in line with its strategic shift from a grant funding mechanism toward a research and advisory organization.

FY06 began with 15 active legacy projects. As of June 30, 2006, 10 projects were completed, 3 were terminated due to inadequate performance, and 2 remain active as part of the Mainstreaming and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs, respectively:

1. Using Computers to Improve Effectiveness of Primary Education for Poor Children.2. ICT in Export Promotion—a pilot project carried out by ITC to explore the importance of ICTs in

export marketing and promotion, and to develop and deliver a package of training and assistance on using ICTs to improve marketing and develop exports. First, ITC will compile market briefs on the four industry sectors: clothing, coffee, certified products (fair trade, organic) and back office services. The study will provide an overview of trade in each sector, discuss how ICTs are used by exporters in those sectors, provide recommendations of how ICT use can be promoted more broadly, and propose a program of capacity building. The first drafts of the market briefs were completed in FY06. Once the studies are completed, infoDev and ITC will implement a capacity-building program for mainstreaming ICTs for export marketing and promotion.

Legacy Core Program Project Portfolio

Sector Telecom Internet Education Health Environment Government E-commerce Knowledge Total

Category

networks and communities of interest

2 7 3 1 2 1 1 5 22

Policy 17 9 1 1 2 30

Pilot and demonstration 5 18 19 14 10 6 14 1 87

Total 24 34 22 15 12 8 16 8 139


Legacy Projects Completed in FY06 (12)

Title Grantee Country Funding level

Disbursed FY06

1240 Monitoring and evaluation framework for iCT Pilot Projects gamos, ltd, uK global 72,000 42,000

1236 DMP rural Connectivity for enhanced Healthcare, south africa Csir south africa 50,000 19,580

1159 Putting iCTs in the hands of the Minority Women of Kanpur & “Chikan” embroidery Workers of lucknow Datamation foundation india 150,000 50,000

1128news@Work: individual and community development through an e-news generation and dissemination network

núcleo de gestão do Porto Digital brazil 150,000 30,000

1207 village Phone grameen foundation usa uganda 150,000 20,000

1235 DMP sustainable Technology-related Jobs for the Disadvantaged Digital Divide Data vietnam 50,000 7,000

1233 DMP Computers on Wheels Digital Partners, india india 25,000 0

1222 linking farmers to Crop Protection networks Pacific Pestnet solomon islands 50,000 8,000

1234 DMP Handheld software Tools for Data-Driven Program assessment Datadyne group rwanda 49,500 5,000

1001 Connecting small-scale coffee farmers and end consumers through the internet

Pachamama Coffee Coop Costa rica 125,00 10,000

611 eHas Program (2002-2003) Hispano american Health link ingeniería sin franteras laC 250,000

13,027

504 CDi international expansion CDi brazil 150,000 47,888

Total

1,146,500 252,495

Legacy Projects Terminated in FY06 (3)

Title Grantee Country Funding Level

Disbursed FY06

1221 iCT for education Development in arabic-speaking Countries: World links Talal abu-ghazaleh & Co. Jordan 125,000 0

1103iT Training of Health Care Professionals within a Major Teaching and referral Hospital in addis ababa

ethiopian Telecommunication Co. ethiopia 50,000 30,000

508 Design and implementation of Community Telecenters of information and Communication MoTT Chile 205,000 0

Total 380,000 30,000

Legacy Projects Transferred to Current Portfolio (2)

Title grantee Country funding level Disbursed*

1229 Trade Points, iTC iTC global 300,000 0

571 using Computers to improve effectiveness of Primary education for Poor Children

Development research network india 168,000 50,000

Total 468,000 50,000

legacy Program administration 154,228

Total 486,723

*Funding was disbursed at signature of the grant agreement in 2003. Extensions have been granted for both projects.


Annex Ix: FY06 infodev worKShoPS And SeMInArSWorkshops and seminars are tools through which infoDev builds the capacity of its clients, increases its understanding of client needs, and in some instances, convenes donors and other stakeholders around an issue to promote consensus and coordinated action. Following is a list of the key infoDev workshops and seminars held in FY06.

