Should International Aid Invest in Tech?

Photo: Mahabir Pun brings the Internet to his community in Nangi, Nepal

International aid agencies have increasingly turned to technology as a means of promoting prosperity in developing countries. Bilateral organizations like DFID, SDC, USAID, as well as multilateral organizations such as the World Bank have specifically directed aid towards the development of information technologies. For example, the Information and Communication Technologies for Development initiative (ICT4D) has encouraged the use of mobile phones and computers to facilitate improvements in education, health care, agriculture and other vital sectors within the developing world.

Despite their purported benefits, however, such initiatives face major criticisms.  Some critics question the effectiveness of tech-based projects and argue that the poorest of the poor are not beneficiaries of such schemes.  In particular, they note the lack of infrastructure in rural areas upon which most technologies depend.  

On the other hand, there are those who argue that current foreign aid efforts in the technology sphere are too modest in their scope.  June Arunga recounts the challenges she faces in accessing seed capital for a mobile telephony business in Kenya, arguing that most investors couldn't get past the African "brand" of starving children to recognize that "Africa is actually the fastest growing telephone market in the world."  You can access the full video here.

Although both these arguments hold water to some extent, I think the former underestimates the importance of technology in promoting grass root development.

Let me clarify my argument by giving an example of a technology based project implemented by an Ashoka-Lemelson fellow - Mahabir Pun, a teacher in Western Nepal. Pun desired to combat the isolation of his remote mountain village by bringing access to the Internet. Lacking both financial and technological expertise, Pun tenaciously sought out support.  One lucky email to the technology program in the BBC World Service landed Pun assistance to build and run the wireless system. With the help of some foreign grants and volunteers from Europe and the United States, Pun was able to engineer wireless connections between two villages.

In Pun’s own words: “The technology hasn't changed the day-to-day life of people because they have to work in their field, raise cattle and grow food. However, it has made their lives much easier when it comes to communicating between villages, with relatives living in the city or working abroad.” The network is now used in schools to teach students about computer technology and us employed by rural health centers in the two villages to communicate with the city hospital.

While Pun’s technology neither sought to nor succeeded in eradicating the poverty of the neediest within his country, it certainly lessened the hardship of many underserved families. Villagers in Nangi are now able to easily communicate with family members who have traveled to India or the Middle East to earn a living. Community members have also been able to expose their children to more modern forms of education, hence raising their competitiveness on the labor market. Technical knowledge and funding from abroad enabled Pun to achieve these accomplishments.

I think Pun’s experience is a strong case study of the role that international aid can play in fostering grassroots development via investments in technology. While such investments are becoming more popular, the volume of aid money remains just a trickle compared to the river of funds directed towards conventional development strategies.  I posit that it is high time that the aid community recognize the transformative power of technology for grassroots development and match that realization with funding.

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Dhriti Bhatta is a native of Napal and student of Economics and Political Science at Tufts University