Information and Communications for Development blogs en ICT essentials for rebuilding fragile states <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div> <figure class="image"><img alt="" height="417" src="" title="STARS/Flickr" width="665" /><figcaption> Photo credit: <a href="" rel="nofollow">STARS/Flickr</a></figcaption></figure></div> Enabling a robust market for information and communications technologies (ICTs) is fundamental to rebuilding fragile and conflict affected states (FCSs) and addressing the human suffering. As I have explained <a href="" rel="nofollow">elsewhere</a>, ICTs are critical because they can be used to alert people to renewed violence, build community, restart the economy, and facilitate relief efforts. The critical strategies that enable ICTs are protection of property rights and minimal barriers to competition.<br />  <br /> South Sudan provides examples of the importance of ICT. Whitaker Peace &amp; Development Initiative’s <a href="" rel="nofollow">Youth Peacemaker Network</a> tells the stories of John from Twic East Country whose life was spared by a phone call warning of an impending attack, and of Gai Awan, Artha Akoo Kaka, and Moga Martin from Numule whose ICT trainings opened employment and education opportunities. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) explains how ICT can help <a href="" rel="nofollow">protect refugees</a>: Biometrics enabled Housna Ali Kuku, a single mother of four, to obtain precisely scheduled treatments for her respiratory tract infection and for her children. GPS is used to identify sources of diseases and to track their spread.<br />  <br /> A World Bank study by Tim Kelly and David Souter identified <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">five themes</a> in post-conflict recovery and how ICT plays critical roles. <ul><li> <strong>Stabilization: </strong>it is important at the start to establish physical security and government institutions that both citizens and potential investors trust. ICT enables automation of services, including security services. In <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">South Sudan</a>, for example, crowd-sourced ICT-enabled early warning mechanisms helped mitigate threats even though deliberate misreporting of incidents weakened the system.</li> <br /><li> <strong>Infrastructure: </strong>faith in reconstruction often depends upon the rapid restoration of physical infrastructures for power, communications, transport, health, etc. Building mobile networks can be done relatively quickly, demonstrating a stabilizing business environment and lowering costs for other infrastructures, relief services, and development. For example, mobile subscription in <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Afghanistan</a> grew from 6.3 to 63.3 per 100 persons from 2006 to 2012, and internet users grew from 200,000 to over 1 million during the same time period. Sim card prices fell from $250 to $1 from 2002 to 2012.</li> <br /><li> <strong>Reconciliation</strong>: mutual confidence that violence will not return must be built throughout the complex webs of relationships between perpetrators and victims of violence. About 40 countries have followed South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission model, for which ICT <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">enables transparency and expands access</a>.</li> <br /><li> <strong>Public engagement</strong>: ICTs widen access to public fora, promote diversity of voice, protect anonymity (if required), and enable electoral politics. As <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">experiences</a> in Rwanda (Radio Mille Collines fostered genocide) and Afghanistan (warlords sponsor radio stations) demonstrate, one-way media can be easily used to incite violence. Social media and interactive web platforms become important for vulnerable groups to protect themselves.</li> <br /><li> <strong>Development</strong>: conflict undermines economic growth, destroys economic assets and capabilities, and drives capital and skilled people from FCSs. <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Rwanda</a> has shown that ICT enables capital transfers, mobile money, return of emigrants, and new business development.</li> </ul> What are the essential features of an effective ICT strategy? <a href="" rel="nofollow">Market liberalization</a> is critical as it incents ICT expansion. <a href="" rel="nofollow">Research</a> from the International Institute for Peace highlights how top-down control of ICTs in Kenya weakened its conflict early warning system and how disabling web access and mobile networks hindered the responders to violence more than the perpetrators in the Kyrgyz Republic.<br />  <br /> Essential for investment and competition is an effective regulatory system that is <a href="" rel="nofollow">adapted</a> to the situation and that ensures the <a href="" rel="nofollow">protection of property rights</a> and <a href="" rel="nofollow">competition</a>. Especially in a fragile state context, investors face a high risk that struggles for power will result in confiscation or destruction of equipment.</div></div></div> Tue, 25 Oct 2016 20:39:00 +0000 Mark Jamison 740 at All text messages are not created equal <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div> <figure class="image"><img alt="" height="414" src="" title="" width="665" /><figcaption> Photo credit: <a href="" rel="nofollow">Adam Fagen/Flickr</a></figcaption></figure></div> Eight months after the launch of the <a href="" rel="nofollow">World Development Report 2016</a> on Digital Dividends, I am happy to report that our efforts to operationalize the findings are well under way. For digital technologies to benefit everyone everywhere, affordable access to broadband internet is key. This requires both robust broadband infrastructure, and the strengthening of analog complements to digital solutions, including a pro-competitive and effective regulatory framework, a sound business environment, good governance and digital skills.<br /><br /> One of our main areas of focus is the enabling environment – helping governments foster digital development by putting in place the right policies and regulations.<br /><br /> Now, what are some of the main issues?<br /><br /> First, across the world, but especially in developing countries, competitiveness continues to be dragged down by ‘red tape’, including numerous procedures, authorizations and delays to start a business or launch a service, costly and unreliable property registration, or stifling labor regulations. I am sure you are all familiar with the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Doing Business</a> report and the World Bank’s many <a href="" rel="nofollow">programs</a> to support business reforms worldwide.<br /><br /> While the digital industry also faces these regulatory hurdles, it is confronted with additional challenges.<br /><br /> Let me give you an example. With your phone in hand, you are about to send a text message to a friend. Your phone offers you a choice: to send the text message through your mobile operator, or to send it via the internet through an app. Depending on what platform you use, your text message will be taxed differently. All text messages are not created equal: different digital services are treated differently from a regulatory and fiscal point of view, with no real level playing field.<br /><!--break--><br /> Rapidly evolving technology are bypassing policymakers and regulators. The frontiers between market segments, such as telecommunications and information technology, are increasingly blurred. Systems, platforms, and services are converging to provide comprehensive offerings: your smartphone is now your TV, your radio, your phone, your camera, your newspaper… At the same time, similar services are offered on different platforms, often regulated under different laws.