Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
BIG BET
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our initial challenge was to understand how the digital divide shapes human development in Peru, and support a process of digital transformation to close this gap by working closely with UNDP's existing capabilities, government and private sector partners. We are expanding this challenge to support and strengthen internal UNDP’s digital capabilities, support local governments in mapping and developing digital ecosystems and strengthen digital entrepreneurship capabilities among vulnerable populations.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
The COVID-19 pandemic demanded a seismic shift in how we work so the digital inclusion became part of our roadmap since we started as the Accelerator Lab in Peru
The Peruvian National Statistics Institute (INEI; inei.gob.pe) published that by the first trimester of 2020, 40.1% of Peruvian homes had internet access, although this number fell to 5.9% in rural areas. In Metropolitan Lima, 62.9% of homes had internet access. Mobile internet penetration is increasing; however, women are less likely than men to own a mobile phone and to have the skills needed to access online services.
According to the Peruvian Ministry of Education, in 2020 20.1%, 19.7% and 23.7% of students in elementary, primary and secondary education respectively had access to the internet at home. They reside mostly in urban centers, which represent 25% of students with internet access at home for each educational level, while in rural areas this proportion falls under 3%.
According to data from the Peruvian National Statistics Institute (INEI), in 2021, half of the adult population was outside the formal banking system. The use of electronic payments, including electronic banking, credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and QR payment solutions, shows a growing trend in recent years which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these advances, high levels of informality, the cost of maintaining an account, and the lack of trust in the financial system result in low bankarization, which limits greater adoption of electronic payment methods, particularly in rural-areas and micro and small businesses.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
We have data from the National Statistics Institute from March 2021 and from the National Organization for Foreign Commerce from February 2021 describing internet access by geographical location and internet access for students by educational level.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Accomplishing the objectives set by the Peru CPD is dependent on closing or at least reducing the current digital gap, since the socio-economic post COVID-19 recovery is reliant on ramping up the digitalization efforts in the country (https://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/rblac/es/home/about-us/country-programmes.html). As stated in the section on Program and Risks, “UNDP will make innovation, digital transformation and development financing core accelerators of its programme delivery.”
All ongoing programs in the Peru Country Office are negatively impacted by the digital divide experienced by Peruvian citizens outside of the major capitals, and all programme officials have expressed the need for the Lab to work on this in 2022.
“One third of the world’s people may come online in the next 20 years. They’re arriving in an anxious, crowded space. Online life is becoming steadily more immersive and people are spending even more time there. Huge amounts of (valuable) data are being generated - but there’s little transparency over how it is used, shared or sold. Massive advances in computing power and super-smart algorithms are also shaping this area, fast. The health and prosperity of societies will be shaped by how people live their digital lives, so our choices now regarding how the parameters are drawn are crucial.” (UNDP Signal Spotlight 2023)
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
Through digital citizen engagement experiments, we are contributing to learn how to accelerate digital skills among vulnerable populations and the learning curve for technology usage.
The Lab has a cross-cutting perspective of the Peru CO and can test initiatives that can support projects in more than one program, such as experiments on digitalization that impact both food markets and artisanal fisheries, and more than one sector of vulnerable population, such as women entrepreneurs and migrant entrepreneurs.
One of the Lab’s members is the CO’s digital advocate, and the Lab is likely the team within the CO with the most experience on digital initiatives to build an inclusive whole-of-society approach to digital transformation. In general, the Lab supports the culture and capability of the CO to truly embrace digital opportunities in our work.
The Lab can capitalise on the network’s knowledge on digitalization experiments from experiences: Mongolia, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Argentina, Ucrania, Moldova, South Africa, South Korea
The Lab has gathered insights on the digital gap through its previous frontier challenges on changemaker youth, food systems and culture for development, and will apply them to its portfolio of experiments.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
Women business owners in food markets, migrant entrepreneurs, young changemakers, and indigenous communities are unlocking digital skills to solve their community’s challenges. UNDP AccLab Peru is discovering how to boost tech usage for citizen engagement and problem solving.
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Ministry of Production
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The Peruvian Ministry of Production is the main government counterpart for UNDP’s work on digitalization of food markets as well as SMEs. We have worked with them in the first stage of this frontier challenge and will continue to work with them as we grow the Innova tu Mercado project into a nationwide initiative and we move into the second year of the CREANDO initiative.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Prime Minister's Office
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The Lab is currently exploring with the Digitalization Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Office how to support their regional government efforts in assessing the existing digital capabilities and connecting to a wider digital ecosystem, promoting spaces for coordination with the Academia, Public and Private Sector, so there is an integrated digital strategy (Cajamarca, Cusco, Tacna, etc)
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
iEduca
What sector does our partner belong to?
Academia
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
iEduca is an educational group that encompasses a university, and two institutes (one for design and one for business administration). We’re going to work on strengthening our e-learning content, skills and pedagogical frameworks. UNDP will support them in potentially developing green finance and design for development certifications and courses.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
UNDP Chief Digital Office
What sector does our partner belong to?
United Nations
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The launch of the Digital Advocate Network (DAN), which is placed within the CDO, creates an enabling ecosystem and culture of digital innovation while its Digital Advocates will enable and identify opportunities for digital project delivery in country offices. The Lab's Head of Experimentation is the Peru CO's digital advocate, and the Lab is working jointly with the CDO to support the capacity building of the Prime Minister's Office's efforts (see above).
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
IOM/UNHCR
What sector does our partner belong to?
United Nations
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
IOM and UNHCR are the two main agencies with the mandate to tend to migrants and refugees, and we’ll continue to work with them in the second year of the CREANDO initiative and specifically to organize CREANDO Fest.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
What are quick wins that support a long term digital transformation process?
How can the impact of UNDP’s project be amplified by closing the digital divide among vulnerable populations?
How can we improve internet adoption in the underserved population by leveraging existing resources?
How can we leverage digitalisation in the underserved population to improve their profits, reach and ease of conducting business?
How can UNDP Peru build a toolkit for digital transformation in a country that still has no integrated digital strategy foundation?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Explore, Test, Grow
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
We have used these methods in the first stage of this learning cycle and we plan to continue using them as they have proved to be valuable in designing a digitalization path that takes into account users’ perspectives. We will also use crowdfunding to generate interest in CREANDO Fest since we completed the Crowdfunding Academy course.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
There is no current assessment of digital capabilities in the country (by sector or region). There isn't a national digitalization policy that can integrate all efforts. The impact of the digital divide on UNDP projects in Peru has not been accounted for.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
We will potentially work with the Digital Secretariat within the Prime Minister's Office to identify the current digital capabilities and resources of Peruvian institutions and plan a digital transformation process to reduce the digital divide in the country, since the Peruvian Government is looking to design the country’s digital transformation policy and deploy e-services in the upcoming years.
Also, with the Digitalization Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Office we are exploring how to support their regional government efforts in connecting to a wider digital ecosystem, promoting spaces for coordination with the Academia, Public, and Private Sector.
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8Decent work and economic growth
9Industry, innovation and infrastructure
10Reduced innequalities
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