March 5, 2003 - Department of State Washington File: Peace Corps Volunteers will work in Digital Freedom Initiative to share business knowledge and technology expertise

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By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 7:55 pm: Edit Post

Peace Corps Volunteers will work in Digital Freedom Initiative to share business knowledge and technology expertise





Read and comment on this Press Release from the US State Department on the Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI) that will place volunteers in small businesses to share business knowledge and technology expertise. The program will be piloted in Senegal, a democratic secular nation whose population is 94 percent Muslim, according to a USAID press release.

Volunteers will come from both partner companies and Peace Corps. "Peace Corps has a long history of information and communication technology-based projects," Gaddi Vasquez, the agency's director, said at the conference. "The Peace Corps currently has more than 1,500 volunteers working on ICT and many more involved with information technology through education programs." Read the story at:


U.S. to Help Poor Countries Access Information Technology*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



U.S. to Help Poor Countries Access Information Technology

(Digital Freedom Initiative viewed as innovative public-private partnership) (1180)

The United States March 4 launched an initiative to bring the benefits of information and communications technology (ICT) to entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing countries.

The Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI) -- a joint program of the departments of Commerce and State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Peace Corps and USA Freedom Corps, and business partners Hewlett Packard and Cisco Systems -- will place volunteers in small businesses to share business knowledge and technology expertise. The program will be piloted in Senegal, a democratic secular nation whose population is 94 percent Muslim, according to a USAID press release.

At a White House meeting announcing the initiative, Commerce Secretary Don Evans called DFI "an exciting new model of how different parts of the federal government, the development community, the private sector and developing nations can join forces for progress."

The DFI reflects President Bush's commitment to encouraging innovative foreign aid policies that "encourage wealth creation, economic and political freedom, the rule of law and human rights," Evans said. The initiative "builds an environment for technology-led economic development," he said.

Senegal was chosen as the first DFI country because "it is one of the best-run countries in the developing world," Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator, said at the meeting. Planners expect the program to eventually help more than 360,000 small businesses in Senegal, he said.

"There is no better tool for Africa's great leap forward than ICT," Senegal's president Abdoulaye Wade said by video at the meeting.

Volunteers will come from both partner companies and Peace Corps.

"Peace Corps has a long history of information and communication technology-based projects, Gaddi Vasquez, the agency's director, said at the conference. The Peace Corps currently has more than 1,500 volunteers working on ICT and many more involved with information technology through education programs, he said.

DFI will focus on promoting productivity and business process innovation, creating a financial infrastructure for entrepreneurs, building a foundation for growth and ownership, and developing a framework for policy and regulatory reform, according to a Peace Corps press release.

"Technology can help unlock the potential of individuals, communities and countries," said Carley Fiorina, chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett Packard. She also appeared at the meeting. She said the company has learned that to be effective helping poor communities it must donate talent as well as money and equipment.

Fiorina said only 10 percent of the world's population can afford to buy the computer company's products. By making technology more accessible, the company is also hoping to develop future markets, she said.

Types of DFI projects Hewlett-Packard envisions include helping communities develop publicly owned "cyber cafes" and partnering with local entrepreneurs to develop "local relevant [Internet] content."

Vasquez highlighted another example of the project's possibilities. He described a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa who helped a group of artisans develop a web site that they use to market their products worldwide.

Cisco Systems Chairman John Morgridge at the meeting talked about another possibility. He said it can further his company's program of providing classes over the Internet to developing countries on how to use information technology.

"Information technology is changing the world," Hernando de Soto, president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Lima, Peru, said at the meeting.

Following is the text of a USA Freedom Corps fact sheet on DFI and an excerpt from the Digital Freedom Initiative web site (www.dfi.gov):


Details on the Digital Freedom Initiative



Action

Today at the White House, Secretary Evans, USAID Administrator Natsios, USA Freedom Corps Director Bridgeland and Peace Corps Director Vasquez launched the Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI). The goal of the DFI is to promote economic growth by transferring the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT) to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the developing world. The approach is bold and innovative, leveraging the leadership of the US government, the creativity and resources of America's leading companies, and the vision and energy of entrepreneurs throughout the developing world. The DFI will be piloted in Senegal, a democratic secular country in which 94 percent of the population is Muslim, and, as it proves successful, could be rolled out to additional countries.

Key Elements

-- Placing volunteers in small businesses to share business knowledge and technology expertise;

-- Promoting pro-growth regulatory and legal structures to enhance business competitiveness; and

-- Leveraging existing technology and communications infrastructure in new ways to help entrepreneurs and small businesses better compete in both the regional and global market place.

Supporting the Developing World

One third of the world could be left behind if more is not done to provide developing countries with the skills, knowledge, and access to markets necessary to compete.

-- In globalizing developing countries, per capita income increased 5 percent a year in the 1990s.

-- In other developing countries, per capita income decreased by 1 percent over the past decade.

Appropriately designed ICT in developing countries can provide inexpensive and critical access to domestic and global markets, allowing the invisible hand of the market to be a helping hand to the poor.

Objectives

Enable Innovation through Volunteer-led Business and Entrepreneur Assistance

The DFI will place volunteers from the private sector and NGOs with small businesses and entrepreneurs to assist in growing their businesses through the application of technology and the transfer of business expertise.

Drive Pro-Growth Legal and Regulatory Reform

The State Department, Commerce, USAID, FCC, and other public and private sector organizations will assist DFI countries in developing pro-growth regulatory and legal structures to enhance business competitiveness

Leverage Existing Information and Communications Infrastructure to Promote Economic Growth

The DFI will identify opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure (e.g., in-country cybercafes and telecenters) to generate information and services (e.g. financial services, commodity price information, etc.) to help entrepreneurs and small businesses better compete in both the regional and global market place.

Measuring Results

At regular intervals, DFI projects will be evaluated based on performance benchmarks that measure small business growth, market efficiency gains, business integration with international partners and markets, and job growth.

The Senegal Pilot

The Senegal Pilot will:

-- Place over 100 volunteers to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs in growing their businesses through ICT, and the government of Senegal with regulatory reform;

-- Leverage nearly 200 cybercafes and 10,000 telecenters to generate information and services that provide business opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs;

-- Benefit over 360,000 small businesses and more than half a million Sengalese; and

-- Train and equip Peace Corps volunteers in Senegal who require laptops and other technology to perform their service duties. Peace Corps currently has 130 volunteers serving in Senegal.

Public-Private Sector Partnership

The DFI is designed to be high impact, but low cost. Leveraging off of volunteers and partners in the private sector, the budget for the Senegal pilot is estimated at $6.5 million over the next three years.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)


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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Senegal; Internet; Digital Freedom Initiative

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