<br /><br /> Operating in the same digital space – both in collaboration and in competition with each other – are traditional telecom operators, software producers, and over-the-top (OTT) content providers delivering audio, video, and other media over the internet. Traditional businesses use the internet to sell their products and services, cars have become computers and communication machines on wheels, and a myriad of start-ups create new digital services, often cutting across traditional sectors.<br /><br /> Policymakers have to move beyond their traditional way of looking at telecom, IT and related markets as they converge into a dynamic digital sphere. This has some important implications. First, policies and regulations have to be technology neutral. To ensure countries can reap the benefits of fast-evolving technology, they must keep markets dynamic and competitive. Second, they must encourage investor confidence by providing balance and predictability in the regulatory environment while encouraging innovation.<br />  <br /> In many emerging and developing markets, taxation of the telecommunications sector has reached unreasonable proportions. Affordability is a major barrier preventing uptake of mobile services; it is not helped by taxes and fees that are around 50% of revenues or higher as is the case in Turkey, Jamaica, Nepal, Brazil and Bangladesh, for example. The price of mobile phone services in the most expensive country was 50 times higher in 2013 than in the least expensive one. This cannot stand in the way of digital inclusion.<br /><br /> The new realities of digital development also mean that old style top-down regulation no longer works. In a rapidly changing digital ecosystem where 5G, the Internet of things (IoT), and clouds are driving transformative smart solutions, next generation regulation calls for unprecedented levels of collaboration between all stakeholders. The private sector can contribute positively to the development of new policy and regulatory frameworks. Synergies between public and private sector must be found to leverage rapidly developing technologies in ways that ensure market growth and public revenue, while addressing citizens’ needs.<br /><br /> Furthermore, as digital technologies are global and don’t know borders, policies and regulations cannot remain local. It is too expensive for companies to do business in small emerging markets. Countries should adhere to emerging global digital standards and open up their borders, developing regional markets that foster interoperability and the emergence of a single market, thus enabling companies to reduce the cost of doing business in each country and benefit from economies of scale that integrated markets offer.<br /><br /> Under the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Digital Development Partnership</a> (DDP), which brings together public and private partners, and through its ongoing lending and advisory activities, the World Bank is providing support to digital development in emerging and developing markets.<br /><br /> On the occasion of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, we are hosting a <a href="" rel="nofollow">seminar</a> on the topic of “Ensuring an Enabling Environment for Digital Development.” We will hear from governments and from the private sector how to go about creating that enabling environment. <a href="" rel="nofollow">Join</a> us for this interesting conversation!</div></div></div> Fri, 07 Oct 2016 17:00:00 +0000 Pierre Guislain 739 at SDGs Made with Code: Giving women and girls the power to change the world <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div style="width: 410px; height: 247px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 8px; float: right;"> <img alt="" height="237" src="" style="border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border-image: none !important !important;" title="" width="400" /></div> Increasingly more aspects in our lives are powered by technology, yet women aren’t represented in the roles that create this technology. In many places there are barriers to simply using technology, let alone, creating it. Women in India and Egypt are six times more likely than women in Uganda to say that internet use is not considered appropriate for them, and that their friends or family may disapprove. Learning to create with technology opens up opportunities for women to express themselves, have the ideas heard and contribute to shaping our future. Even though there’s so much more we need to do, we’re inspired to see the movement around the world to break down these barriers and start contributing their voices to the field of technology.<br /> <br /> We recently met Mariana Costa from <em>Laboratoria</em> – a nonprofit that empowers young women by providing them access to the digital sector. In the next three years <em>Laboratoria</em> will train more than 10,000 young women as coders. This tech social enterprise located in Peru, Mexico and Chile, helps young women - who have not previously had access to quality education – enroll in an immersive five-month training program at <em>Laboratoria</em>’s <em>Code Academy</em>, where students achieve an intermediate level on the most common web development languages and tools. Their technical development is complemented with a personal development program that helps them build the soft skills needed to perform well at work. Successful graduates also receive mentoring and job placement and are usually able to pay-back the cost of the course during their first two years of employment. Most of the time, these young girls are the only breadwinners in their households.<br /> <!--break--><br /> Programs like this are not unique to Latin America. Born as an Afghan refugee, Fereshteh Forough, started <em>Code to Inspire</em> – a NGO that provides a safe space and empowers young women from Afghanistan to learn code. She was able to overcome cultural barriers to earn her master's degree in Computer Science C and is now dedicated to opening up learning opportunities for young women, mentoring them and teaching how to use code. She believes education - especially learning technology and computer science skills - can help change women’s role in society and empower them become leaders.<br /> <br /> At the World Bank we believe it is important to hear the voices of young girls from all backgrounds, what stands in their way and what global issues they would use code to address. Our flagship publication – the <a href="">World Development Report </a>&nbsp;- focused this year’s issue on extending digital dividends to everyone. Evidence shows that increasing access to digital technologies has provided people globally with more opportunities through inclusion, efficiency and innovation. And improved access to technology <em>is</em> a true game changer for women, helping them to overcome mobility constraints, boosting access to information and social networks.<br /> <br /> This is why social enterprises, like <em>Laboratoria</em> and <em>Code to Inspire</em>, but also leading technology companies like <em>Google</em>, are investing in coding boot camps and are extending opportunities to young girls around the world to embrace technology and digital innovation.<br /> <br /> This week, at the Global Citizen Festival, Google’s <a href="">Made with Code</a> will launch a movement to inspire girls to use Computer Science to make a positive change in the world. As part of this program, <em>Made with Code</em> has developed a new coding project that gives young women everywhere a chance to take their first step by making their voice heard and coding a statement about the change they want to see in the world.<br /> <br /> Together with partners, UN Women and nonprofit Technovation, Google’s <em>Made with Code</em> will announce a coding challenge for girls to create apps that can make real change happen on the ground. This global initiative can help young girls appreciate how code can help in giving them a voice and creating new possibilities to change the world for the better. As the event is held on the margins of the UN General Assembly, the overarching theme for the coding project will be the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how code can help achieve them. For example, girls will be able to code a safe drinking water availability map for their community (SDG 6) or an app that helps prevent teacher absenteeism in schools to make sure everyone gets quality education (SDG 4).