Thomas Abell, a senior advisor at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), spoke to Tech for Impact about how investment, regulation and collaboration can transform internet use in Asia and the Pacific, especially in places where there are low levels of online adoption today.
“Everybody is starting from a different point, and has different objectives,” says Abell, who oversees the ADB’s digital technology for the development unit.
“Some countries still have very low internet connectivity and are struggling with basic infrastructure, but all of them understand that technology can help them leapfrog.”
More on how governments are responding and the role different technologies can play – including a challenging construction project in the world’s remotest island nation – in the video below: