ICT in low-income markets spurs growth

NEW DELHI: The expansion of information and communication technology (ICT) is expected to increase the proportion of businesses operating in low-income markets by about 20 per cent across industries in the next five years, according to a joint study by Accenture and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The extent of access to information and communication technology (ICT) was essential when investing in low-income markets, Accenture quoted the study as saying in a statement.

The study was based on a survey of over 200 business executives in India across major industries, as well as interviews with many of the executives and secondary research.

Ninety-four per cent of the survey respondents said they believed that the usage of ICT was a major reason for India’s recent economic growth, and 88 per cent see ICT as a major driver of current and future development.

“Increasing ICT penetration is imperative to India’s economic growth,” said Sadeesh Raghavan, managing director of Domestic Businesses for Accenture in India. “Low-income markets offer businesses phenomenal opportunities, but capitalizing on this vast untapped market will require investment in human capital and infrastructure, increased collaboration between the industry and government, and delivery of affordable content.”

An 87 per cent of survey respondents believed that socio-economic disparities between the rich and poor communities represented a significant obstacle to the sustainable growth of the Indian economy. A similar number (88 per cent) said that the increased usage of ICT would be a major determinant in overcoming these disparities, helping to advance growth in the next five years.

The survey results highlighted that the next phase of ICT-led growth would come from three main sources: Supply-side opportunities, catalytic impact of ICT and improving access to education.

The study identified investment in human capital, development of a coherent infrastructure, building partnerships between the ICT industry and government, and ensuring affordability and relevance of content as the four imperatives for the Indian economy to capitalise on ICT-enabled growth.

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