<br /> <br /> We believe girls can take the next step in coding and make a real change in the world. Let’s inspire more diverse voices, and create a new generation that can make positive change through computer science education. To this generation of young coders we say “Code the Change You Want to See in the World”.<br /> &nbsp;</div></div></div> Tue, 20 Sep 2016 23:00:00 +0000 Mariana Dahan 738 at What is Korea’s Strategy to Manage the Implications of Artificial Intelligence? <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><em>AlphaGo</em>, Google’s DeepMind Artificial Intelligence (AI) program for <em>Go</em> game, recently beat the world’s top ranked Korean grandmaster Lee Se-dol in a five-game <em>Go</em> match in Seoul. Lee’s defeat by 4-1 turned into a shock for the Korean public and quickly spurred a major discussion on the state of Artificial Intelligence development and its broader impact on society. In response to the soaring public attention, the Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) has laid out the <strong>Artificial Intelligence Information Industry Development Strategy</strong>, which aims to strengthen the foundation for AI growth.<br />  <br /> At the same time, the Korean government announced its plan to bring forth a <strong>Comprehensive Strategy for Artificial Intelligence Information Society </strong>by later this year. According to MSIP, this blueprint will provide in-depth analysis of the transformations brought by the rapid technological progress and the new drivers of the economy. Then, it will propose Korea’s policy vision to address more complex issues arising from the automated economy enabled by AI technologies, including specific policy actions and implementation plans. In sum, Korea’s strategy will reflect an <strong><em>Artificial Intelligence Information Society</em></strong>, a future envisioned by the risks and opportunities brought about by the infiltration of automated machines and computers at all levels of the economy. <div> <div> <div> <div> <figure class="image"><img alt=" MSIP)" height="267" src="" title=" MSIP)" width="700" /><figcaption><strong>Figure </strong><strong>1</strong><strong>. Artificial Intelligence Information Society (Source: MSIP)</strong></figcaption></figure></div> </div> </div> </div>   <div> Korea’s twofold approach to AI shows that challenges are not just about how to create an enabling environment for technological progress; it is more about how well we understand, and prepare for, the broader socioeconomic implications of the new information era. For example, how are AI technologies expected to change the way we live? What are the bright and dark sides of AI technologies?<br />  <br /> The optimists argue that technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed in the past despite the fact that every industrial revolution was marked by a concern for machines taking away jobs and increasing social inequality<a href="#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref1">[i]</a>. David Autor, for example, an economist at Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), argues that automating a task increases the demand for human workers to do the other tasks around it that have not been automated<a href="#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref2">[ii]</a>.<br />  <br /> On the other hand, others describe a more bleak future. Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, also economists at MIT, note that we are in the early stage of a Great Restructuring<a href="#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref3">[iii]</a>. They argue that the median income has come down over the past 15 years (1998- 2013) and warn that economic inequality and polarization will only deepen as the economy continues to be automated<a href="#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref4">[iv]</a>. Moreover, some of the challenges will be unforeseen. How should we program driverless cars to decide who to save first in the case of accidents: a pedestrian or a passenger? Is the current welfare system adequate for a society where almost 50% of jobs is at the risk of potential automation<a href="#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref5">[v]</a>? <div> <div> <div> <figure class="image"><img alt=" Economist)" height="550" src="" title=" Economist)" width="316" /><figcaption><strong>Figure </strong><strong>2</strong><strong>. Probability of Computerization of Different Occupations (Source: Economist)</strong></figcaption></figure></div> </div> </div> </div> These and other questions make it critical to consider the economic impact of AI at the global level, including in developing economies, so governments can better prepare for this unprecedented revolution. Furthermore, AI technologies are already expanding benefits in economic development: for example, in education through personalized learning; in health through deep diagnostics; and in agriculture through precision farming<a href="#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref6">[vi]</a>. Nevertheless, the technological progress of AI is also putting poorer countries at risk of losing the opportunity for manufacturing employment, a critical factor behind the economic growth enjoyed by other developed countries<a href="#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref7">[vii]</a>. Furthermore, the jobs that are often offshored to developing countries could be negatively affected by the advances in AI, and may eventually vanish<a href="#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_ednref8">[viii]</a>.<br />  <br /> It is therefore crucial for the World Bank to identify a key set of challenges and opportunities of AI and other disruptive technologies in the development field. In this context, the World Bank can not only eradicate poverty more efficiently by borrowing the power of technologies but can also boost shared prosperity as an enabler of technologies for development. Moreover, it is time to start devising an innovative structure where we can fully reap the benefits of the technological advances we have made. Depending on what we do, the foreseen technological revolution can either be a step forward in human evolution or the beginning of a structural labor stagnation.<br />  <br /> Let us see what kind of vision Korea will present for the future, envisaged by the elimination of boundaries between humans and machines, and how it will attempt to ensure the sustainable coexistence between the two.  There is no doubt that these are exciting times for the fields of AI and development. Do you know of other countries’ strategies to deal with the implications of AI?<br />   <div>   <div> <a href="#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn1">[i]</a> <em>Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed, says 140 years of data</em>. 2015. The Guardian. <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a>  </div> <div> <a href="#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn2">[ii]</a> <em>Automation and anxiety: Will smart machines cause mass unemployment?</em> 2016. The Economist. <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a></div> <div> <a href="#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn3">[iii]</a> <em>Research Brief: Race Against the Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy</em>. 2012. MIT Center for Digital Business. <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a></div> <div> <a href="#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn4">[iv]</a> Ibid.</div> <div> <a href="#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn5">[v]</a> In a study published in 2013, Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne examined the probability of computerization for 702 occupations and found that 47% of workers in America had jobs at high risk of potential automation. <em>The return of the machinery question</em>. 2016. The Economist. <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a></div> <div> <a href="#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn6">[vi]</a> P. 327. <em>Digital Dividends: World Development Report 2016</em>. 2016. The World Bank Group.</div> <div> <a href="#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn7">[vii]</a> <em>Re-educating Rita</em>. 2016. The Economist. <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a></div> <div> <a href="#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title="" rel="nofollow" id="_edn8">[viii]</a> P. 327. <em>Digital Dividends: World Development Report 2016</em>. 2016. The World Bank Group.</div> </div> </div></div></div> Mon, 29 Aug 2016 18:39:00 +0000 Hyea Won Lee 737 at The Importance of Mapping Tech Hubs in Africa, and beyond <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div style="margin-bottom:10px; padding:5px; line-height:10px"> Also available in: <a href="" rel="nofollow">Español</a></div> <div> <figure class="image"><img alt="" height="366" src="" title="" width="650" /><figcaption> Hackathon at Tanzania’s incubator and co-working space, Buni Hub. Source: <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a></figcaption></figure></div> <br /> As the World Bank’s ongoing mapping of Tech Hubs in Africa comes out with its newest edition, we wanted to share the rationale behind this exercise and highlight its links to other efforts in this innovative space.<br />  <br /> Our mapping activities began tracking tech hub and incubators in the African context since <a href="" rel="nofollow">2014</a> with periodic updates, focusing specifically on those who support digital entrepreneurship.<br />  <br /> Complementing other World Bank work in this realm, such as research on <a href="" rel="nofollow">mLabs and mHubs</a>, <a href="" rel="nofollow">contributions</a> to the Makers’ movement, support to <a href="" rel="nofollow">mobile app competitions</a>, <a href="" rel="nofollow">bootcamps</a> and <a href="" rel="nofollow">hackathons</a>, and an upcoming <a href="" rel="nofollow">Pan-African Acceleration program</a>, the Tech Hubs in Africa map highlights the presence and potential interaction between digital entrepreneurs, while furthering the World Bank’s twin goals of ending poverty and increasing shared prosperity. The exercise also provides data points for ongoing inquiry into the relationship between innovation, entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable livelihoods. <br />  <br /><strong>Digital Entrepreneurs</strong><br /> To this end, we track <strong>tech hubs</strong>, which we define as spaces mainly focused on developing a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, or a network of engagement between digital entrepreneurs, designers and potential investors. Tech hubs’ ecosystem build-out also includes linking established digital/mobile businesses offering services or mentorship to new entrepreneurs and consumers (rural or urban depending on the context). In addition, Tech hub activities facilitate idea generation programming such as brainstorming sessions that engage consumer groups with developers, “intro-to-coding” workshops, hackathons and Start-Up Weekends, while offering a shared-working space, business skills, lectures or technology-related training opportunities.<br />  <br /> We also track <strong>tech</strong> <strong>incubators</strong>, which we define as organizations that predominantly offer targeted, time-bound activities and resources through application-based “go-to-market” programs for early stage digital and tech entrepreneurs. Entry categories and descriptions aim to highlight where <strong>government, academic institutions, private firms, and civil society groups</strong> are supporting innovation through funding and other resources, and to what degree of success.<br />  <br /> The numbers of innovation actors in African countries span beyond the material logged in this mapping, as recent <a href="" rel="nofollow">research</a> from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator and a March 2016 <em>Disrupt Africa</em> <a href="" rel="nofollow">article</a> support. Many organizations also wear multiple and overlapping hats, our definitions do not mean to stifle or silo their activities. As comments on our map highlight, the terms incubator and accelerator are often used <a href="" rel="nofollow">interchangeably</a>, and are at times differentiated by variations in program timeline, skill development, selection process, or access to seed funding. We also include spaces, such as many of the Fab Labs, who offer the digital entrepreneurship support this project aims to study, but who might also be identified as makerspaces, hackerspaces, or fabrication studios.   Similarly, other entrepreneurship stimulators might include some activities falling within a tech hub, incubator, or accelerator repertoire, but are not logged in this exercise depending on their overall focus area or governance model.  <figure class="image" style="float:right"><a href="" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" height="324" src="" title="Tech Hubs and Incubators in Africa" width="250" /></a> <figcaption> Tech Hubs and Incubators in Africa</figcaption></figure><br />  <br /><strong>Mapping the larger space</strong><br /> Yet the innovation space grows week by week, and with it, the diversity of actors grows as well, whether they be pitching products to consumers or catering to digital entrepreneurs, designers, hackers, and developers—all significant market segments in their own right. As Rob Baker, formerly of the World Bank and now with USAID’s Global Development Lab, recently <a href="" rel="nofollow">blogged</a> in reference to the global Makers movement, we too must ask, “Where is <em>the</em> one great list?”<br />  <br /> What opportunities, services, and programs do different organizations offer, where are they, and to whom do they peddle their wares? The answer is a longer one, which goes beyond our current mapping exercise, and which requires much collaboration in its own right.<br />  <br /> Like the World Bank’s mapping, other projects have also looked into particular aspects of global innovation. <a href="" rel="nofollow">’s</a> online database looks into hub organizational dynamics on various themes, including peace and reconciliation, coaching and co-working spaces for civil society groups, and non-tech start-up support. Fab Foundation’s <a href="" rel="nofollow"></a> map and underlying API for Fab Labs, the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Impact Hub</a> and <a href="" rel="nofollow">Jokkolabs</a> lists of consortium members, the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Hackerspaces wiki</a>, and <a href="" rel="nofollow">makers.json</a>, an API for Makerspaces, are other contributors to the space. With funding from GIZ and others, the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Ananse Group</a> is now aggregating existing global innovation datasets in an ongoing project to amass data on a much larger scale and create an open space for innovation actors and observers to dialogue and learn from one another.<br />  <br /> In addition to World Bank fixed and interactive maps (forthcoming, and complete with accessible data sets), our data contributes to the Ananse Group’s Atlas of Innovation Spaces database, and we look forward to ongoing learning and information sharing. This work is ongoing, so stay tuned for more developments, both based on our lists and those of our various collaborators and partners. And, as always, we welcome feedback and notifications on any changes to the innovation space!