INNOVATION: CAN TECHNOLOGY BEAT POVERTY? 

Innovation can contribute to the alleviation of poverty. During and after the 18th century's Industrial Revolution, technology and trade lifted countless people from poverty in the U.S. and Western Europe.

But it wasn't innovation alone. The boost of living standards in the West relied upon the subjugation of people and resources of colonized nations. 

The exploitative policies of the past, including the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, have been consigned to history. For innovation to alleviate poverty in the 21st century, it requires government policies based on social and economic justice.

"We need roughly 10 times the level of development financing that we have right now," says Jeffrey Sachs, a U.S. economist whose work focuses on poverty alleviation. 

"Technology by itself could be a great leapfrog, a great equalizer. The thing that makes it unequal is lack of access, not the technology itself. Because if you have the internet, if you have digital services in poor areas, they grow tremendously fast. That's China's lesson for the world," Sachs told CGTN Europe. 

Sachs, who advised nations with economies in transition, particularly in Eastern European countries following the end of the Soviet Union, has argued that poverty is the result of bad policy. It can, he argues, be alleviated with not just innovation but good government intervention and investment.

"China showed how to end poverty by deploying infrastructure across the country. This is why investing is so central. What we've seen in COVID-19 is the rich countries have access to capital markets at low interest rates. The poor countries pay a ferocious risk premium or don't have access at all.

"I like programs like the Belt and Road Initiative. Because China has made an offer to the developing countries, we will work together to build out infrastructure and to help finance that."

One of the most visible signs of innovation in action has been the distribution and usage of smartphones and mobile broadband networks. 

A joint study by the World Bank and the GSMA found that the development of mobile broadband networks in Nigeria between 2010 and 2016 increased labor force participation – particularly among women – and reduced extreme poverty by around 7 percent. 

Smartphones and smart feature phones – which cost less and have a retro look but contain many of the features of the former – can significantly improve productivity in industries such as agriculture. Apps allow farmers to monitor output, access markets, and increase communication between workers to maximize efficiency.

The revolutionary potential of smart feature phones can only be realized with reliable electricity sources and mobile network access. According to the GSMA's 2020 report, 3.8 billion people were using mobile internet by the end of 2019, with three-quarters of all mobile internet users living in low-and middle-income countries. In the same year, the association calculated that 4G networks covered 82 percent of the world's population. 

The association notes that, while the coverage figures are impressive and growing (poorer nations have taken around seven years to reach more than 80 percent coverage for 4G, compared to 10 years for 3G), there is still a considerable usage gap, as coverage continues to grow faster than usage. Approximately 3.4 billion people who live in areas covered by a mobile broadband network do not use mobile internet.

The GSMA urges governments, the development community, and the mobile industry, among others, to close this gap by "improving levels of literacy and digital skills, increasing disposable incomes, creating vibrant, local digital ecosystems, and lowering the cost of smartphones."

"The answer is really in the systems of incentives," says Tim Unwin, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D – or Information and Communications Technologies for Development, an initiative intended to bridge the digital divide between the haves and have-nots.

Unwin, a geographer whose work with UNESCO focuses on using digital tools to empower those in low-income countries, believes that it's the responsibility of states to create an environment where innovation can help the most marginalized people.

"Tax regimes and regulations that governments are able to put in place to enable innovation to take place, enabling private sector innovation, but also providing an environment where we can rethink how innovation can be used for the poorest," he says.

Alongside the technical developments that Unwin cites, investment is key to alleviating poverty. According to the Broadband Commission, in Africa, an estimated additional $100 billion would be needed to achieve universal, affordable and quality broadband internet access by 2030.

Investment has been key to China's success. In 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China had invested $246 billion in fighting poverty over the past eight years. This considerable investment has helped bring an estimated 100 million people out of extreme poverty in that period.

A government willing to invest the necessary capital, combined with innovative solutions, has been proven to be a winning formula in the ongoing fight against poverty.