{
  "title": "Bridging the Digital Divide to Scale Up the COVID-19 Recovery",
  "publication": "IMF Blog, November 5, 2020",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2020/11/05/blog-bridging-digital-divide-to-scale-up-covid19-recovery",
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  "summary": "Digitalization has in the past few years enabled developing countries in particular to leapfrog on financial inclusion. Countries like Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania have made great advances in connecting their citizens to financial systems by leveraging on mobile phone technology.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Digitalization during COVID-19: overview and examples",
      "content": "- Digitalization enabled many developing countries to leapfrog on financial inclusion; examples cited include Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania.\n- Pandemic-driven adoption: online shopping, entertainment, digital financial services, virtual meetings and events became central to lives and livelihoods globally.\n- Central bank and private-sector actions:\n  - Central Bank of Kenya waived charges and expanded the limit for low-value mobile money transactions, resulting in more than 1.6 million additional customers and a significant increase in both value and number of transactions, mostly of $10 or less.\n  - In Rwanda, all charges were waived in March; by the end of April 2020, the weekly value of all kinds of mobile money transactions increased by 450 percent from pre-pandemic levels.\n  - In China, Ant Group partnered with more than 100 banks to launch the Contactless Loans initiative to help small and medium enterprises recover from COVID-19.\n  - In Brazil, the central bank is launching PIX, an instant-payments system expected to become widely available this month.\n  - In India, Riskcovry, a Mumbai-based start-up, introduced a coronavirus insurance policy for businesses to offer employees hospitalization and lost-wages coverage."
    },
    {
      "heading": "How digitalization can help: three recommendations",
      "content": "- Place people at the center of the global financial system.\n  - Digitalization must be driven by the needs of the people and work for them.\n  - Example: Kenya’s 2017 mobile-based digital bond M‑Akiba mobilized micro-savings of as little as $30 to finance government; 85 percent of investors were participating in the government securities market for the first time.\n- Connect citizens to mitigate the digital divide.\n  - Over 700 million people lack broadband connectivity.\n  - Over a billion lack formal identification.\n  - Policy implication: invest in digital infrastructure and digital identity so citizens can access online services; invest in numeracy and financial literacy.\n  - International co-operation will be needed; the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other international organizations are working with the private and public sectors globally to help countries.\n- Strengthen governance of global digital financial platforms.\n  - Big Techs are transforming delivery of services globally, a trend accelerated by COVID-19.\n  - Concern: developing countries have not been at the table when governance of these platforms is discussed.\n  - Initiative: the Task Force’s Dialogue on Global Digital Finance Governance seeks to facilitate a balanced and more inclusive dialogue, particularly involving developing nations, on aligning Big Tech governance to the Sustainable Development Goals."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Risks and policy priorities moving forward",
      "content": "- Main risks to address:\n  - Cybersecurity.\n  - Data privacy and security—greatest threats to vulnerable citizens using digital services for the first time.\n- Policy priority: mitigate these risks to protect citizens’ information and hard-earned money.\n- Cross-sector call to action: Governments, the private sector, international organizations and citizens must cooperate to increase digitalization and seize the pandemic-driven opportunity to enhance lives and livelihoods.\n\nPatrick Njoroge, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu — November 5, 2020\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Review of Emergency Measures to Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions\n  - Review of Emergency Measures to Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Review of Emergency Measures to Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2020/11/05/blog-bridging-digital-divide-to-scale-up-covid19-recovery"
    }
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    "[Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2020/11/05/blog-bridging-digital-divide-to-scale-up-covid19-recovery/index.md)",
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    "Authors: Patrick Njoroge, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu",
    "Published: November 5, 2020",
    "Digitalization enabled many developing countries to leapfrog on financial inclusion; examples cited include Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania.",
    "Pandemic-driven adoption: online shopping, entertainment, digital financial services, virtual meetings and events became central to lives and livelihoods globally.",
    "Central bank and private-sector actions:",
    "Place people at the center of the global financial system.",
    "Connect citizens to mitigate the digital divide.",
    "Strengthen governance of global digital financial platforms.",
    "Main risks to address:",
    "Policy priority: mitigate these risks to protect citizens’ information and hard-earned money.",
    "Cross-sector call to action: Governments, the private sector, international organizations and citizens must cooperate to increase digitalization and seize the pandemic-driven opportunity to enhance lives and livelihoods.",
    "**Review of Emergency Measures to Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions**"
  ],
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