ICTs and Development: An International Workshop for Theory, Practice, & Policy

Date: 11-12 March, 2010
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi
Sponsored by International Development Research Centre, Canada
Unpublished, original empirical papers are invited for the forthcoming international workshop on ICTs and Development: An International Workshop for Theory, Practice, & Policy to be conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, India, during 11-12 March 2010.The workshop aims to provide a forum for scholars to share their empirical research with academic experts, policymakers, and activists from the regional and international development community. Papers should examine how mobile phones, computers, and the Internet influence the empowerment of marginal individuals and communities, including whether ICTs create and enhance livelihood opportunities for people in the developing world. Papers should be in the range of 5,000-8,000 words (including abstract and bibliography) and should include a clear discussion of the implications of the findings for development policy and/or practice. No more than twelve papers will be selected by the workshop organizers for presentation. The first author of each paper chosen will be given air fare and lodging/meals. The workshop is part of the project, ICTs and Urban Micro Enterprises: Identifying and Maximizing Opportunities for Economic Development, and is supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. The organizers are committed to finding an appropriate publication venue for all papers accepted for the workshop.
Deadlines:
Submission of manuscripts: 1st October 2009
Announcement of results: 1st December 2009
Submission of final version of the paper: 1st February 2010
For submission of manuscripts and other enquiries, please write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Workshop Organizers
Dr. P. Vigneswara Ilavarasan (IIT Delhi)
Prof. Mark R. Levy (Michigan State University)
http://www.iitd.ac.in/events/ICTD2010/

World Customs Organisation ( WCO) Tender: Call for tender for the survey on WCO SAFE Framework of Standards (FoS) Pillar 1 implementation

The tenders should be submitted to the WCO Secretariat at the latest by 10 July 2009 . Theselection of the service provider will be completed by 17 July 2009

WCO Tender: Event Management: Call for Tender for the provision of an Events Management Service for WCO f/y 2009/2010 related to, “the partial organization of Conferences and Seminars of the World Customs Organization.

Deadline for submission of Bids: 3 July 2009 10:00am (GMT+1)

Address for submission of Bids: WCO-OMD "Call for Tender for the provision of an Event Management Service for WCO f/y 2009 /
2010” for the attention of Ms. Karen Garside Rue du Marché, 30, B-1210 – Brussels, Belgium

http://www.wcoomd.org/files/1.%20Public%20files/PDFandDocuments/Home_Tender/SAFE/Invitation%20to%20tender%20SAFE.pdf

 Conference on Agribusiness & Agro-Industries in Africa, November, 2009

Abuja , Nigeria
An analysis of the role of agribusiness and agro-industries in relation to sustainable economic growth in Africa
With the support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which will host the event in Abuja (Nigeria) in November 2009, and under the auspices of the African Union (AU), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in cooperation with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners, propose to hold a High-Level Conference on Development of Agribusiness and Agro-Industries in Africa (HLCD-3A).
For more details: http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=6519&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=352&tx_ttnews[backPid]=6&cHash=791b60ab63

Training on “Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Program” June 2009, The Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi

The CWEI is organizing training for women from SC/ST communities in rural areas for entrepreneurship and skill development. The training is provided free of cost and will be run for a period of four weeks. The trainings are ongoing and don’t have a deadline.
For more details contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Coordinated Border Management, By World Customs Organisation

Date: 29 – 30 June 2009

Venue: WCO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Inter-agency and business forum focusing on the potential for establishing an effective and efficient coordinated border management system

For more details: http://www.wcoomd.org/files/2.%20Event%20files/PDFs/CBMAgenda.pdf

Training on “Risk Management for Promotion of Sustainable Livelihoods

Date: 7-10 July 2009
Patna, Bihar
The ALC India is organizing a four-day training program for middle and senior level development professionals on. The fee for attending the training is Rs. 8500 per participant, which reduces to Rs. 8000 if two participants are nominated from a single organization. For more than two members recommended from a single organization, the fee reduces further to Rs. 7000 per participant.
For more details : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Training of Enterprise Support Team (TEST)

