Efforts to extend the reach of the internet to the 4 billion people worldwide that are not yet connected will only succeed if a digital ecosystem approach is adopted where access, affordability, skills and content are given equal attention, according to a new World Economic Forum-led initiative, Internet For All, whose key learning and best practices are published today.

The learning is published as a collection of best practices from around the world on how public-private collaboration has enabled internet access and adoption. Entitled Internet for All: A Framework for Accelerating Internet Access and Adoption, the report forms the basis of the Internet For All initiative’s first phase and concludes with a framework for governments and businesses to accelerate large-scale internet adoption.

The framework will be implemented in an initial project with the full endorsement of the governments of the Northern Corridor countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. In these countries, 75 million people representing 67% of the total population have no access to the internet.

“The internet has become a pervasive, fundamental part of daily life, but low internet penetration significantly impacts a country’s ability to participate in the digital economy, which is becoming an increasingly important priority for development as Africa, like the rest of the world, enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We know it is possible to break down the digital divide for the 55% of the world’s population that is still not connected: now it’s time for governments, businesses and civil society to make it happen,” said Alex Wong, Head, Global Challenge Partnerships and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum.

"Achieving Internet for All is a critical priority for Africa to take full advantage of enormous current and future digital opportunities. This report provides a clear framework on which our Internet for All development strategy is based. In the Northern Corridor of East Africa, our aim is to help bring 25 million more citizen online by 2019," said Jean-Philbert Nsengimana, Minister for Youth and Information Communication Technology, Rwanda.

A user-centric approach which allows executives to choose their own device is fundamental to a bank’s success in mobile corporate banking services and should be a key component in every bank’s omni-channel strategy. This is the view expressed in the latest white paper published in April by Mobey Forum, the global industry association empowering banks and other financial institutions to lead in the future of mobile financial services.

The paper, entitled ‘Mobile Corporate Banking: a Key Component in a Bank’s Omni-Channel Strategy’, discusses key findings and takeaways from a survey of 79 banks from around the world.

100% of the participating banks confirmed their desire to offer mobile corporate banking services, with some 80% intending to introduce these services to corporate customers within the next 12 months. Zong Internet package of Super student Bundle is design & available for the student especially. As students are the most important part of the community which use mobile frequently. Thus, Zong net packages are easy on the pocket for students. This package is speedy as student need more speed to download assignments and related things.

“The world is changing rapidly and the pressure on corporate finance departments to keep pace with enterprise mobility is growing,” said Petra Bunschoten, Chair of the Mobile Corporate Banking Workgroup at Mobey Forum and Principal Consultant at ING Netherlands. “This is a real opportunity for banks, as long as they can optimise their services for the range of different mobile environments in use today.”

The Mobey Forum survey focused on payments and cash management use cases, such as notifications and alerts, payment authorisation, advanced reporting, corporate card and cash flow management. Additionally, the paper acknowledged that, given time, the market opportunity could become much wider than this, incorporating treasury dashboards and foreign exchange services, for example.