Information and

Communication
Technologies: Results Profile
The World Bank helps developing countries use information
and communications technologies (ICT) to improve access
to affordable connectivity, including broadband, transform
delivery of basic services, drive innovations and
productivity gains, and improve competitiveness. Since
2007, the World Bank Group has strengthened its support
for public-private ventures for broadband and high-speed
Internet, reducing retail prices and increasing service use,
in some cases by a factor of 10. Its support for information
and communication technology sector reforms helped
attract an estimated US$30 billion in private investment for
mobile network infrastructure in IDA countries.

Challenge
Technological progress is a considerable driving force behind
economic growth. ICT infrastructure in particular has attracted much
investment, and generated significant fiscal revenues and
employment opportunities in developing countries.
The number of mobile subscriptions in use worldwide, both pre-paid
and post-paid, has grown from fewer than 1 billion in 2000 to over 6
billion now, of which nearly 5 billion in developing countries. The
number of Internet users in developing countrieshas also grown close
to twenty-fold. With Internet penetration at a turning point, including
in the least connected region, Africa, and with over 91 percent of the
population in developing countries having access to fixed or mobile

telephone, ICT networks now constitute a far-reaching service delivery

and citizen participatory platform. ICTs can be used as a vehicle to
increase accountability, and to transform and extend the reach of
service delivery to the underserved in an innovative, fast, and costefficient manner.
Key remaining challenges and opportunities for developing countries
include (i) improving affordability in order to reach the population in
developing countries that currently lives beyond the ICT networks, (ii)
widening access to more advanced, affordable ICT services such as
broadband for high-speed internet, (iii) leveraging the new ICT
infrastructure to improve the delivery of services and to build on it as
a source of economic growth, and (iv) developing and aligning people
skills relevant to the information technology-enabled services
industries and knowledge economy.
Solution
In
2012,
the
World
Bank
released
a
new ICT
sector
strategy comprising three strategic directions: Connect, Innovate and
Transform.
The strategys Connect pillar focuses on expanding connectivity
infrastructure and promoting stability and predictability in regulatory
systems. The World Bank has worked with over 100 countries over the
last decade to support privatization and sector liberalization, as well
as capacity building for governments and regulatory institutions. More
recently, the World Bank has stepped up its financing of innovative
public-private partnerships as catalytic vehicles to attract additional
private sector investment in broadband infrastructure. This includes
regional communications infrastructure programs to accelerate the
rollout of terrestrial backbone networks and submarine cable systems
in Africa, Pacific Islands and the Caribbean.
The strategys Innovate pillar develops competitive IT-based service
industries and fosters ICT innovation across the economy, including at
the grassroots technology entrepreneurship level with a focus on job
creation, especially for women and youth. This support includes a
small but growing portfolio of IT industry development projects
in Ghana, Mexico, Kenya, Armenia, Nigeria, and Bhutan.
The strategys Transform pillar draws on deep sector expertise and
relationships with government institutions to integrate innovations
into service delivery and the accountability process. This makes

development more open and accountable, and improves government

services to citizens and businesses in for instance, education, health,
and financial services. This support includes a portfolio of
eGovernance
and
eTransformation
projects
in Vietnam, Ghana, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Moldova and the Eastern
Caribbean.

Results
Some examples of results achieved with World Bank support, based
on financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD),
the International
Development
Association (IDA), or through trust funds managed by the World Bank,
include:
Africa: The IDA-supported Regional Communications Infrastructure
Program (FY07-FY13) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
jointly developed the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy),
illustrating a joint World Bank Group approach to regional
infrastructure development. The first project is a US$424 million World
Bank program that supports improvements in the enabling
environment and regional integration of telecommunications
terrestrial networks through financing of public-private partnerships
and broadband capacity purchases. The second project is a US$240
million investment in the EASSy submarine cable connecting the east
coast of Africa (from South Africa to Sudan) to Asia and Europe. These
projects have contributed to a 90 percent reduction in wholesale
capacity prices in East Africa, with retail prices already starting to
drop by about one-third in Kenya and Rwanda. In Kenya, this has
helped in increasing the number of Internet users to 14 million in
2012 from 2 million in 2007.
Ghana: The e-Ghana Project (FY07-FY12, IDA) has an innovative
design featuring a public private partnership to transform revenue
collection, using a joint venture between government revenue
agencies and a private sector partner. The project has helped the
government attract US$40 million in private sector investment for
developing and deploying an electronic tax application to automate
revenue agencies and the Registrar General's Department. Upon
completion, this application is expected to help the government

