Spread of ICT creates jobs by establishing new micro-enterprises
Friday, 15 October 2010
New micro-enterprises are growing in developing countries including Bangladesh, and creating new livelihoods for the poor with spread of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), especially mobile telephones, reports BSS.
ICT-related micro-enterprises are spreading rapidly in many low-income countries and can offer work of real value to populations with little education and scant resources through selling airtime on the streets, refurbishing mobile phones, repairing personal computers, and running cyber cafes.
This was revealed while launching "UNCTAD's Information Economy Report 2010: ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation" at Dhaka Reporters' Unity auditorium Thursday.
Kazi Ali Reza, officer-In-charge of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), readout the statement on release of the report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Director of Katalyst Mohammad Shahroz Jalil and Director of Amader Gram Reza Salim spoke at the function.
The Information Economy Report 2010 urged the policymakers in developing countries to make the ICT sector a more important component in their poverty- reduction strategies. It says that more benefits could be secured for the grassroots of small-scale enterprises if enlightened government support is provided.
The manufacture of ICT equipment presents a more mixed picture-only a few low-income countries are extensively involved in such industries, the report said urging for more studies of the effects of manufacturing mobile phones, computers and related equipment where it occurs, to assess the benefits and drawbacks for the poor.
UNCTAD report also stressed that ICT micro-enterprises typically operate in a volatile and risky sector, and that returns on investment are often low. Micro-entrepreneurs must have the capacity to adapt and respond to change.
The report notes that the opportunities for ICT micro-enterprises to survive and grow are greater in urban settings, where it is easier to establish essential relationships with other enterprises, both formal and informal. The scope for creating long-term jobs around such activities in rural areas appears to be more limited.
However, several socially conscious enterprises have recently had some success in expanding ICT services work to rural communities, resulting in new income-earning opportunities for some poor people in rural areas. The report recommends that governments consider policies that could encourage this trend.
ICT-related micro-enterprises are spreading rapidly in many low-income countries and can offer work of real value to populations with little education and scant resources through selling airtime on the streets, refurbishing mobile phones, repairing personal computers, and running cyber cafes.
This was revealed while launching "UNCTAD's Information Economy Report 2010: ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation" at Dhaka Reporters' Unity auditorium Thursday.
Kazi Ali Reza, officer-In-charge of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), readout the statement on release of the report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Director of Katalyst Mohammad Shahroz Jalil and Director of Amader Gram Reza Salim spoke at the function.
The Information Economy Report 2010 urged the policymakers in developing countries to make the ICT sector a more important component in their poverty- reduction strategies. It says that more benefits could be secured for the grassroots of small-scale enterprises if enlightened government support is provided.
The manufacture of ICT equipment presents a more mixed picture-only a few low-income countries are extensively involved in such industries, the report said urging for more studies of the effects of manufacturing mobile phones, computers and related equipment where it occurs, to assess the benefits and drawbacks for the poor.
UNCTAD report also stressed that ICT micro-enterprises typically operate in a volatile and risky sector, and that returns on investment are often low. Micro-entrepreneurs must have the capacity to adapt and respond to change.
The report notes that the opportunities for ICT micro-enterprises to survive and grow are greater in urban settings, where it is easier to establish essential relationships with other enterprises, both formal and informal. The scope for creating long-term jobs around such activities in rural areas appears to be more limited.
However, several socially conscious enterprises have recently had some success in expanding ICT services work to rural communities, resulting in new income-earning opportunities for some poor people in rural areas. The report recommends that governments consider policies that could encourage this trend.