W’Bank Invests $12.6billion on ICT Development Globally in 10 Years

The World Bank Group has invested a total US$12.6 billion in ICT in the last 10 years the World Development Report released in Washington on Thursday, January 14 has disclosed.

According to the report, while the internet, mobile phones and other digital technologies were spreading rapidly throughout the developing world, the anticipated digital dividends of higher growth, more jobs, and better public services had fallen short of expectations, and 60 percent of the world’s population remains excluded from the ever-expanding digital economy.

The report stated: “Digital technologies can transform our economies, societies and public institutions, but these changes are neither assured nor automatic. Countries that are investing in both digital technology and its analog complements will reap significant dividends, while others are likely to fall behind.

“Technology without a strong foundation risks creating divergent economic fortunes, higher inequality and an intrusive state. Over the last decade, the World Bank Group has invested a total US$12.6 billion in ICTs” Authored by Co-Directors, Deepak Mishra and Uwe Deichmann and team, the new ‘World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends,’ noted that the benefits of rapid digital expansion have been skewed towards the wealthy, skilled, and influential around the world, who are better positioned to take advantage of the new technologies.

In addition, though the number of internet users worldwide has more than tripled since 2005, four billion people still lack access to the internet. In his remarks, Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, noted that “digital technologies are transforming the worlds of business, work, and government.