<br />  </div></div></div> Wed, 24 Aug 2016 17:56:00 +0000 Rachel Firestone 736 at Public-private cooperation to build digital identity systems <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Today, the World Bank, Secure Identity Alliance, and GSMA have launched a joint white paper,  “<a href="" rel="nofollow">Digital Identity: Towards Shared Principles for Public and Private Sector Cooperation</a>”. Building on an existing body of research on digital identity for sustainable development, this paper takes a first step in framing key issues, benefits and challenges for public-private cooperation to build digital identity systems. It highlights the primary dividends and risks of digital identity ecosystems, describes the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, and discusses emerging models of identity systems and partnerships. In addition, it suggests some common themes and principles that stakeholders should consider in order to ensure that digital identity systems are inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable. We hope that it serves as a basis for future analytical work in this important area.<br />  <br /> Individuals, governments and private sector companies share a common interest in having trustworthy systems that enable end-user identity verification. Public sector agencies need inclusive and secure identity systems to administer government programs and delivery of services, including elections, social transfers, tax collection and border security. Similarly, private firms often rely on government-issued identification (e.g., birth certificates and national IDs) to verify the identity of their users and build their own identity systems to support client services. For the end-user, it is all about security of personal data and timely and efficient access to services and benefits. <br />  <br /> Digital identity is a potential tool for countries to eliminate the inefficiencies and insecurities of paper-based identity systems.  Demand is growing for secure online and mobile transactions—including eGovernment and eCommerce—and there is also a need for better methods of delivering services to poor and disenfranchised groups. In this way, digital identity can help countries close the identity gap of the 1.5 billion people who lack reliable forms of official identification and meet one of the <a href="" rel="nofollow">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (#16.9)</a>, which calls for “a legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030.<br />  <br /> Given this potential and common interest, it is no surprise that we have begun to see partnerships between governments and private companies to strengthen digital identity systems in a number of countries. Yet despite those partnerships and the growing importance of secure identity verification, more analysis and research is required to explore the nature, benefits and risks of different models of cooperation and types of digital identity ecosystems.<br />  <br /> A key objective of the new paper is to further the dialogue around these issues with principal actors from a variety of sectors.  The result was a successful consultative process that began at the Mobile World Congress 2016. This process brought together multiple stakeholders from the mobile industry, the smart card and biometrics industry, government and the development community. A dialogue between the public and private sector was encouraged to promote the implementation of sustainable digital identity schemes—an important discussion that will continue as more stakeholders become involved in drafting and adopting shared principles for identity.<br />  <br /> What is clear from the discussions is that the challenge in providing a useful, secure digital identity that enables life-enhancing services and meets the needs of government, private sector—and most importantly, citizens—will require new models of work and cooperation. It will require significant decisions, investment, a long-term vision and openness and trust between parties.<br />  <br /> There are big choices to make. Some will be informed by design questions such as “what existing ID architecture can we build upon?” or “what kinds of technology are most ubiquitous and cost-effective?” Others, such as “how can we protect trust and build privacy in these systems?” or “what will drive people to demand a digital ID and see its value?” will require considering how to develop the broader eco-system around the ID architecture itself.<br />  <br /> As part of the launch of this paper, the GSMA, SIA and World Bank will convene representatives from the private and public sectors at this week’s Mobile 360 Tanzania Conference to share key findings and offer an opportunity to debate and discuss ways forward. Providing an opportunity for a variety of stakeholders to give input into the draft principles for digital identity will help ensure that they reflect broad policy needs as well as on-the-ground experience.<br />  <br /> There is no doubt that the digital identity landscape will continue to evolve at a rapid rate as developing countries move towards increasingly digitized economies and societies. Digital identity that is sustainable, accessible and trusted will be fundamental to ensure that everyone is able to reap the benefits that this technology offers.<br />  <br /><em>Click </em><a href="" rel="nofollow"><em>here</em></a><em> to read more about the World Bank’s work on identification for development (ID4D).</em><br />  </div></div></div> Tue, 26 Jul 2016 21:38:00 +0000 Julia Clark 735 at Digital Development into Practice: Co-Designing a Citizen Feedback Tool that Makes Sense <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In April the World Bank <a href="" rel="nofollow">endorsed</a> the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Principles for Digital Development</a>, signaling its intent to support the use of technologies in projects through human-centered, contextually appropriate, collaborative, safe, and sustainable design.<br />  <br /> But what does this look like in practice? On the surface, projects that adopt the Digital Principles may not look so different from more conventional ICT4D efforts. Consider, for instance, a new participatory monitoring program in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. <a href="" rel="nofollow">MOPA</a> invites citizens to report problems in the waste management services through a digital platform, relaying these problems via an open-source map for the city council to enlist microenterprises to collect the waste.  <figure class="image"><img alt="" height="487" src="" title="" width="640" /><figcaption> Within a six-month pilot across four districts, over 900 problems were identified by trained monitors</figcaption></figure> This is far from the first community engagement and participatory monitoring program to use technologies aimed at reducing barriers for citizens to more directly inform anything, from <a href="" rel="nofollow">budget allocation</a> to <a href="" rel="nofollow">policy options</a> to service delivery. And like many other participatory engagement programs, MOPA faced a slew of familiar challenges that have caused <a href="" rel="nofollow">other similar projects to stutter</a>, including: <ul><li> <a href="" rel="nofollow">Reluctance</a> to engage in civic participation among some stakeholders;</li> <li> <a href="" rel="nofollow">Low sensitivity </a>to complex contexts and political, social, and economic realities;</li> <li> Insufficient consideration of <a href="" rel="nofollow">non-governmental actors</a>;</li> <li> <a href="" rel="nofollow">Inability</a> to convert citizen feedback into government response and action.</li> </ul> In spite of these challenges, MOPA has matured and earned recognition as a program with potential for meaningful impact. The initiative was <a href="" rel="nofollow">named</a> a finalist in the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Making All Voices Count</a> global innovation challenge as well as in Financial Times’ 2016<a href="" rel="nofollow"> Excellence in City-Led Transformation</a> award. It’s already being redesigned and replicated in Tanzania to help an urban water utility address customer complaints more efficiently.