Date: 14 – 18 July 2009
Venue: Institute of Cooperative Management (ICM), Dehradun
Udyogini and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), plans to organize a five-day training programme. The training’s objective is to help trainees understand the concept of micro enterprise, developing business plan, resource mobilization etc.
For more details: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Certificate Program on Inclusive Marketing (CPIM)

Date 24 August – 5 September 2009
MART and Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) Noida
MART and BIMTECH are organizing a two-week CPIM. The objective of the programme is to increase the knowledge and application of inclusive marketing strategies.
For more details: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

International Summit on Food Processing and Agribusiness

Date: 28-29 July 2009
Venue: Hotel Oberoi, New Delhi

ASSOCHAM in Partnership with Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (GOI) as well Government of Bihar is organizing the ‘International Summit on Food Processing & Agribusiness.’ The summit will see host of National and International speakers from Government, Industry, Academia and Multilateral Agencies. The Summit shall be attended by Senior Industry representatives and experts from France, Australia, Germany, US, China, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Britain, etc. Together they will offer perspectives on bringing innovations to the food processing and agribusiness sector along with exploring possibilities for investments to increase trade and strengthen global food security.

For more details, visit : http://www.assocham.org/events/food-processing/

The 5th Annual National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo

Date :July 20–23, 2009

Venue: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV

This conference will bring together business owners, both small and large, and Federal Government representatives to share best practices of how to do business together. The conference will also include sessions on Federal Contracting for small businesses that are just breaking into the public sector.

For more details: http://www.nationalveteransconference.com/

3rd Annual Post Small Business Conference And Performance Based Acquisition (PBA) Roundtable

Date: July 28–30, 2009
Venue : San Antonio, TX

The Small Business Conference will provide training on sustainable design, commissioning, teaming/JVs, etc. for small businesses as well as the opportunity to engage in one-on-one matchmaking sessions with key executives from several large businesses and representatives from the following Government organizations:

For more details: http://www.same-satx.org/docs/sb2009.pdf

2009 N.G. C. Small Business Opportunity Conference

Date: August 4–5, 2009

Venue: San Diego, CA, San Diego Convention Center

The purpose of this is to provide a forum to educate, guide, and assist businesses, especially small businesses, in working with the government. Attendance is not restricted to those who do business directly with the government, but open to all relevant businesses.

For more details: http://www.navygoldcoast.org/

National Small Business Federal Contracting Summit

Date: August 5–6, 2009

Venue: Arlington, VA, Westin Arlington Gateway

This Summit is an opportunity-packed national meeting where small business owners meet with federal leaders, agency small business and contracting representatives, prime contractor liaisons, Congressional advocates, and legal and business experts.

For more details: http://www.uswcc.org/absolutenm/templates/uswcc-event-template.aspx?articleid=264&zoneid=1

UN ROUND UP : ILO, UNIDO

ILO adopts “Global Jobs Pact” aimed at creating jobs, protecting workers and stimulating economic recovery

 45 million new entrants to the global jobs market annually – most of them young women and men – the global economy would have to create some 300 million new jobs over the next five years just to go back to pre-crisis levels of unemployment.
Faced with the prospect of a prolonged global increase in unemployment, poverty and inequality and the continuing collapse of enterprises, the International Labour Organization (ILO)adopted a Global Jobs Pact designed to guide national and international policies aimed at stimulating economic recovery, generating jobs and providing protection to working people and their families.“Urgent action is required now to boost economic recovery and job creation whilst preparing for a greener, more balanced, fairer and sustainable global economy” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. The Global Jobs Pact amounts to the most urgent and wide-ranging response to an economic crisis ever adopted by the ILO. It calls on governments and organizations representing workers and employers to work together to collectively tackle the global jobs crisis through policies in line with the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda.The pact was adopted against a backdrop of a recent report by the ILO showing an unprecedented increase in unemployment globally and a persistence of very high levels of poverty. Mr. Somavia said the ILO estimated that even if an economic recovery began to take hold this year or the next, a global jobs crisis could linger for six to eight years. The Pact urges measures to retain persons in employment, to sustain enterprises and to accelerate employment creation and jobs recovery combined with social protection systems, in particular for the most vulnerable, integrating gender concerns on all measures.The Pact also calls for the construction of a “stronger, more globally consistent supervisory and regulatory framework for the financial sector, so that it serves the real economy, promotes sustainable enterprises and decent work and better protects the savings and pensions of people.” It also urges cooperation to promote “efficient and well-regulated trade and markets that benefit all” and avoid protectionism. It further urges a shift to a low-carbon, environmentally-friendly economy that will help accelerate a jobs recovery.
http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_108482/index.htm

