{"id":152275,"date":"2024-01-17T21:16:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T21:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?p=152275"},"modified":"2024-01-17T21:19:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T21:19:54","slug":"what-the-developing-world-needs-from-tech-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/what-the-developing-world-needs-from-tech-right-now","title":{"rendered":"What the Developing World Needs From Tech Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
The majority of the developing world did not participate in the adoption of technologies that drive developed economies today \u2014 from access to industrial jobs, education, food, and water.<\/p>\n
And only around 65% of the world’s population<\/a> is connected to the internet, which nowadays means they don’t have access to the technologies that come with it \u2014 from 5G<\/a>, artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI), the Internet of Things<\/a> (IoT), and advantages to digital health records.<\/p>\n Yet these technologies are a force for good \u2014 transformative and sustainable \u2014 according to Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations<\/a> (PDF).<\/p>\n The technology sector is among the world’s largest and most valuable industries, with an estimated $5-10 trillion in annual revenue and around 80 million employees \u2014 which is expected to rise to half a billion employees by 2050.<\/p>\n That provides it with global power and influence as an innovative force for change.<\/p>\n To enable access for billions of people around the world, technology leaders need to pay attention to developing countries, a view echoed by panelists at the CES 2024 Conference in Las Vegas<\/a>, which we recap here.<\/p>\n Walton Stinson, co-founder and CEO of technology integrator and retailer ListenUp, said: “I think the primary need is to get the developed world to understand that the developing world is a different world.<\/p>\n “There’s a world that isn’t benefiting from technology. I see that in education needs, agricultural needs, water needs, and in healthcare needs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “These are all areas that can greatly benefit from technological innovation. Some of the things that we take for granted that are actually pretty cheap and easy to implement are not being implemented in the developing world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As the cost of various technologies has fallen over time, from mobile phones to radios, people in the development world who did not have the resources to be customers of big technology companies now have a chance to become customers, noted Ketan Patel, Chair of Force for Good and chief executive officer (CEO) of Investment firm Greater Pacific Capital.<\/p>\n “If you could teach people how to utilize the technological opportunities and tools that we have and make it relevant to their development so it becomes a part of their lifestyle and their life, they have a much better chance of getting all the information they need to increase their opportunities, said entrepreneur Stedman Graham.<\/p>\n CEOs of manufacturing companies should pay attention to the developing world as these markets will be future customers \u2014 perhaps not next year but in the long term.<\/p>\n As Stinson put it: “There’s a saying in our industry that we tend to overestimate what’s going to happen next year and underestimate what’s going to happen in 10 years.”<\/p>\n “One of the things that we need to understand is that the developing world really has a lot of needs and should be getting more attention.<\/p>\n “There should be products that are designed specifically for the developing world, and that takes a little bit of effort because it may have the people, but it doesn’t have the dollar market share.<\/p>\n “But to go in there and create a brand in a country like Indonesia, for example, which is going to be a big one, or India, for example, which is going to be a big one, I think makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n “So we can push these technologies out there, and it doesn’t have to be in an altruistic way\u2014it just requires visionary leadership.”<\/p>\n The United Nations created the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, and they are so far falling short of fulfilment. But there is a growing realization in the industry that technology can help close the gaps.<\/p>\n Stinson added: “Traditionally, we just look for more money, more taxes, and so forth, to close that gap. But what we’ve realised is that tech can close that gap \u2014 perhaps better than money can and faster than money can \u2014 because tech is developing exponentially.<\/p>\n “And the tools that we have available to close the development gap are developing exponentially\u2014AI being a great example of that.”<\/p>\n Technology can reduce the cost of funding the SDGs by $55 trillion, according to a report by the Force For Good Initiative<\/a>. Driving global connectivity and deploying digital technologies could solve as much as 20% of the SDGs, and rolling out digital solutions can enhance the impact on the goals even further, perhaps taking the total SDG targets addressed to around 40%.<\/p>\n Investing in innovation and technological breakthroughs could also boost global gross domestic product (GDP) by threefold by 2060, raising the average per-capita income globally to the level of South Korea today.<\/p>\nKey Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Money is Not the Only Way to Meet Targets<\/span><\/h2>\n