Initiative will include feasibility study of Smart City OS in Mauritius.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will support a group of digital transformation (DX) projects in six countries across Asia and Africa.

As Japan’s central governmental organization providing economic and social aid for developing nations, JICA is prioritizing the application of digital technologies to address development challenges.

In June 2020, JICA established the Office for STI and DX in the Governance and Peacebuilding Department to leverage digital technologies in Japan’s international development operations to boost development impacts.

To further this movement, Accenture will support pilot programs in the six countries — Cambodia, India, Mauritius, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam — through February 2022. JICA intends to then extend and develop the pilots into model projects for digital transformation mainstreaming in international cooperation and development.

The JICA pilot projects include:

• Cambodia ‒ digital currency verification.
• India ‒ a public-private platform to improve loan efficiency.
• Mauritius – feasibility study of smart city OS for disaster management.
• Thailand ‒ assessing the feasibility of using artificial intelligence for water pipeline management.
• Uganda ‒ using data integration and analysis for refugee support facilities; and
• Vietnam ‒ facilitating citizens’ behavioural change through predictive modelling of water quality.

For the Mauritius pilot, in particular, Accenture will conduct a feasibility study for a digital platform (Smart City OS) for disaster management in the country — which, being located in the southwestern Indian Ocean, experiences frequent cyclones, torrential rains, storm surges, floods, landslides and other disasters, causing extensive human and economic damage. The Smart City OS pilot will test the effectiveness and explore further utilization of a centralized information management system, including weather forecasting and other disaster-related data. The team expects that the integration of meteorological information, satellite photos, water quality, data on animal and plant habitats and coastal environments, and berthing will yield benefits beyond disaster prevention and mitigation, supporting tourism and the protection of coral reefs.

Mikiya Saito, who leads the Office for STI and DX in the Governance and Peacebuilding Department at JICA, said, “The rapid development of digital technology is inspiring an increasing number of emerging countries to adopt new technologies and services to accelerate their development of industry and social services. JICA is committed to addressing a wide-range of development challenges around the world, and through this project, we hope to create a new model of cooperation leveraging digital technologies and data.”

Joichi Ebihara, who leads Accenture’s Strategy & Consulting group for the company’s healthcare and public service industry practices in Japan, said, “This collaboration with JICA on digital experience mainstreaming is a perfect fit for Accenture’s knowledge and experience in using digital technology to empower communities, public agencies, businesses. As a company dedicated to helping our clients deliver value to their clients and stakeholders, we are especially excited to help JICA prioritize digital capabilities when serving serious needs in other countries. This initiative marks an exciting new chapter in recognizing the power of ‘digital’ in economic development.”

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