New Economy Skills for Africa Program Information and Communication Technology (NESAP-ICT)

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New Economy Skills for Africa Program Information
and Communication Technology (NESAP-ICT)

• Peter N Materu,
• Senior Education Specialist, World Bank
• Global Forum on ICTs in Education
• Seoul, Korea
• November 9-11,2009

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Overview

• Why NESAP-ICT?
• Objectives of NESAP-ICT
• Key Focus Areas
• Phase I ICT Skills Development
• Phase II ICTs in/for Education
• Challenges and Opportunities

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Why NESAP-ICT?

• Scarcity of ICT skills in Africa amid rapidly
  growing telecom and services sectors
• Reduces potential returns on ICT investments
• Disincentive for new investors
• Reduces quality of service delivery
• Increasing demand but poor performing ICT
  components in Bank education projects. Africa
  Region has highest ICT components
• Emerging opportunity for job creation in IT/IT
  enabled services (475bn market in 2007, 15
  tapped)

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Objective of NESAP-ICT

• Support the specific ICT educational and skills
  needs of targeted African countries
• Build capacity to better design, implement,
  manage and innovate in ICT projects/components
• Pilot a new way of working collaboratively across
  sectors to address a common need

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Key Focus Areas

• Skills Development to support ICT investments
• improve service delivery
• improve employability of graduates
• create new jobs IT/ITES industry
• Capacity building for Integration of ICTs into
  education and training at all levels
• basic digital literacy, improve learning
  motivation and thinking skills
• teacher training, integration of ICTs into
  curricula
• mainstreaming of affordable technologies)
• Use of ICT as an enabler to improve performance,
  governance and management of the education system
  e.g. OER, EMIS, NRENs,

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PHASE I (FY09- to-date)

• Skills Development

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Strategy

• Mainstreaming into Country Development Strategy
• Fostering cross-sectoral collaboration
• Partnering with Private sector
• Leveraging South-South Learning
• Internationally benchmarked Training and
  Certification Programs (employability)
• Strengthening national institutions to conduct
  training and certification

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NESAP-ICT Using Industry-relevant. Globally
Benchmarked Skillsas the catalyst of e-enabled
economy
Post Training Assessment
Through a replicable framework consisting of
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Implementation Status Skills Dev.

• 8 participating countries Ghana, Kenya,
  Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal,
  Tanzania
• South-South Learning (GDLN, Visits)
• Engaging with Industry IBM Collaboratory in
  Nigeria
• Assessments, Studies, Pilots, Project Inputs
• EOI Internationally-benchmarked IT Enable
  Services Foundational Skills Assessment
  Certification Program in Nigeria

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PHASE II (FY10 - )

• ICTs in/for Education
• Goal
• Interventions with Transformational Impact on
  Education in the Entire Sector

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Strategy

• Holistic Approach not just one more donor
• Start with 1 - 2 countries then scale up
• Tap and customize Global Good Practices
• Engage with Industry test and assess affordable
  learning technologies
• Action research to support users
• Link to Bank Education Program
• Build country capacity
• Build in ME and Impact Assessment tools

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Implementation Approach ICT4Ed
Status Needs Priorities Concept
Note Identify countries

• Background Studies
• Implement in 1-2 countries
• Scale Up

Government to lead Country Partnership Built in
ME and Impact Evaluation Link to Investment
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Challenges and Opportunities

• Poor connectivity but hope in the horizon
• Unreliable electricity
• Cost Total cost of ownership
• Lack of structures for cross-sector collaboration
• Too many players on the ground
• Weak institutions at country level
• Lack of ME and Impact Assessment Tools

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Thank You

• Contacts
• Peter Materu (TTL) pmateru_at_worldbank.org

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ICT in IBRD/IDA Portfolio

• 64 of Bank projects1 (pipeline and portfolio)
  have ICT components
• Total ICT investments estimated at about 7.73
  billion (94-06)

1 Refers to the total number of projects
reviewed (1630) as part of the ICT dimension
study as of Nov 2006 2 Only includes pipeline
projects with clear ICT components identified 3
Other includes projects other than investment
lending (incl. GPP, IDF, GEF, Special funds etc)
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Bank ICT investments in Education are also
growing
ICT components in education projects have
consistently risen in the 2001-2004 period

• In AFR, education sector has largest number of
  operations with ICTs, with commitments averaging
  168 million a year evaluation indicates
  performance is poor

and
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Impact of the Sector
ICTs contribution to economic growth
...and on investments
Telecommunication service revenues as a
percentage of GDP, 1998 - 2004
Telecom FDI versus Total FDI in SSA (2000-2004)
35 of total FDI in SSA was from telecom Source
World Bank WDI (2007)
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ITES market
IT services market
Source Tholons 2006
Source NASSCOM-Everest 2008
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New Economy Skills for Africa programNESAP-ICT

• Program launched mid-2008
• High Level management buy-in
• 3 Focus Areas
• 8 Participating countries

EDUCATION FOR ICT ICT in EDUCATION ICT for
EDUCATION
With a rapidly evolving telecom landscape
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AFRICAN UNDERSEA CABLES
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Broadband Subscription Plans in Nigeria
(November 2006)
(Source Telegeography Nigeria Country Overview,
2008)