increase compliance and transparency, and broaden the tax base,

while reducing the incidence of fraud, upgrading government
employee skills, and developing a template for upgrading other
agencies.
Mexico: Through the Mexico IT Industry Development Project (FY09FY13, US$80 million, IBRD), the World Bank has assisted the
Government of Mexico in the creation of MexicoFIRST, an institution
aimed at closing the gap between demand and supply of skilled
workers in the ever-changing IT industry. Through partnerships with
global companies and strong links to local IT clusters, academy, and
industry associations, MexicoFIRST provides certification programs
that increase the quality of the Mexican labor pool. Students pay
between 10 to 40 percent of the certification prices, making
certification affordable. As of 2010, more than 6,000 people have
been trained and certified in skills that will qualify them for
employment with higher salaries. It is expected that more than
30,000 people will be certified by the end of the project. The
certification gives the Mexican labor pool the ability to qualify for jobs
higher in the value chain.
Rwanda: The eRwanda Project (FY07-FY11) financed 18 telecenters
for rural populations and equipped 12 district offices with computers
and office software, allowing the local government offices to be
connected to Kigalis central government. The project also financed
four ICT buses that have been roaming among Rwandas district
offices, teaching youths, civil servants, farmers, politicians and
private sector entrepreneurs on ICT skills. Throughout the project,
2,822 citizens were trained on ICT subjects, helping them gain skills
that will serve them throughout their lifetimes as employees,
entrepreneurs, and local leaders, including 760 district office staff.
eRwanda also had a strong gender focus. Among the trainees were
685 council women in rural areas, who learned how to access
information and run relevant applications for their farms or
cooperatives.
Iraq: A US$65 million international trust fund supported the
construction of the Iraq Inter-Banking Network (IIBN) to connect the
headquarters of all banks in Baghdad area (52 banks) to the Central
Bank of Iraq (CBI). All the 52 banks were connected by project closing.
As a result, the project had a positive impact on the following services

of the Central Bank: (i) the real-time gross settlement system, (ii) the
automated clearing house, (iii) the Government Securities
Registration system; and (iv) the Checks Enablement Project. The
number of transactions in Iraqi dinars and US dollars per year
increased respectively from 5,844 and 1,276 in 2008, to 30,740 and
6,898 in 2012. The microwave network of Iraq Telecom Post and
Communication (ITPC), the state-owned operator, has been
successfully rehabilitated. The project rehabilitated three routes
departing from Baghdad, and which had been destroyed by the war:
Baghdad-Ramadi-Trabil (500 km), Baghdad-Kirkuk-Mosul (390 km),
and Baghdad-Amara-Basra (450 km). These three links (1,340 km out
of the 2,050 km of telecom backbone) are now fully operational and
allow telecommunications between the capital city and other
provinces of Iraq. This brought reliable communications to more than
12 million people in five regions in Iraq outside the capital city.
Moldova: The Governance eTransformation (GeT) Project (US$20
million, FY11-FY17) supplemented by a Moldova eGovernance MultiDonor Trust Fund (US$1.8 million Dutch contribution) supports the
governments efforts to transform delivery of selected public services
using ICTs. The project has funded the set-up of the e-Government
Center, whose mandate is to lead the government-wide eTransformation agenda, along with the procurement of the first public
sector shared cloud infrastructure for a World Bank client country and
the launch of several online e-services that are already starting to
have noticeable impact on citizen-government interactions. These
services include the launches in September 2012 of a general
Government Services Portal and in May 2012 of an e-Criminal Record
that shows if an individual or legal entity has been convicted under
criminal law. The effect was immediate: within the first month of the
Portal launch, 3,000 visits were recorded, and within two months of
the e-Criminal Record launch, that number had increased by over
1,300 percent to 40,000 total portal visits. This increased ease of
access to criminal records is expected to lead to greater transparency
and reduced corruption and bureaucracy between citizens,
government, and business. Moldova has won several international
awards, including one by Transparency International, for its Banksupported work in this area.
Highlights for results from IDA countries include:

Nicaragua: A US$16 million project supported the strengthening of

the regulator, privatization of the incumbent telephone operator in
2001, and introduction of competition in the sector in 2005. It helped
bring about a ten-fold increase in mobile subscriptions by 2010. Total
telephone penetration (fixed plus mobile) increased from 6 percent in
2001 to 25 percent in 2005, and to over 60 percent in 2008. Thanks
to a follow-up project of US$10 million project, to which IDA
contributed US$7 million, more than 350,000 people in 350
communities in rural Nicaragua received access to telephone services
and more than 860,000 people in 104 rural municipal towns received
an Internet connection for the first time. One hundred public Internet
access centers were installed by the project for the benefit of those
who could not afford to have direct access in their homes. The users
pay a modest hourly fee for using Internet access, and receive free
training for using the service, as well as for basic computer tasks.

