Other priorities

Human resources development

Within these areas of intervention, the first priority is to quickly develop human resources to help sustain and extend the important gains that Mongolia has made in using and applying ICTs and especially the Internet. The rapid deployment of Internet infrastructure around the world and the especially large current and predicted increases in the growth in the number of Internet users in Asia make this a priority for Mongolia. Indeed, growth in the number of Internet users over the coming years is expected to be fastest in the Asian region.

As a result of the initiatives taken by companies such as Datacom, and with the catalytic assistance of outside organizations such as the International Development Research Centre IDRC) of Canada and the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the USA, access to the Internet has been a reality . Other entrepreneurs such as BodiComputer, including individual investors and large corporations such as TelecoMongolia and the Mongolia Railways Corporation, have jumped into the fray, and a competitive market place for Internet services exists.

Self taught specialists have emerged and have so far been able to provide the basis for growing and managing the Mongolian Internet. However, there is a need to increase the number of ICT experts and to strengthen their capacity, otherwise further growth and development will be compromised. More important, innovative ICT applications tailored to the needs and circumstances of Mongolia will not have the intellectual and entrepreneurial energy and resources to help develop appropriate solutions that will contribute to enhancing Mongolia’s competitiveness. 

There is also a need to create appropriate policies and practices to direct ICT development and to make it more of a tool for national development in general and for corporate development in particular. There is also a need to extend the Internet and bring into the fold companies and people by helping them acquire some of the tools and expertise that are used around the world. Also, given the accelerated rate of Internet growth predicted in Asia, and Mongolia’s ambitions as expressed in the Vision 2010 document, there is a very urgent need for Mongolia to train its own experts according to international standards. 

Presently, in Mongolia, there is a human capacity gap in ICTs. Few certified ICT specialists exist. Internationally recognized ICT certification could not be obtained in Mongolia, until recently , although no one has been trained yet. Those who do have the skills or who acquire these skills overseas are likely as not to leave Mongolia and not return. Neighbouring countries, especially South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, even the USA offer enticing wages to attract engineers and IT specialists from around Asia. The ongoing worldwide shortage of skilled IT engineers and specialists requires Mongolia to develop its own strategy in order to establish local expertise and help keep these experts in country. A strategy to retain these specialists must be devised. This needs to be accompanied by the creation of opportunities locally that make leaving Mongolia unnecessary or less likely.

Awareness promotion

Awareness promotion continues to be necessary. Although it appears that many decision makers, managers and even school teachers in aimags have an interest in the Internet, there is still a need to ensure that key decision makers and the public, not to mention the international development community itself, understand the importance of using ICTs as a tool for the development of Mongolia.

Focus on government and the business sector

Another key priority is to help the private sector and government develop the understanding and capacity to make beneficial use of ICTs and of the internet. For the private sector, there are two priorities: first, raising awareness among the 30,000 + Mongolian SMEs and larger enterprises of the use of the Internet for business to business e-commerce. Secondly, there is a need to help grow business to business e-commerce. As the data show, this is such a significant development that if something is not done to bring Mongolia up to speed quickly, then the country could lose out. Mongolia could miss important business opportunities and see its competitive advantage eroded as others develop cheaper and quicker means to trade with partners everywhere.