{"id":7418,"date":"2025-08-05T12:09:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T16:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdgnews.com\/?p=7418"},"modified":"2025-08-06T07:18:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:18:41","slug":"heres-how-investing-in-digital-can-transform-lldcs-doreen-bogdan-martin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sdgnews.com\/ru\/heres-how-investing-in-digital-can-transform-lldcs-doreen-bogdan-martin\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how investing in digital can transform LLDCs – Doreen Bogdan-Martin"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Investing in digital infrastructure and skills is the most effective step the private sector can take right now to supercharge development in landlocked developing countries.”<\/em> <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Says Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

\"DOREEN<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Imagine walking for miles under a scorching desert sun just to get a mobile signal, a lifeline<\/a><\/strong> for hundreds of thousands of refugees in southeastern Ethiopia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or accepting payments for your fledgling start-up using mobile money<\/a><\/strong>, a boon for financial inclusion in countries like Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or streaming a video for the first time in the remotest parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, where the ITU-UNICEF Giga initiative has helped connect over 600 schools<\/strong><\/a> thanks in part to satellite imagery and AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Game-changing digital solutions like these can accelerate progress on 70 per cent<\/a><\/strong> of the 169 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets and transform life for all 351 million people living in landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with only 39 per cent of the population in LLDCs connected to the Internet, turning this potential into lived realities will require massive investments \u2013 both in digital infrastructure and skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress through partnerships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the UN agency for digital technologies, ITU stands at the forefront of this endeavor through our work on radiocommunications, technical standards, and global digital development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

160 years of experience also tells us that technology alone isn\u2019t enough to bridge the digital divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why we also advocate for multistakeholder partnerships such as the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition (P2C<\/strong>)<\/a>, where ITU leads efforts to achieve universal and meaningful connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, the overall financial value of commitments submitted by over 447 entities through the P2C online platform<\/a><\/strong> amounts to approximately 51 billion US dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of these nearly 940 pledges, about 26 per cent target at least one LLDC, including Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Lesotho, Malawi, Paraguay, and Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The estimated financial value of these commitments is about 19 billion US dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure resources get to where they\u2019re most needed, Partner2Connect also encourages pledgers to continuously report on implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how we know most LLDC-targeted commitments are geared towards expanding connectivity and digital infrastructure, as well as affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boosting adoption of digital technologies through digital skill-building or inclusion initiatives is the second most common type of pledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Room for progress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Of the 241 commitments targeting at least one LLDC, 19 per cent come from the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16 of those have reported progress in areas like infrastructure, affordability, and skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, our data-driven pledging platform has given unprecedented visibility into specific challenges facing implementers in LLDCs, including but not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n