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22 October 2009
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The UNCTAD Information Economy Report (IER) 2009 was launched today, the 22nd of October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa. The report was launched in collaboration with the ECA’s ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) at a function attended by the Africa Union Commission (AUC) Human Resources, Science and Technology Division, international media personnel, media institutions in Addis Ababa, statisticians from the Ethiopian National Statistics Office (NSO), academics from the University of Addis Ababa, representatives of IT institutions, representatives from UN Agencies in Ethiopia (WHO and UNDP) and ECA staff. The report takes stock of recent trends with regard to extending connectivity worldwide, monitors developments in enhancing the use of ICTs among enterprises and analyses how international trade in ICT goods and in IT and ICT-enabled services is evolving.
 In his opening remarks on behalf of the Director of ISTD, Mr. Sizo Mhlanga, Chief of the ICT Policy and Development Section ISTD expressed ECA’s gratitude in the collaboration to launch this flag-ship report. He noted that the report was “being launched at an opportune time as it focuses on the implications of the global economic crisis on ICT”. Mr. Mhlanga advised that this event marked the continued partnership between ECA and UNCTAD which had also witnessed the completion of a comprehensive NSO Training Course on Statistics on ICT Access and Use by Households and Businesses in the framework of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development. He emphasized ECA’s commitment to the partnership.
On ECA’s role in the ICT for development agenda, Mr. Mhlanga advised that ISTD continued to provide upstream policy advice to assist member States in the design of strategic approaches to ICTs as an enabler for development with links to Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) and related development goals.
Ms. Vera Brenda Ngosi, Director of Human Resources Science and Technology Division (AUC) expressed gratitude for the invitation extended to the AUC to participate at this event She congratulated UNCTAD for the report and stressed that the “information economy does not only relate to the trade of the informational goods and services but also to the trade of the traditional goods which take place, thanks to the Internet and thus access to the IT tools and the Internet by our urban and rural population must always be reinforced, just as the safety of the exchanges in the cyberspace”. In concluding, the Director thanked UNCTAD and ECA, for their unwavering support to ICT for development, especially in Africa and noted that the report “would also inform us on the multi-facetted impact of the crisis on ICTs and strategically position us to mitigate the effects and further implore how we can use ICTs in the recovery process”.
Mr. Remi Lang, the Associate Economic Affairs Officer (UNCTAD) briefly presented the contents and findings of the report. He advised that the 2009 edition of the Information Economy Report presented an assessment of the diffusion of key ICT applications between 2003 and 2008. The report noted some “positive developments, which underscored the tremendous opportunities that ICT use represents”. Mr. Lang advised that from the analysis, it was evident that “the narrowing of the so-called “digital divide” remains a key development challenge”. He stressed that “the broadband gap” was becoming a serious handicap for companies in many poor countries and there was a widening gap between the developed and developing worlds in the availability of broadband Internet which was critical for meeting socio-economic development objectives. On a positive note, Mr. Lang advised that since 2003, mobile phone subscriptions had grown faster in Africa than in any other region of the world, as there were now “more than 10 times as many mobile subscriptions as fixed lines in Africa and more than 20 times as many in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Mobile telecommunications also appeared to be weathering the global crisis storm relatively well.
Mr. Lang advised that while exports of ICT goods such as computers and consumer electronic devices had been negatively affected by the global recession, IT and ICT-related services appeared to have been more resilient. In concluding, Mr. Lang noted that “the crisis has made good use of ICT even more important” and as such, companies and governments needed to investigate as to how ICTs could help in economic recovery, boosting growth and enhancing competitiveness. Several countries had made ICTs an integral part of their economic stimulus packages, both by increasing demand for ICT goods and by investing in infrastructure, including broadband. Innovation through ICTs was also encouraged in fields such as education, energy, government, health care and transportation.
In closing the function, Mr. Mhlanga advised that ECA was in discussion with UNCTAD towards contributing to the next issue of the report whose theme would be on poverty reduction. He also advised that the ECA would soon be launching a publication on “M-Banking - An African Financial Revolution?” Finally, he thanked UNCTAD and the AUC for the collaboration which had culminated in the successful launch of this report. He also thanked the audience for their active participation during the function.
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