<br />   <figure class="image"><img alt="" height="451" src="" title="" width="640" /><figcaption> The mechanics of the MOPA program were designed and iterated through a series of collaborative workshops that borrowed heavily from design thinking and open innovation toolkits</figcaption></figure> How did MOPA achieve this early success and overcome traditional challenges to participatory engagement programs? From inception through implementation, the program was designed with careful consideration of many of the Digital Principles. For example: <ul><li> <strong>Design with the user:</strong> The mechanics of the MOPA program—ranging from identifying the actionable and specific problem statements to defining the workflow for responding to citizen reports—were developed and iterated through a series of co-design workshops. These sessions drew on techniques related to <a href="" rel="nofollow">design thinking</a>, a collaborative problem-solving and prototyping framework that places heavy emphasis on the perspective of the user’s needs, and were facilitated by experts familiar with implementing open innovation and design thinking in development contexts. A diversity  of stakeholders—entrepreneurs, municipal leaders, trash collection microenterprises, urban specialists, and community leaders—participated in various exercises to better understand the needs, pain points, and incentives from the perspective of the beneficiaries.</li> <li> <strong>Understand the ecosystem:</strong> The task team devoted considerable time to understanding the nuances and political economies of the context surrounding municipal waste management. The insights from this discovery phase shaped the platform’s features and the program’s scope. For instance, this process identified a young and tech-savvy entrepreneurial scene, inspiring the team to introduce an app development challenge that would help socialize the program while catalyzing third-party innovations developed by local talent and adopted by the city.</li> <li> <strong>Design for scale:</strong> From the beginning, MOPA’s technical infrastructure was designed to be scalable, transferable, and replicable. Despite its young age, the platform has already evolved and stretched considerably, thanks to the <a href="" rel="nofollow">lean</a> and <a href="" rel="nofollow">agile</a> development processes used to build the tech and manage the project through iteration, adaptation, and short, targeted coding sprints. Most importantly, any scale or replication to other sectors or countries would have low technology transfer costs; the codebase is released under an open source license so that any local organization or partners could repurpose the platform (using <strong>open data and standards</strong> is another Digital Principle).</li> <li> <strong>Build for sustainability</strong>: Fostering local ownership was a key objective of MOPA from the beginning. For example, buy-in from municipal leaders and waste collection microenterprises was established partly by identifying quick wins to incentivize participation such as demonstrating a more efficient utility response rate, or by leading to lower costs of complaint management, or by providing the government with information enriched by new citizen-reported data. To secure medium-term financial sustainability, partnerships were formed with mobile operators to subsidize users’ message transfer costs as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda.</li> </ul> To suggest MOPA is a prototypical reflection of the Digital Principles would be an exaggeration, however. As with any digital development project, the MOPA program encountered limitations and failures. For instance, it’s still not clear how privacy and security considerations will develop as the platform’s adoption grows, or <a href="" rel="nofollow">what technical</a> debt may have been incurred during the software’s iterative development. And although operating costs are relatively low, the program’s financial stability is too dependent on mobile operators’ CSR agendas. The operational capacity of the municipality to sustain operational responses to citizen-reported issues in a long term and at a wider scale is still to be settled.<br />  <br /> Other fundamental questions also remain: how can the World Bank help provide a framework to support the open standards and data that helped make MOPA an initial success? What can be done to ensure that a different project in another country (even one implemented by a different team within the Bank), repurposes rather than rebuilds a similar platform? How should we invest in upskilling implementing partners and donors on collaborative innovation methodsto foster more adaptive, user-centered, and context-driven digital development?<br />  <br /> We’ll continue to grapple with these and other questions as our exploration into putting the Principles into practice evolves. But MOPA is a reassuring reminder that good digital development is not just aspirational, but also achievable.</div></div></div> Tue, 28 Jun 2016 15:40:00 +0000 Samhir Vasdev 734 at Blockchain technology: Redefining trust for a global, digital economy <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> <em><img alt="" height="502" src="" title="" width="885" /><br /><br /> a longer version of this blog post is available on the </em><a href="" rel="nofollow"><em>MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative</em></a><em> platform</em><br /><br /> With Google Trends data showing that searches for the word “<a href="" rel="nofollow">blockchain</a>” have exponentially increased, we may be entering the peak of the hype cycle for blockchain and distributed ledger technology.<br /><br /> But here’s the thing: the blockchain <em>is </em>a major breakthrough. That’s because its decentralized approach to verifying changes in important information addresses the centuries-old problem of <em>trust</em>, a social resource that is all too often in short supply, especially amid the current era’s rampant concerns over the security of valuable data. It turns out that fixing that can be a boon for financial inclusion and other basic services delivery, helping to achieve the global objectives laid out in the <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a>.<br /><br /> Sorting out hype from reality may depend on how well we identify where institutions that have until now played a role in mediating trust between people are falling short, especially in the key area of money. Deploying the blockchain in those settings to generate secure, decentralized trust could achieve great strides in inclusion and innovation.<br /><br /> What do we mean by decentralized trust? The concept is unfamiliar in part because its converse -- centralized trust – is something that we often take for granted, at least while it’s working. But if we look at the history of transactions since the early barter systems to modern-day digital money exchanges, we can see how different <em>trust protocols</em> for keeping track of our exchanges of value have evolved and how, in each case, centralizing trust within particular institutions has periodically caused problems.<br /> ​<br /> As strategies for dealing with this challenge evolved and as the complexity and frequency of transactions grew, different <em>trust bearers</em> emerged. We went from relying on the memory and discretion of tribal leaders, to central governments issuing currencies in the form of precious metals, to commercial banks acting as <em>trusted intermediaries </em>and issuing their own bank notes, to central banks managing a hybrid system in which sovereign fiat banknotes circulate alongside a debt/credit form of money managed by regulated banks and internal ledgers.</p> <figure class="image"><img alt="" height="770" src="" title="" width="1120" /><figcaption> Financial transactions: trust bearing and encapsulating of the value of money throughout history</figcaption></figure><p> We are now at another moment when society’s trust in the trust bearers is being challenged again. The cause: the 2008 crisis – best viewed as a breakdown in public <em>trust</em> in the banks’ role as ledger-keepers – and the constant reports of hacking attacks at financial institutions. The difference is that this time the entire notion of centralized trust is being questioned.