USAID Digital Development
UGP_2943
In an effort to align with the USAID Digital Strategy and recognize USAID Missions, Bureaus and partners that are empowering countries in a digital age, USAID launched the 2020 Digital Development Awards (the Digis), the third round of these awards. The Digis recognize and celebrate USAID-funded projects and activities that use digital technology to sustain open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems in order to improve measurable development and humanitarian-assistance outcomes. After receiving over 140 applications from USAID Missions around the world, five winners were selected for the 2020 Digital Development Awards, including USAID/Pakistan: Pakistan Small and Medium Enterprise Activity (SMEA).
USAID/Pakistan SMEA won for helping to transform the country’s economy by addressing the structural deficits and inequalities faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the digital ecosystem. They achieved this by offering information and communications technology (ICT)-enabled solutions and helping businesses harness digital potential through a service provider network and overall regulatory reform.
Vceela, a USAID/Pakistan SMEA grantee, is a village-to-world marketing model allowing artisans from smaller communities in Pakistan to connect with global markets without needing digital skills. Vceela works on the ground to understand the unique realities of craft makers and offers real-time design and technology consultation to artisans.
Ayena Waseem is one such artisan who makes lacquer wood art. She learned it from her mother and father, who inherited the rare skill from generations of family members before them. In fact, the decorative handicraft, involving intricate designs carefully carved into wooden objects, is a family heritage dating back 500 years, and Ayena wants to preserve it for the next generation.
Photos by Usman Ghani for USAID
UGP_2943
In an effort to align with the USAID Digital Strategy and recognize USAID Missions, Bureaus and partners that are empowering countries in a digital age, USAID launched the 2020 Digital Development Awards (the Digis), the third round of these awards. The Digis recognize and celebrate USAID-funded projects and activities that use digital technology to sustain open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems in order to improve measurable development and humanitarian-assistance outcomes. After receiving over 140 applications from USAID Missions around the world, five winners were selected for the 2020 Digital Development Awards, including USAID/Pakistan: Pakistan Small and Medium Enterprise Activity (SMEA).
USAID/Pakistan SMEA won for helping to transform the country’s economy by addressing the structural deficits and inequalities faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the digital ecosystem. They achieved this by offering information and communications technology (ICT)-enabled solutions and helping businesses harness digital potential through a service provider network and overall regulatory reform.
Vceela, a USAID/Pakistan SMEA grantee, is a village-to-world marketing model allowing artisans from smaller communities in Pakistan to connect with global markets without needing digital skills. Vceela works on the ground to understand the unique realities of craft makers and offers real-time design and technology consultation to artisans.
Ayena Waseem is one such artisan who makes lacquer wood art. She learned it from her mother and father, who inherited the rare skill from generations of family members before them. In fact, the decorative handicraft, involving intricate designs carefully carved into wooden objects, is a family heritage dating back 500 years, and Ayena wants to preserve it for the next generation.
Photos by Usman Ghani for USAID