The Digital Freedom Initiative
Digital Freedom Initiative
A joint program of the US Department of Commerce, US Department of State, US Agency for International Development, USA Freedom Corps, and Peace Corps
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 information and communication technology (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.
The Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI) will help meet the challenge by promoting free market based regulatory and legal structures and placing volunteers in businesses and community centers to provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with the information and communications technology skills and knowledge to operate more efficiently while competing in the global economy. These objectives can be achieved in partnership with U.S. business entities whose voluntary, innovative and entrepreneurial participation in the DFI provides access to new markets and competitive opportunities for developing products and services in emerging economies.
The DFI will be piloted in Senegal over a three-year period and, if successful, rolled out to a total of 20 countries in the next five years to increase business activity, develop more efficient markets, create more jobs in the U.S. and DFI beneficiary countries, and help establish a business friendly regulatory framework conducive to U.S. investment and partnerships.