<br /><br /> This is where the blockchain and distributed public ledgers come in. We now have the prospect of supplanting those risk-laden <em>trust bearers</em> with a more robust, decentralized model. This kind of ledger, shared among a network of autonomous computers, which confirm and validate its content by following a unique algorithm that compels them to act in the common interest, and secured with powerful cryptography, is essentially tamper-proof. It’s the nearest thing we’ve ever had to an “immutable” ledger.<br /><br /> Currency exchanges are the first use case for this technology. But the topics discussed at this past week’s <a href="" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Blockchain Summit on Necker Island</a> reveal a dizzying array of non-currency applications as well. The blockchain’s disintermediating potential is being tried out for securities settlement, property titles, digital rights, trade finance, supply chains, auditing, voting, solar microgrids, notary and legal services, and the big one, <a href="" rel="nofollow">digital identity</a>. Much of this has the potential to leapfrog billions of people into a new era – in parallel to the way that mobile phones helped them leapfrog over landlines. <br /><br /> As with all early-stage technology, there are challenges. The underlying infrastructure needs to be scalable and more versatile, but achieving consensus to make such changes is difficult in an open-source work environment. There’s a “garbage-in” risk that inaccurate information gets permanently inserted into a blockchain. Also, the immutability and irreversibility of transactions might make it harder for individuals and firms to arbitrate solutions whenever there’s a dispute. Meanwhile, a vivid debate continues over what kind of blockchain communities should use and when: a public, “permissionless” blockchain like bitcoin, or a private blockchain in which only “permissioned” actors maintain the ledger, such as those which various banks are developing. There’s a big public interest in answering these questions.<br /><br /> Amid the rapid pace of open-source “fintech” innovation, it’s hard to imagine that distributed ledger technology isn’t coming, one way or another. When it arrives, the impact on society could be profound. It is therefore critical that governments engage their citizens and each other in serious discussion about the underlying trust infrastructure of 21st century digital society.<br /><br /> It’s too early to know the answers. That’s why it’s incumbent upon all of us to study and understand how to maximize the benefits of this technology to attain better development outcomes and reach the SDGs. The World Bank and MIT Media Lab could help foster this understanding. With serious research, we can discover the best ways to use this technology to lower costs and increase access to financial services while protecting the social capital that’s vital for economic development. Within this, we must keep in mind the unprecedented competition and challenges facing incumbent financial institutions and regulators. If we get this transformation right, and do so in a collective, collaborative manner, it could provide a vital building block for achieving the global community’s SDGs.</p> </div></div></div> Thu, 16 Jun 2016 18:11:00 +0000 Mariana Dahan 733 at Replacing a Three Day Walk with the Push of a Button <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="337" src="" width="599"></iframe><br /> Madagascar is big—it’s the fourth largest island in the world, more than twice as big as the United Kingdom. Madagascar’s size, its tropical climate, dense forests and steep hills, combined with a lack of money for infrastructure deployment and maintenance, means there are isolated pockets of people all over the country without easy access to cities, to information, to the world.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Until recently, mobile and communications services were confined to a few, mostly urban, areas. That left people living in rural areas cut off. When we were in Madagascar, working on this project, we saw many rural communities in dire need of essential infrastructure and services. People in some villages live far from any road, or rely on dirt tracks that turn to impassable mud ways in the rainy season, without access to electricity, hospitals, or banks.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> So, in this environment, access to mobile communications cannot be considered a luxury anymore—it’s a vital service that overcomes physical barriers and infrastructure gaps. With mobile service, people can contact family members in case of an emergency, call for medical help, and transfer money via their cell phones.&nbsp; Farmers—a large majority of the country population works in agriculture, and especially the poorest—can use the internet to check market prices for their produce, or get information on fertilizers.&nbsp; Schools with connectivity can reach the world, giving students access to information ranging from Victor Hugo’s novels to Fermat’s last theorem. Phones can be vital tools for health and well-being.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> To connect some of the most isolated populations, the government of Madagascar partnered with the World Bank to build a new large telecommunications network of more than 60 communications towers in three remote parts of the island. One of the most difficult challenges of this project, and retrospectively one of its biggest successes, has been establishing an effective public-private partnership. Gathering competitors in the private sector with public authorities, to combine their expertise and share the investment burden, is, in fact, the only way to bring telephone and internet services to these very poor, remote areas of the country.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> One of the other things we are very happy to see come out of this project is community participation. The second big success in this story is the active participation of the local populations at all stages, maximizing the benefits and keeping key beneficiaries focusing on the project. For instance, locals were hired in many localities to bring in materials and participate to the construction work.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> These communications towers provide greater reach for telecommunications networks and are having an impact on the 2 million more people that they reach. We saw women, in an isolated village, take pictures of the mats and bags they wove out of raffia, and send those pictures out to potential buyers. We met teachers who, instead of walking to pick up their paychecks, can use mobile banking to get easier and faster access to their money. In both these instances, connectivity opened up the world.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <img alt="" height="193" src="" style="float:right" title="" width="256" />And, despite hurdles, people are finding a way to make it all work. If there’s no reliable electricity, entrepreneurs open small stores that offer solar charging. If coverage is spotty, people walk to where it is better, even long distances.&nbsp; Almost half of those living near the new towers don’t have electricity at home. But they’ve worked out a system that allows them to get their phones recharged by neighbors with electricity, often in exchange for a small fee.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Most interesting, though, is that people say better connectivity has brought them together, not just with outside world, but with each other.&nbsp; That cohesion has meant neighbors work with neighbors to get things done. &nbsp;&nbsp;Even more striking is the tie between rural and urban.&nbsp; Remittances from family members working in the city provide vital support for people in the countryside—now wage earners can send their money home via mobile banking, without paying large commissions to middlemen.