Closing the digital divide
Using digital technologies to escape the poverty trap
About us
Our Mission
The digital transformation is changing the world at a tremendous pace. Almost five billion people use the internet – equivalent to around 63 per cent of the world’s population. Since 2011, the number of users has doubled and, according to current estimates, roughly 30 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2023.
Value-based digital standards
A people-centred and climate-friendly approach to digitalisation
Digital sovereignty
Reducing dependencies and strengthen resilience using open source
Data sovereignty
Using the potential of data for value creation and decision-making
At the same time, the global community faces major challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has left its mark, the war in Ukraine is exacerbating hunger on the african continent, the fight against climate change continues, as does the battle for greater gender equality. Digital solutions and tools may be the basis for solving these problems.
Our aim is to rethink development in a digital world. Our focus is on the commitment to eradicate poverty and hunger and promote healthy people in a healthy environment. BMZ sees itself as a transformation ministry, supporting the global shift towards a sustainable, climate-compatible and eco-friendly economy (just transition) and at the same time strengthening peace, freedom and human rights.
Four overarching goals dominate the current legislative period:
reduce hunger and poverty
promote a just transition
combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences
establish a feminist development policy
These goals also shape our commitment to digital transformation.
We use digital technologies and support our partner countries to overcome digital divides by strengthening local digital ecosystems – by creating digital centres, for example.
We are driving a just transition by combining our thinking on both the green and digital transformations – for example, turning energy-intensive data processing centres into green centres with a neutral carbon footprint.
Digital solutions are also helping to tackle the global pandemic: e-health applications provide support to partner countries with controlling the spread of disease. With secure digital public goods, effective tools can be made available for free.
Digitalisation can also make an important contribution to a feminist development policy – through digital learning opportunities, for example, which specifically address girls and women and at the same time bridge the digital gender divide. The gap is particularly large in Africa, where only about half as many women use the internet as men.
Our website presents the policy initiatives that support partner countries in achieving these goals and provides an overview of digital solutions that are being used in German development cooperation to address challenges in global development and respond to the monumental challenges facing the planet through technology and international cooperation.