July 6 infoDev & alcatel: Promoting Private sector investment and innovation to address the information and Communication needs of the Poor (Paris)

november 14–15 infoDev & iTu: Ceo Training for regulators (Tunis)

november 16–17 World summit on the information society: infoDev forum (Tunis)

January 24–25, 2006 infoDev & eC: supporting innovation & new business Creation: business incubation in Dominica, st. lucia and st. vincent (st. vincent)

april 27 infoDev & afD: addressing the financing gap for Technology entrepreneurs in Developing Countries (Paris)

May 2–3 government of ghana, infoDev & World bank: improving business Competitiveness and increasing economic growth in ghana: The role of iCT–iTes (accra)

[[month, year?]] infoDev regional Workshops: Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship strategies and Partnerships—five regional workshops held in asia, africa, eastern and Central asia, latin america and the Caribbean and Middle east and north africa (Philippines, ukraine, ghana, and uruguay)

May 3 infoDev, government of egypt & World bank: iCT Convergence (Cairo)

June 2–3 infoDev & iTu: regulatory Training (Moldova)

June 7 infoDev Day: Public sector reform & the iCT applications That support its strategies, Policies and Tools, growth, and Competitiveness—the role of iCT (Washington)

June 9 infoDev & CgaP: expanding financial services to the Poor: The role of iCT (Washington)

June 22 infoDev & DfiD: impact of iCT on Competitiveness and growth in Developing Countries (london)


annex x: FY06 WORK PROGRAM DELIVERABLESFY06 Activity Outputs StatusMainstreaming

education

inventory of Knowledge resources & key gaps Knowledge map Completed

M&e of iCT in education Handbook Completed

use of technology to train teachers Handbook Completed

education management information systems Cases/lessons ongoing

scalability evaluations of nePaD e-schools evaluation ongoing

surveys (2) of iCT in education in africa and the Caribbean surveys ongoing

iCT in education Toolkit for policy makers Toolkit ongoing

Dissemination at Wsis, World bank institute education course, Web site, and so forth increased awareness and partnerships ongoing

governance

inventory of available knowledge resources & key knowledge gaps Knowledge map ongoing

expert review and discussion expert networks ongoing

e-government for policy makers, donors and practitioners Toolkit, case studies, training ongoing

PPPs in e-government: key issues, challenges, and models Toolkit ongoing

Health

inventory of available knowledge resources & key knowledge gaps Knowledge map Completed

framework paper: Key issues and Challenges in applying iCT in the health sector needs assessment Completed

expert review and discussion Design of fY07 work program ongoing

iCT-enabled services for the poor

Promoting Private sector investment and innovation (joint study with alcatel)Case studiesrecommendations for follow-up action

Completed

iCT-enabled financial services:• Case studies on mobile banking in the Philippines• gap analysis to assess what we know about iCT-enabled financial

services

Two case studiesKnowledge mapToolkits

Completedongoingongoing

rural livelihoods

inventory of available knowledge resources & key knowledge gaps Knowledge map ongoing

framework paper on iCT & rural livelihoods framework paper ongoing

Donor consultations with the World bank, DfiD, and fao Design of research program ongoing

iCT & the MDgs

framework for curriculum and delivery of capacity-building workshops for policy makers Design of fY07 activities ongoing

access

iCT regulation• authorization and licensing• legal and institutional frameworks• radio spectrum management• universal service• new technologies• Competition, prices, and interconnection• authorization of telecom services

ToolkitModules (3 completed)expert networksWorkshops/seminarsTechnical assistance

ongoing

improving backbone access: open access Models input to eassY Cable Projectcase studies ongoing


annex x: FY06 WORK PROGRAM DELIVERABLESMunicipal broadband & local open access networks

studyToolkitTraining materials

ongoing

Capacity building: Tunis, india, egypt, Doha, geneva, Cameroon, Moldova, bilbao ongoing

innovation & entrepreneurship

incubator initiative

incubator network expansion from 40 to 60 institutions in 50 countries, provision of technical and financial support

Capacity building, Ta, & awareness ongoing

regional workshops in eCa, Mna, asia, africa and laC, 500+ participants Knowledge-sharingpartnerships Completed

five regional networks for knowledge sharing regional networks ongoing

M&e assessment spanning 39 Countries + generating M&e tool, case studies, and so forth

impact assessmentCapacity-buildingtool

ongoing

scaling-up Web platform for entrepreneurship support programs Web platform ongoing

Toolkit on business incubation on siDs ToolkitCapacity building ongoing

financing iCT entrepreneurs

assessment of the financing gap for iCT-enabled entrepreneurs fY07 activities ongoing

Competitiveness

firm-level assessment of the impact of iCT on Poland, russia, and the baltics (620 firms surveyed)

enhanced oeCD, eu methodology for assessing iCT at the firm level Completed

assessment of iT parks as a tool for creating iCT sector growth and employment opportunities

input to donor strategies and projects ongoing

iCT, growth, & competitiveness: country studies for ghana, Tanzania, and uganda; framework paper on iCT growth & competitiveness

input to donor project designanalytical workincreased demand from donor staff

ongoing

Linking Knowledge and Action - infoDev · 2020. 7. 3. · Linking Knowledge to Action ix Foreword...

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