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    The Social Impact of ICT

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    florebel
    ICT plays a key role in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by providing critical infrastructure and enabling financial inclusion through mobile commerce. ICT empowers people to start businesses at low cost by allowing knowledge sharing and online shops, promoting economic growth. Social businesses use ICT to further social causes through profit-making stability. ICT makes social impact affordable by lowering startup costs, scalable by connecting organizations to millions, and strengthens community connections by engaging locals directly and broadcasting messages online.

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    The Social Impact of ICT

    Uploaded by

    florebel
    529 views5 pages
    ICT plays a key role in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by providing critical infrastructure and enabling financial inclusion through mobile commerce. ICT empowers people to start businesses at low cost by allowing knowledge sharing and online shops, promoting economic growth. Social businesses use ICT to further social causes through profit-making stability. ICT makes social impact affordable by lowering startup costs, scalable by connecting organizations to millions, and strengthens community connections by engaging locals directly and broadcasting messages online.

    Original Description:

    ICT DEVELOPMENT

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    ICT plays a key role in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by providing critical infrastructure and enabling financial inclusion through mobile commerce. ICT empowers people to start businesses at low cost by allowing knowledge sharing and online shops, promoting economic growth. Social businesses use ICT to further social causes through profit-making stability. ICT makes social impact affordable by lowering startup costs, scalable by connecting organizations to millions, and strengthens community connections by engaging locals directly and broadcasting messages online.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    529 views5 pages

    The Social Impact of ICT

    Uploaded by

    florebel
    ICT plays a key role in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by providing critical infrastructure and enabling financial inclusion through mobile commerce. ICT empowers people to start businesses at low cost by allowing knowledge sharing and online shops, promoting economic growth. Social businesses use ICT to further social causes through profit-making stability. ICT makes social impact affordable by lowering startup costs, scalable by connecting organizations to millions, and strengthens community connections by engaging locals directly and broadcasting messages online.

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    The social impact of ICT

    Information communications technology (ICT) has the power to transform


    society. It plays a key role in each of the United Nations’ Sustainable
    Development Goals, providing the infrastructure needed to achieve them. It
    also enables financial inclusion through m-commerce and allows people to
    connect with millions instantaneously.

    Download the Social Business Era report

    The impact of ICT on business is particularly significant. It empowers people to


    share knowledge and advice instantaneously and set up an online shop or
    website at a low cost, dramatically lowering the barriers to starting a business.
    As such, it is an important enabler of change and ICT maturity is closely linked
    to economic growth.

    Advances in technology have always been used by for-profits to increase


    revenue. However, government bodies and NGOs have struggled to
    successfully apply them for social good. An emerging type of business, the
    social business, is bridging the gap between the two.
    ICT and the social business
    Social businesses are driven by a social cause, but seek financial stability
    in order to further their impact.

    ICT is playing a central role in the emergence and development of social


    businesses. These companies are driven by a social cause, but seek financial
    stability through profit making in order to further their impact. This
    combination is allowing them to effectively utilize technology for good.

    The impact of ICT infrastructure on social businesses cannot be understated. It


    has made social impact affordable, social impact scalable, and enables new
    ways to connect to and engage with local communities (a key characteristic of
    the social business).
    ICT is developing social businesses in three main ways:

    Affordability
    Starting any business can be financially challenging. But for social
    entrepreneurs, whose primary intent is to engage with local communities
    rather than to make profit, it can be particularly daunting. In the initial stages,
    it can also be difficult to convince investors to part with their money for a
    social cause.

    ICT solutions have decreased set-up costs in an unprecedented way. This helps
    social entrepreneurs to make it through this uncertain period without major
    investments or losses – and advice is only the click of a button away.

    Scalability

    ICT infrastructure allows us to connect instantaneously with millions. For social


    entrepreneurs, this means that their initiatives aren’t just limited to one
    community; they can easily reach the people they want to empower and
    spread their message far and wide.

    Many social businesses also utilize ICT solutions to optimize processes, reduce
    costs and increase accuracy, enabling the business to be scaled up faster. For
    example, Sanergy in Nairobi, Kenya, uses radiofrequency identification sensors
    to alert the waste team to when a toilet needs to be emptied. SiembraViva in
    Medellín, Colombia, is developing solutions that will allow them to monitor
    harvests remotely and alert farmers to problems quickly.

    Community

    To ensure lasting empowerment, social businesses work from within the


    community. As previously highlighted, ICT allows social entrepreneurs to
    continuously connect with the people they wish to empower in a direct and
    engaging way.

    Online channels are also an incredibly powerful way to broadcast business


    messages. Although the presence of a social business is very much on the
    ground within the community, its story can be told online through webpages
    and social media, reaching a global audience.

    ICT is empowering social businesses to make a real difference in communities


    around the world, securing a better future for the digital generations to come.

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