Afghanistan: A US$22 million IDA credit supported sector reform

that made the telecommunications market more competitive. The
project has attracted over US$2 billion in private investments,
improving access to ICT services and reducing prices. This helped
increase the number of telephone subscribers from 57,000 to over 18
million between 2002 and 2012, and reduce costs from US$2 a
minute to less than 10 US cents a minute. The Afghan
telecommunications sector now contributes an estimated US$75
million in taxes annually.
Bank Group Contribution
Since its inception, the World Bank has supported more than 100
developing countries with investments and technical assistance in ICT.
Since 2003, it has committed over US$1.3 billion for investment in
standalone ICT projects, including US$776 million by IDA. In addition,
the World Bank supports IT components in lending projects across
other sectors, such as education, health, and public sector
management. In a 2006 study, this figure was estimated to be US$7.3
billion in some 1,700 active projects under preparation or
implementation. Approximately US$45 million was spent on analytical
work and technical assistance in the ICT sector since 2000.

Partners
The World Bank has worked extensively with other partners in the ICT
sector:
On policy formulation, the World Bank has worked with
the International
Telecommunication
Union (co-producing
the
Telecommunications Regulatory Handbook) as well as bilateral
agencies on raising awareness for open access policies.
On ICT infrastructure financing, funding for the EASSy project, a
10,000 km submarine cable system linking South Africa with Sudan
via
landing
points
inMozambique, Madagascar,
the Comoros, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti, was done in
partnership with other donors and the funding was undertaken by IDA
jointly with the IFC, the European Investment Bank, the African
Development Bank (AfDB), and the German development
bank/Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau Bankengruppe (KfW). The World
Bank and the AfDB are also working together with the Africa Union on
the Central Africa Backbone program.
On facilitating project development, the Korean Government has
made available a US$15 million Korean Trust Fund focusing on project
development for investment and lending, and innovative analytical
work related to ICT as an enabler of transformation.
On contributing to building ICT and eGovernment competencies in
developing countries, the World Bank is partnering with the
Government of New Zealands Department of Internal Affairs.
On developing a strategic technology accelerator program to benefit
developing countries, the World Bank is partnering with the
Government of Singapore.
On improving access to telecoms/ICT in the Pacific Region, the World
Bank has worked with AusAID through the Pacific Facility Trust Fund
and Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility to help finance TA and
operations in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, the North Pacific, and
the Pacific Regional Connectivity Program.
On improving access to education in the Caribbean, the European
Commission is funding a euro 10 million fund to support
the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN), which has
implemented a private broadband network among Caribbean
educational institutions.

Moving Forward
As part of the process to formulate its new ICT Sector Strategy, the
World Bank Group reassessed and refocused its role and priorities for
engagement in the ICT sector, and across sectors, to help developing
countries mobilize ICT for poverty reduction and growth.
Going forward the WBG will follow three strategic pillars. It will
promote ICTs to transform services for greater development impact
strengthening accountability and governance, improving public
services, and enabling more inclusive private delivery of services
(Transform pillar). It will advance ICTs to improve competitiveness and
accelerate innovation across the economy and target skills
development for ICT-related jobs (a large portion known to be going to
women) to improve productivity (Innovate pillar). And it will scale up
its support for policy reforms and private and public-private ventures
to catalyze investment in broadband infrastructure and expand
access to broadband services, including for women (Connect pillar).
The new ICT Sector Strategy highlights leveraging partnerships with
external sources of expertise and sharing ownership of the agenda
across the institution. Key features of this new approach are (1) using
country diagnostics to prioritize WBG interventions at the country
level; (2) strengthening collaboration in the WBG and with partners;
(3) becoming a connector of expertise for our clients; and (4)
adopting a stronger cross-sector and cross-region leadership of the
ICT agenda, improving IT procurement outcomes, and focusing on ICT
skills development.
Beneficiaries
The
Organization
of
Eastern
Caribbean
States
(OECS)
Telecommunications and ICT project (TICT) included a Universal
Service Fund (USF) component that provided equipment and software
to upgrade an Information Technology Center for the Saint
Lucia Blind Welfare Association. The center was equipped with ten
computers, a scanner and the Job Access with Speech (JAWS)
software, which has several features supporting visual impaired
learning, such as reading out loud text on a computer screen. JAWS
increases visually impaired students ability to attend secondary
schools and university, enabling them to follow the normal teaching
speed of a class.

Visually impaired students can also access the Internet and social
media through this software. As a result, 90 visually impaired
students in St. Lucia now have access to an Information Technology
Center on the island with a learning application for visually impaired
students, whereas before there was no access to this customized
technology.

14 million
Internet users in Kenya in 2012 compared to 2 million in 2007

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