Just before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck, just over half of the world’s
population approximately (51%) had access to the internet compared with just 30% in Western and Central Africa. With the strict lockdown implemented during the pandemic, many services were only available to people across the region through the internet.
Tag Archives: Internet
What holds back about half of the world’s population from using the internet?
Over half of the world’s population — an estimated 4.3 billion people — now use the 
Internet, and 90 percent of all people are covered by at least basic data services. Some countries have very high levels of internet usage; the members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of advanced economies, have 84 percent individuals using the internet. Some countries, such as Iceland or South Korea, count almost everyone as users. But what of the rest of the world? What holds back about half of the world’s population from using the internet?
Malaysia’s need for speed: How regulatory action is unleashing ultrafast Internet
In Malaysia, regulatory reforms are beginning to shape the trajectory of the digital 
economy to unleash ultrafast internet. The result has been beneficial to Malaysians, especially within the confines of a market with low adoption of fiber internet services in the past decade, compared to its regional peers. But now things are changing. The country’s broadband market is rapidly moving to become more accessible, with increased competition and better quality services – which could potentially expand the digital economy to provide the benefits of economic growth, job creation and social inclusion.
eC2: Digital Skills for Ghana
Deadline: 12-Jun-2018 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)
Develop a publication targeting CEOs of African tertiary education institutions, Executives in the Technology and other relevant sectors and African policy makers. The effort will have a specific focus on Ghana. The objective of the publication is to showcase best-in-class private sector-led practices promoting Digital Skills, advancing the understanding of what are the relevant digital skills that need to be promoted, and how to best integrate the delivery of digital skills into the curriculum through specific, innovative offerings. The focus will be on skills needed at the post-secondary level, including upskilling / reskilling needs for working adults, with an emphasis on lifelong learning. The digital economy in Ghana, and more broadly across Africa, needs a digitally skilled workforce that masters basic functional digital skills at minimum with some acquiring high level skills like coding and software development capabilities.
RFI: DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY OR BLOCKCHAIN SERVICES
DEADLINE: February 28, 2018 @ 5.00 PM EST (Washington, DC)The World Bank Group (WBG) invites interested parties to respond to a Request for Information (RFI) for distributed ledger technology or blockchain services. Through this RFI, WBG intends to identify parties that want to work on hands-on activities to discover and explore the possibilities of distributed ledger technology and / or blockchain services in the context of the world’s most pressing development challenges. Through this collaboration, WBG is providing an opportunity for interested parties to shape their own roadmaps with respect to these technologies and services by working with a large, mature, international organization.
The Tech Revolution That’s Changing How We Measure Poverty
Article published on http://www.worldbank.org on July 27, 2017.
The world has an ambitious goal to end extreme poverty by 2030. But, without good poverty data, it is impossible to know whether we are making progress, or whether programs and policies are reaching those who are the most in need.
World Bank report ‘Digital Dividends’
A new World Bank report says that while the internet, mobile phones and other digital
technologies are spreading rapidly throughout the developing world, the anticipated digital dividends of higher growth, more jobs, and better public services have fallen short of expectations, and 60 percent of the world’s population remains excluded from the ever-expanding digital economy.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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