Development Gateway Foundation’s Initiatives Cover a Global Swath of Issues

The Development Gateway Foundation, as part of its mission to reduce poverty and enable change in developing nations, has been quietly moving mountains through information technology for seven years. Below is a brief rundown of its recent global initiatives. For more information, visit www.developmentgateway.org, or call Elizabeth Corley at 202-572-9236 to arrange for interviews.

Vietnam Launches Local dgMarket
dgMarket, the online platform for government tenders, publishes information on public sector contracts, valued at $540 billion, in more than 20 languages. Recently, the 20th local implementation was launched in Vietnam. The government of Australia provided much of the funding, and the government of Luxembourg provided additional support. These tenders include government contracts in 150 countries funded by international agencies, such as the World Bank, and the public procurement listings from 37 countries. Visit dgMarket Vietnam at http://vn.dgmarket.com to see how it works in Vietnamese, or go to www.developmentgateway.org/programs/online-procurement.html for an overview of the project.

DG Foundation Conducts Exclusive Interview on Female Genital Cutting with German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul discussed the central challenges facing those who wish to eradicate the practice of female genital cutting. The Minister highlights the importance of addressing educational, social, cultural, and economic issues that drive the tradition and also elevating it from a local issue to a national one. Read the complete interview and more in the dgSpecial Collection on this topic.

Launch of AMP Bolivia Pilot
The Development Gateway Foundation is preparing to pilot the new Bolivia Aid Management Platform. This represents the first Aid Management Platform in Spanish and includes new features that facilitate monitoring and evaluation at both the project and strategic levels. The customized platform will help the government track and report on aid flows by integrating data from its current systems into a comprehensive Web portal, and enabling more detailed analysis. During the pilot, the foundation’s technical specialists are working closely with staff from the Ministry of Planning to make further modifications and to support capacity building. In the coming months, work will continue to finalize the platform for full implementation.

India Country Gateway Launches First Portal
The new India Country Gateway has launched the first version of its portal, which is an online platform that will act as a catalyst for facilitating investment in the businesses which take into account the social and cultural, as well as financial, aspects of business. It will enhance the exchange of information, ideas, and capital among key stakeholders developing socially responsible businesses. The platform will help expand market-based solutions and promote economic opportunities for emerging enterprises in India.