Bridge the Digital Gap Before It's Too Late | Technology - BNN Bloomberg

Unless developing countries like Indonesia act now, they risk falling so far behind they won’t be able to catch up, continues BNN Bloomberg.

An Indonesian Muslim woman, Raditya, plays Pokemon Go game on her smartphone on July 24, 2016 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. "Pokemon Go," which uses Google Maps and a smartphone has been a smash-hit in countries where it is available and already popular in Indonesia even though it has not been officially released. Indonesians have been downloading the game by using a proxy location which gives them access to app stores of other countries as security officials have voiced worries that the game could pose a security threat.
Photo: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Over the past 25 years, developing nations have made huge gains in the fight against poverty. 

But continued progress is hardly inevitable. Indeed, if such countries don’t rethink their approach to rapid digital transformation now, the gap that separates them from developed countries could well become unbridgeable.

The good news is that technology isn’t only a threat. The digital revolution presents poorer nations with a huge opportunity to fast-track their economic development, deliver better public services, and create an inclusive economy and society. For these countries, there hasn’t been a moment as fraught with possibility since the postwar manufacturing boom that propelled the so-called Asian Tigers to prosperity...

Finally, governments must take great care to build secure, accountable systems, so that citizens can trust that their data is protected and that the data provided by the government is transparent. Only then can they hold governments accountable and make their voices heard.

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Source: BNN Bloomberg