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> More tangible gains include an increase in household disposable income. People don’t have to spend on travel costs to get access to information. Trade is easier, banking is easier, people can call for advice in a health emergency. &nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> We’ve seen, first-hand, what access can do. We believe information and communications technology is a key to sustainable growth and can have a strong impact on even the very poor. &nbsp;We think it is essential that we keep working to bring such services to the poorest and most isolated populations. &nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <em>Charles Hurpy is an ICT policy specialist, and Michele Noro is an operations analyst. Both are at the World Bank.</em></div></div></div> Wed, 01 Jun 2016 18:20:00 +0000 Charles Hurpy 732 at Can recycled 3D printing filament lead to a successful social venture? <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><figure class="image" style="float:left"> <img alt="" height="248" src="" title="" width="330" /> <figcaption> &nbsp;<em>3D printing filament from PET plastic, ReFabDar&nbsp;</em></figcaption> </figure> The World Bank recently launched the <a href="" rel="nofollow">ReFabDar</a> initiative together with <a href="" rel="nofollow">COSTECH</a> and the <a href="" rel="nofollow">Ethical Filament Foundation</a> to test the opportunity of turning Polyethylene terephthalate (<a href="" rel="nofollow">PET</a>) plastic waste into value through collaboration across the recycling industry, local innovators and entrepreneurs, makers and tinkerers, and by leveraging 3D printers and new, low-cost PET <a href="" rel="nofollow">extruder technology</a>. PET is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family used in fibers for clothing, containers, and other products.<br /> <br /> The initiative, funded by the IC4D Trust Fund at the World Bank and launched last September, aimed to assess the feasibility and the market opportunity to turn PET plastic waste into 3D printer filament that can be sold locally or globally, and to then print unique and local marketable products, which could be then traded and sold by waste collectors back to their communities. It also aims to build local capacity on <a href="" rel="nofollow">making</a> and <a href="" rel="nofollow">digital fabrication</a> in countries like Tanzania. More background on the initiative can be found <a href="" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /> <br /> Additive manufacturing is one of the most widely accepted emerging technology and its services are being used by various industries, including medical, automotive, consumer products, military, academia and others. Alongside the usage of 3D printers in various industries, entry level printers which produce products of relatively smaller volumes are also currently available and mainly purchased by hobbyists, educational institutes and design firms.<br /> As traditional printers need ink cartridges in order to print, 3D printers need plastic filament. Most of the filament produced today is from virgin, unused petroleum-based plastic which generates not only increasing amounts of global waste but contributes to carbon emissions, resulting in significant environmental damage. This provides a unique recycling opportunity to make filament out of used, plastic waste, specifically from PET plastic, which is the basis of soda bottles, consumed by many people around the world.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> As part of the ReFabDar initiative, Tech4Trade, STIClab, and other partners developed a low-cost, custom-extruder to produce filament from recycled PET plastic. Based on the principles of open collaboration and standards, the designs of the extruder are available on an open source license at&nbsp;<a href="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wevolver</a>.&nbsp;This now opens up new market opportunities for emerging economies for local filament production and at a lower cost.<br /> &nbsp; <figure class="image" style="float:right"> <img alt="" height="244" src="" title="" width="325" /> <figcaption> <em>Filament production costs based on a new,<br /> low-cost extruder</em></figcaption> </figure> <br /> The filament can be sold to businesses (60% of the market) and individual consumers (40%).<br /> Business-to-<strong>business opportunities include</strong>: <ul> <li> Tech Universities and/or private high schools;</li> <li> 3D Hubs (both local and worldwide) – there are over 25,000 maker spaces and print labs worldwide;</li> <li> <a href="" rel="nofollow">FabLabs</a> (small scale workshop offering digital fabrication equipment and activities)</li> <li> Local entrepreneurs looking to set up businesses in 3D printing;</li> <li> Companies selling 3D printers but who do not produce their own filament.</li> </ul> Business-to-<strong>consumer opportunities include</strong>: <ul> <li> 3D print enthusiasts;</li> </ul> <ul> <li> Hobby printers and home owners.</li> </ul> The <strong>market assessment for recycled 3D printing filament</strong> produced through ReFabDar can be accessed <a href="" rel="nofollow">here.</a> Key findings of the market assessment include both opportunities and challenges.<br /> <strong>Opportunities:</strong> <ul> <li> <a href="" rel="nofollow">The 3D printing market is booming</a>: it was globally valued at US$2.5 billion in 2013, and is estimated to grow to a staggering $16.2 billion market by 2018. Similarly, the market for polymers used in 3D printing for the production of filament reached $310 million in 2014 and is estimated to grow to $1.4 billion by 2019.</li> <li> Currently the largest 3D printer markets are the USA, Germany, Netherlands and China. The Middle East and African markets are also expanding rapidly. The domestic East African market is still limited due to lack of knowledge, infrastructure and clear use cases, but has a high potential for growth.</li> <li> Based on some basic assumptions, the cost of producing a spool of filament amounts to approximately $2.84 p/kg. Globally, a spool of filament is priced between $19-$175p/kg depending on material, diameter (mm), color or other specific characteristics. In Tanzania, a spool of filament can cost up to $60-$80, including shipping costs from China.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <strong>Challenges:</strong> <ul> <li> Among the main challenges of the production of recycled PET filament is complexity of the distribution, particularly since shipping costs to many locations risk being very high.</li> <li> Ensuring an ongoing, clean and high quality supply of plastic is also a significant challenge to producing recycled PET filament. This can be done either by working directly with waste pickers or through a third party (i.e. a local recycler who in turn works with waste pickers).</li> <li> Creating a social brand in a market which is currently unbranded, and increasing the popularity of PET filament as opposed to more widely used plastics. On the other hand, there are significant opportunities in producing recycled PET filament.</li> </ul> Based on this assessment, ReFabDar partners are now launching a crowdfunding campaign for a global venture called <a href="" rel="nofollow">ReFlow</a> to get to the next stage of turning the recycled 3D printing filament experiment into a viable social enterprise. The next steps to create a viable local filament social venture are: <ul> <li> Perfect the extruder design so that it is ready to produce consumer-ready filament;</li> <li> Create a local network of plastic collectors that can supply high quality PET plastic on a continuous basis;</li> <li> Establish a formal production site, ideally close to collection point, that can consistently produce small amounts of filament for the local market;</li> <li> Set up the impact framework for redistribution of profits back to waste pickers;</li> </ul> Partner with local 3D printing organizations to boost the 3D printing ecosystem.</div></div></div> Wed, 25 May 2016 19:08:00 +0000 Cecilia Paradi-Guilford 731 at