UNIDO: Middle East- Africa

Graduate Entrepreneurship Training through IT programme (GET-IT),UNIDO- HP launch new training centres in Africa and Middle East

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the technology company HP would open  20 new training centres in Africa and the Middle East to expand HP’s youth entrepreneurship and IT education programme. The new centres, part of the HP Graduate Entrepreneurship Training through IT programme (GET-IT), will operate in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The total number of GET-IT centres will now reach 33 in ten countries in Africa and the Middle East. The GET-IT programme provides training to unemployed youth and graduates between the ages of 16 and 25, and helps potential entrepreneurs acquire IT skills with the aim of becoming better placed to create and run their own businesses. GET-IT courses teach practical IT solutions for daily business challenges in areas such as finance, management, marketing and technology management.“The UNIDO-HP partnership aims at addressing the high level of unemployment among young people in developing countries by integrating them into the labour market through successful entrepreneurship,” said Kandeh K. Yumkella, UNIDO Director-General.
http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=6519&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=358&tx_ttnews[backPid]=6&cHash=768594ad35
UNCTAD Public Symposium on global financial crisis: exit strategy” for all from economic crisis; financial reforms, job protection, exchange-rate stability
UNCTAD public symposium on the global financial crisis concluded with recommendations that  the international financial architecture undergo deep and lasting reform so that the causes of the current worldwide recession are not repeated; that significant international efforts and funding be supplied to stimulate developing-country economies and to support employment in those nations; and that steps be taken to stabilize currency-exchange rates. Overall, there was a call for an approach to the crisis that takes all nations into account and provides a comprehensive "exit strategy" for all: speakers over the two days of meetings said repeatedly that recent reports of economic improvement in industrialized countries should not be taken to mean that the downturn is over, and should not lead decision makers to ignore the profound and long-lasting effects on poor countries. The crisis was no longer merely financial and economic but had become a social crisis, speakers said. Other recommendations of the symposium were that a debt moratorium should be granted to heavily indebted developing countries so that they have more money available for stimulating their economies; and that a global programme be set up to preserve and protect jobs in developing nations. The proposal of the International Labour Office to establish a "global jobs pact" was mentioned repeatedly during the debate, and it was pointed out repeatedly that the effects of the crisis hit ordinary families most directly through the loss of employment.
Ref: UNCTAD/PRESS/PR/2009/021
20/05/09

INDIA: SME BANKS

SIDBI gets $400 mn World Bank loan

Entrepreneurial S'poreans

Africa: SAP says SME’s must adapt to survive

Business software provider SAP has urged Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) specializing in Information Technology (IT), innovations, science and technology in Africa to reinvent themselves, so that they can emerge stronger and better positioned from the current economic recession.Addressing over 350 SMEs business leaders at a SAP World Tour 2009 in Bryaston, Johannesburg, South Africa, SAP Executive Vice President, SMEs Sales and Channels, Eric Duffault, said that the company’s strong position in the SME market was one of the industry’s best-kept secrets. Says Duffault: “The challenge for many companies lies in recovering their income fast enough so that they can continue to grow, or even simply to stay in the game. By implementing a debtors module, companies can gain immediate transparency and a view across the organization that will help them identify bottlenecks and introduce appropriate interventions,” “Most importantly in the current business climate, companies are looking to reinvent themselves so they can emerge stronger and better positioned, and this can be achieved by realising business process improvements resulting from implementing SAP.”

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=2728