{ "title": "Technology-Driven Development", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson", "overlayPath": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/index.md", "summary": "Togo’s Cina Lawson views digitalization as key to her country’s growth and development", "sections": [ { "heading": "Overview", "content": "- Togo used an innovative digital payment initiative, Novissi, to provide financial assistance during the pandemic.\n- Interview subject: Cina Lawson, Togo’s minister of digital economy and transformation; interviewer: Adam Behsudi.\n- Key framing: digitalization is central to Togo’s growth and development and to delivering fiscal policy and social protection." }, { "heading": "Novissi payment program: design and outcomes", "content": "- Total disbursed: $34 million to more than 920,000 vulnerable people—about one-fourth of the adult population.\n- Launch and rollout speed:\n - Launched April 8, 2020, eight days after the health emergency was declared by the president.\n - Platform fully developed in-house and operational in 10 days.\n - Within one week after launch, disbursed social assistance to about 450,000 people.\n- Delivery mechanics:\n - 100 percent digital cash transfer program with no face-to-face contact from registration to eligibility assessment and cash payment.\n - Payout speed: cash transfers reached mobile money accounts in less than two minutes once declared eligible.\n - Platform functions without internet using USSD (unstructured supplementary service data); users register by dialling the USSD shortcode 855.\n- Targeting and technical features:\n - Leverages artificial intelligence (AI), satellite imagery, cell phone metadata, and machine learning to improve beneficiary targeting.\n - AI targeting led by the government of Togo with technical support from Innovations for Poverty Action and Center for Effective Global Action researchers.\n - A $10 million grant from GiveDirectly supported 140,000 people.\n- Gender sensitivity:\n - Women receive about 15 percent more cash than men." }, { "heading": "Rationale and socioeconomic context", "content": "- Poverty and labor context:\n - More than 50 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty.\n - About 80 percent works in the informal sector on day-to-day jobs that cannot be done from home.\n- Policy imperative: prevent a rise in the national poverty rate by supporting informal workers and vulnerable households." }, { "heading": "Digital infrastructure, access, and leapfrogging", "content": "- Argument: leapfrogging is necessary to provide African solutions to African problems.\n- Institutional development: creation of Agence Togo Digital to recruit skills, ensure interoperable government systems, and enhance data value.\n- Internet and mobile penetration:\n - Mobile internet penetration rate reached 63 percent in 2020, compared to barely 13 percent five or six years ago.\n- Affordability and coverage:\n - Connectivity prices have fallen while high-speed fixed and mobile internet have been extended across the country, enabling broader participation in the digital economy." }, { "heading": "Togo Digital 2025: strategic goals and projects", "content": "- Strategic ambition: become a logistics and services hub for the western region of Africa and transform the economy with digital technologies at the core.\n- Project integration:\n - Three-fourths of Togolese development road map projects for 2025 have a digital component and are part of the national strategy Togo Digital 2025.\n- Specific aims:\n - Provide all citizens and residents above age five with a biometric ID and easy and cost-effective access to high-speed internet and mobile devices.\n - Digitalize public and social services, and all government-to-citizen and citizen-to-government payments.\n - Accelerate the transformation of the economy and make Togo a digital hub with an ecosystem of innovation and start-ups." }, { "heading": "Digitalization and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)", "content": "- Claim: The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without digitalization.\n- Global poverty context:\n - According to the World Bank, about 690 million people live on less than $1.90 a day.\n - More than 50 percent of the world’s most vulnerable people live in sub-Saharan Africa.\n- Strategic view: mobile technologies, big data, machine learning, and digital public infrastructures enable timely, effective digital aid; policymakers must adopt robust approaches to address global issues exacerbated by COVID-19, climate change, conflicts, and natural disasters.\n\nF&D Magazine, \"Technology-Driven Development,\" Adam Behsudi, March 2022.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- في خندق العمل\n - في خندق العمل (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - في خندق العمل (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- La technologie, moteur du développement\n - La technologie, moteur du développement (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - La technologie, moteur du développement (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- trenches\n - trenches (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - trenches (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Desarrollo a base de tecnología ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2022\n - Desarrollo a base de tecnología ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2022 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - Desarrollo a base de tecnología ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2022 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Technology-Driven Development\n - Technology-Driven Development (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - Technology-Driven Development (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- 科技驱动发展\n - 科技驱动发展 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - 科技驱动发展 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: ADAM BEHSUDI", "Published: March 2, 2022", "Togo used an innovative digital payment initiative, Novissi, to provide financial assistance during the pandemic.", "Interview subject: Cina Lawson, Togo’s minister of digital economy and transformation; interviewer: Adam Behsudi.", "Key framing: digitalization is central to Togo’s growth and development and to delivering fiscal policy and social protection.", "Total disbursed: $34 million to more than 920,000 vulnerable people—about one-fourth of the adult population.", "Launch and rollout speed:", "Delivery mechanics:", "Targeting and technical features:", "Gender sensitivity:", "Poverty and labor context:", "Policy imperative: prevent a rise in the national poverty rate by supporting informal workers and vulnerable households.", "Argument: leapfrogging is necessary to provide African solutions to African problems.", "Institutional development: creation of Agence Togo Digital to recruit skills, ensure interoperable government systems, and enhance data value.", "Internet and mobile penetration:", "Affordability and coverage:", "Strategic ambition: become a logistics and services hub for the western region of Africa and transform the economy with digital technologies at the core.", "Project integration:", "Specific aims:", "Claim: The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without digitalization.", "Global poverty context:", "Strategic view: mobile technologies, big data, machine learning, and digital public infrastructures enable timely, effective digital aid; policymakers must adopt robust approaches to address global issues exacerbated by COVID-19, climate change, conflicts, and natural disasters.", "**في خندق العمل**", "**La technologie, moteur du développement**", "**trenches**", "**Desarrollo a base de tecnología ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2022**", "**Technology-Driven Development**", "**科技驱动发展**" ], "related": [ { "title": "في خندق العمل", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ar/trenches.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ar/trenches.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ar/trenches.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "La technologie, moteur du développement", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/fr/trenches.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/fr/trenches.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/fr/trenches.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "trenches", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ru/trenches.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ru/trenches.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ru/trenches.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "Desarrollo a base de tecnología ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2022", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/sp/trenches.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/sp/trenches.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/sp/trenches.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "Technology-Driven Development", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/trenches.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/trenches.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/trenches.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "科技驱动发展", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/zh/behsudi-trenches.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/zh/behsudi-trenches.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/zh/behsudi-trenches.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } } ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/index.md", "json": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/technology-driven-development-lawson/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-15T17:52:30.665Z" }