Latest news with #UNESCWA
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Oman: A vision for a sustainable digital future
Digital transformation is a crucial catalyst for a country's development. Its adoption across various sectors enables nations to achieve significant improvements in productivity, efficiency and innovation. The Sultanate of Oman is a country that has made significant strides towards creating a digitally empowered society and economy. Aligning with Oman Vision 2040, the country's digital transformation aims to build a sustainable knowledge society and increase the contribution of the digital economy to its GDP, improve government services and empower the workforce. The country is now poised to unlock new opportunities, enhance efficiency and improve the quality of life for its citizens and residents. Many international agencies have acknowledged and honoured Oman for this transformative journey to modernise its economy and society. In this context is Oman's improvement 2024 ranking in the Government Electronic and Mobile Services Maturity Index (GEMS) with a score of 72 per cent, up from 66 per cent in 2023. The report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia covers 17 Arab countries and assesses digital government performance across three key dimensions – service availability and development, service uptake and satisfaction, and government outreach and engagement. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates led the index with scores of 96 per cent and 95 per cent, respectively, reflecting strong progress in national digital transformation. The index covers a wide range of sectors, including health, education, transportation, finance, justice, trade, tourism and social affairs. In a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 'underpinned by its Vision 2040, Oman has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda aiming at reducing its reliance on hydrocarbons and creating a more sustainable, more inclusive and knowledge-based economy.' Oman Vision 2040 aims to elevate the country's ranking to be among the top 20 countries globally in developing electronic services and improving its global standing in e-government development and ease of doing business indicators. The IMF eLibrary report that took stock of the state of digital transformation in Oman highlights the recent launch of the country's National Digital Economy Programme also known as "Tahweel" that aims to provide a strategic direction for the development of the digital economy and increase its contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from its current level estimated at 2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2040. The Tahweel programme plays a crucial role in enhancing participation and enabling individuals, citizens, residents and private sector institutions to contribute effectively to developing government services by submitting reports, complaints and suggestions. In addition, this programme aims to advance Oman's global ranking in various digital economy indicators identified in Vision 2040, such as the e-government development index and the network readiness index. However, the IMF report suggests that while Oman has progressed well on many aspects of digitalisation, such as Internet penetration and 4G and 5G population coverage, it still needs to deploy additional investments and efforts to match its GCC peers on several other aspects. 'Further efforts are particularly needed to raise Internet connection speed, increase the prevalence of advanced ICT skills among the population, usher in digital innovation and promote e-commerce. The analyses indicate that enhanced digitalisation, can, in turn, engender substantial gains," the report suggests. A report by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology stated that government entities in Oman have made remarkable progress in implementing digital transformation requirements. According to the report, the Tahweel programme has achieved an overall performance rate of 73 per cent by the end of November 2024, a significant increase from 53 per cent in 2023. Government institutions demonstrated an average performance of 77 per cent in meeting digital transformation requirements, while governorates averaged 71 per cent. BLURB Oman is now poised to unlock new opportunities, enhance efficiency and improve the quality of life for its citizens and residents. Many international agencies have acknowledged and honoured Oman for this transformative journey to modernise its economy and society 2022 © All right reserved for Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Over 60 Per Cent Of The Arab World Still Outside The Banking System
15 May 2025 Even more impressively, the number of Egyptian women with an account increased by 260 per cent, though gender gaps do remain. But how you widen financial inclusion overall is a question the Arab region is currently grappling with. A new report from the UN Economic and Social Commission in Western Asia (UNESCWA) published on Thursday highlights the challenge. Nearly 64 per cent of adults in the 22 countries in the Arab region are still without an account – or 'unbanked' – a higher number than all other regions of the world and significantly higher than the 24 per cent global average. The report warns that this level of financial exclusion will negatively impact economic opportunities and the region's ability to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. 'The Arab region cannot afford to treat financial services as a luxury. Without inclusive finance, we cannot hope to lift people out of poverty, support small businesses, or achieve equitable growth,' said ESCWA's Mario Jales, lead author of the report. 'The digital divide within the divide' The report finds that women and disabled people have even less access to financial services – only 29 per cent of women and 21 per cent of disabled people in the region have an account. Similarly, rural communities and younger and older people also experience lower rates of inclusion in the banking system. The report also highlighted that access to loans for small and medium-sized businesses is worryingly low, reducing entrepreneurial and other income-producing activities. In addition to gender disparities, there are variations within the Arab region – 81 per cent of people in low-income countries do not have access to an account in comparison to 67 per cent in middle-income countries and 23 per cent in the high-income bracket. Models of success Given that regional rates of financial inclusion remain so low, how do countries work to improve them? The basis of Egypt's success was the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to promote financial inclusion, a strategy which actively worked to target underserved communities, ESCWA points out. For example, in Egypt, 22 per cent of ATMs in the country have now been equipped with accessibility features including brighter lighting and Braille keyboards. Other countries in the region have also implemented national strategies which include targeted initiatives. Jordan, which has the second widest gender gap in the region, implemented a Microfund for Women to provide loans for income-generating activities. There are now 60 branches across the country, serving 133,000 borrowers, 95 per cent of whom are women. Moreover, some banks in the region have worked to implement financial literacy classes and others have worked to tailor their services to underserved communities including by lowering minimum deposits. The report concludes that an expansion of all these activities – national policymaking which targets underserved communities and private bank activities which lower barriers to entry and support financial literacy – will be essential in improving financial inclusion. ' The path forward exists, but it requires political will, targeted investment and a whole-of-society approach,' the report concludes.
