Digital space producing young entrepreneurs – WEF

The Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2013, said low entry barriers in digital space had sparked creativity and was producing a class of young entrepreneurs around the world.

It said the growing availability of technology had empowered citizens of both developed and emerging economies with fairly good access to the digital world.

The report published by the World Economic Forum said despite the fact that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was becoming increasingly universal, the question of access and usage remains important, especially for developing countries, given their need to narrow the digital divide.

The report said it was clear that ICT offered higher benefit-to-cost ratios in all sectors of production, while simultaneously it was offering new ways to create value by better and more efficiently organizing the use of natural, financial and human resources.

It said both emerging and developed economies were focusing on innovation and competing globally for talent, resources and market shares.

The report said the links between ICT on the one hand and the unwavering importance of competitiveness, growth and jobs on the other, had never before been the subject of so much attention and concern.

It highlighted the lack of progress in bridging the new digital divide – not only in terms of developing ICT infrastructure but also in economic and social impact.

The report said despite rapid adoption of mobile telephony, most developing economies were lagging behind advanced economies due to environments that were insufficiently conducive to innovation and competitiveness.

It on the other hand showed the progress that countries were making to fully use ICT to boost higher productivity, economic growth and quality jobs in the current economic environment.

The report also revealed an apparent investment threshold in ICT, skills and innovation beyond which return on investment increased significantly.

Source: GNA