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District Business Information Center |
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District Business Information Centres (DBICs) Project
Background
The last decade has witnessed technological development at a scale and speed unprecedented in the history of humankind. The challenge the world faces is to ensure equitable access for all people to seize these new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) opportunities.
Information is central to development and essential for survival and sustainability. Information is the pathway to understanding and peace. The Establishment of District Business Information Centers (DBIC), closely linked with e-government initiatives, shall be the first of its kind as a government response to the challenge of enhancing productivity and fighting digital marginalization of the rural and sub-urban areas. The DBIC services shall also contribute towards achievement of the United Nation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by bringing ICTs to the rural communities thus enabling individuals as well as SMEs in the surrounding areas to exploit the significant potentials of ICTs towards the creation of employment and thus contributing to poverty reduction.
The DBICs project aims at promoting, among others, affordable and timely access to ICT services in rural areas. This will enhance, by electronic means, the exchange of information and experience among government officials and their communities. Through this project, initially the MoICT will support the establishment and operation of the DBICs to serve the district and the Local business community by introducing both supply and demand driven service. The District Local Leadership and the identified local partner will take charge of the facilities once the initial support from the MoICT has ended. Services such as access to the Internet, document processing, telephones access, fax, e-Government services and other relevant business information and best practices in all sectors of the economy on a database driven website shall be made available. In this regard, it is important to highlight the strategic partnership that UNIDO has entered into with the Ministry of ICT since July 2007 in order to promote the use of ICTs among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Uganda.
UNIDO having established and operationalised 8 similar information Centres in the districts of Arua (North), Jinja, Mbale and Soroti (East), Masaka (Central), Kabale (West), Gulu and Masindi is pleased to cooperate with MoICT to assist in development of the appropriate project concept, proposal and the implementation of the proposed DBICs that shall include government related services. UNIDO’s value addition would be in the area of capacity building, Business Information Networking and ICT support.
Objectives of the District Business Information Centres for Development
The objective is to establish sustainable one-stop-centre to provide supply driven services for the community at large and specific demand driven services required by the surrounding business community. The centers shall operate and deliver services in business-like manner, thus achieving the objectives of impact, outreach, cost effectiveness and sustainability. It is envisaged that the DBIC shall improve Human Resource capacities in rural areas as well as build clean, transparent, and efficient local governments, and to utilize potential resources as much as possible in achieving a better economic condition in the surrounding areas. Specifically the objectives of the DBIC are:
Core Objectives
a. Provide access to timely and reliable information to both the local and business communities in the district to enable them make the best economic decision
b. Provide better quality of government services;
c. Facilitate local government management information services; which will be a strong foundation to support economic growth in local areas;
d. Enhance SMEs Competitiveness globally;
e. Develop ICT and entrepreneur skills, and;
f. Create direct and indirect employment opportunities.
Service Provision
Demand-Driven Services
The demand driven services will include among others:
a. Business information and advisory services. The information services include web-to-SMS tools for market information;
b. Business Training in ICT skills, management and entrepreneurship
c. Access to quality and reliable Internet;
d. Affordable computers and software solutions;
e. Communication services e.g. telephone, fax, VOIP etc;
f. Secretarial services;
g. Other highbred services such as postal services, etc;
Supply-Driven Services
The supply driven services shall include among others
a. E-government services e.g. policies, Acts, regulations, Application forms, tax related forms etc.
b. Distance Learning.
c. Entertainment Information
d. SMS Portal Services with Uganda Business Information Network(UBIN)
e. Other Information services to the community e.g. Utility Bills for Water and Electricity.
The target audience for the demand driven services would be individual researchers and interested MSMEs primarily and the community at large would be the audience for the supply driven services.
Appropriate brand names (“club concept”) could be used to avoid confusion among the users.
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