ICTworks

Winners of the USAID Digital Development Awards are helping countries and communities work toward sustainable growth and resilience by building digital skills via telecenters in the Peruvian Amazon to using drones to detect plant diseases in Moldovan vineyards.

The Digi Awards are recognizing and celebrating trailblazing projects and activities since 2017 that embrace the Agency’s strategic goals of improving development and humanitarian assistance outcomes by responsibly deploying digital technology and strengthening open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems. The same is true with this year’s round of awards—whose digital development efforts span four regions around the world.

This year’s Digi Award winners are:

• USAID/Colombia: Rural Finance Initiative, implemented by Chemonics, for developing a mobile phone-based system for rural smallholders and urban-based, low-income groups to conduct real-time, peer-to-peer financial transactions.
• USAID/RDMA: Digital Asia Accelerator, implemented by DAI’s Digital Frontiers, part of the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership for educating and training businesses and individuals, especially youth, on digital safety and cybersecurity best practices in Southeast Asia and Mongolia.
• USAID/Zambia: U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative VectorLink, implemented by Abt Associates, for deploying a suite of digital tools to support map-based data collection, monitoring, and capacity building to improve malaria control programs at the sub-district level.
• USAID/Georgia: Economic Security Program, implemented by DAI, for providing training on information communication technology to the country’s workforce and connecting local artisans to online markets.
• USAID/Nepal: Building Hope Along the Karnali River Basin, implemented by MercyCorps Nepal, for customizing mobile phone applications and interactive voice responses to manage, monitor, and educate remote farmers and low-income individuals about cash and voucher assistance programs during emergencies.

USAID’s Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub received nearly 200 applications from around the world for this year’s awards. Each project was judged on the ability to deploy digital technology or support the digital ecosystem, as outlined in USAID’s Digital Strategy.

“The Digis are an important way for USAID and our larger digital development community to rally around innovative projects that are improving development outcomes across the globe, and we applaud the initiatives of this latest group of Digi Award winners,” said Christopher Burns, the Agency’s Chief Digital Development Officer and ITR’s Technology Director.

All five outstanding projects paid particular attention to empowering marginalized communities through the responsible use of digital technology and support the Agency’s efforts towards locally led and inclusive development in today’s digital age.

By Ashley Faler, Communications Specialist, USAID