Cisco Pledges US$1m to Connect Worlds Poorest

December 5th, 2006: Aiming to further aid ICT education in developing nations and bridge the digital divide, Cisco will be increasing its support role within the ICT Empowerment Network and its micro-credit financing initiative.

Launched by Professor Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize Laureate and managing director of Grameen Bank, the ICT Empowerment Network is a micro-credit financing program supported by a virtual network of organisations, all working together to help the underprivileged earn sustainable incomes.

Along with Grameen Bank and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Cisco will be helping students in developing countries with mirco-credit loans so they can undertake information and communications technology (ICT) education.

The network also plans to help graduates of ITU Internet Training Centres receive extra entrepreneurial business training plus micro-credit start up capital to launch their own ICT related businesses.

“I am very excited at the level of commitment and support from ITU Connect the World partners, like Cisco, who can translate creative ideas into action to make a difference in the developing world,” Yunus said. “The ongoing success of the ITU-Cisco Internet Training Initiative worldwide demonstrates what can be accomplished through effective public and private sector collaboration for sustainable development.”

The pledge isn’t the first in this area for Cisico, in 2002 it and the ITU launched the Internet Training Center Initiative for Developing Countries with a goal of setting up 50 centres around the world by 2003. 66 ITU-sponsored centres have now opened in 56 countries, including 20 countries on the bottom of the developed list.

“Education and enhanced ICT skills have proven to expand communities, so increasing access to ICT education in the developing world through micro-credit financing is a great idea,” said Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the ITU. “The continued growth of Internet Protocol networking in the developing countries, especially through active support from government and private sector leaders, will yield tangible benefits for the global economy as a whole.”

“The ITU continues to be a leader in ICT development programs and partnerships worldwide that help narrow the digital divide,” said Tae Yoo, Cisco vice president of corporate affairs and executive lead for corporate social responsibility. “This opportunity for Cisco to provide a replicable and sustainable platform for people to enter the ICT world through education and entrepreneurial pursuits is a great example of the impact that effective public and private partnerships can have in the developing world.”

Launched during the World Summit on the Information Society in June 2005, Connect the World is a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to help expand access to information and communication technologies to an estimated 800,000 villages and one billion people worldwide for whom making a simple telephone call remains out of reach. Connect the World aims to generate the momentum required to "connect the unconnected by 2015."

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