Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

ICT Enhances Effectiveness, Efficiency and Reach of Assistance

Innovations in information and communication technology (ICT) are revolutionizing the way organizations around the globe approach economic development challenges. ICT and mobile technology can provide information, resources and financial services to the poor at much lower cost and with greater impact.

ACDI/VOCA incorporates these technologies into development projects to expand their reach and efficacy while stewarding limited donor funds. ICTs can provide farmers, entrepreneurs and community organizations in emerging economies with market information and services that are vital to their success and sustainability. They have also brought a healthy new sense of inclusion and modernity to traditionally underserved masses.

ICTs Improve Information Dissemination, Business Connections

A lack of timely and accurate information is a significant barrier to competitiveness for entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. To address this gap, ACDI/VOCA uses ICT and other multimedia technologies to stimulate and meet increased local demand for market and credit information, as well as technical knowledge, assistance and services.

In India, with funding from USAID and market research conducted by Accenture, ACDI/VOCA partnered with Infosys to strengthen the emerging organized retail sector and link it to smallholder farmers. We used FreshConnect to increase farmers’ incomes by organizing and integrating them into the fresh fruits and vegetables supply chain. Under the Sunhara India project, Agribusiness Systems International (an ACDI/VOCA subsidiary) channeled lessons learned from the FreshConnect model to develop a practical ICT application that farmers can use on a wide scale. Sunhara partnered with Khushali Krishi Kendra, an agribusiness with more than 80 agricultural supply stores, to develop an SMS- and voice mail-based product to deliver local, up-to-date and accurate extension and market information to more than 150,000 farmers.

Additionally, through our USAID-funded Multi-Year Assistance Program in Haiti, ACDI/VOCA in conjunction with the Humanitarian Free Open Source Software (HFOSS) Project has developed and tested a smartphone application that will allow our field teams to update records during food distributions and register new beneficiaries in the remote areas where health services are provided.

Field staff will now be able to immediately send the data—for example, the name and health status of the child or mother—by SMS to a server maintained by ACDI/VOCA, significantly reducing the time and cost of monitoring.

Mobile Technology Provides Options, Safety in Rural Areas

ACDI/VOCA is expanding its use of mobile technology to include financial transactions. Mobile money has proven to be a cost-effective and scalable tool to allow the poor to make payments without spending undue time and resources and incurring risks traveling long distances with cash.

ICTs Expand Banking Services to the Poor and Underbanked

Banks see the potential of mobile banking services and are investing in more efficient ways to reach the growing cell phone market in rural communities. In environments where mobile network operators (MNOs) offer m-wallet and SMS financial transactions, ACDI/VOCA staff is finding innovative ways to bridge the gap between rural demand for financial services and organizations with the financial and technological capacity to provide savings and loan opportunities.

For more information please check out our World Report on Building Connections through Technology.