Microsoft and U.S. Government Agencies Announce Initiative to Promote International Development

Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) today announced a unique public-private collaboration that intends to promote international development in the areas of economic growth, health, governance, education and humanitarian assistance around the world. The five-year public-private partnership aims to catalyze the global community to address the diverse social and business challenges faced by those who currently receive few or no benefits from technology.

Building on decades of business experience, research and development, and corporate citizenship efforts, Microsoft will strengthen its ongoing commitment, known as Unlimited Potential, to helping those underserved by technology overcome the barriers to social and economic empowerment.

By seeking to share respective strengths, experience and resources (including human, in-kind and financial support) Microsoft, USAID, PEPFAR and MCC will support achievement of the following core development objectives:
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Disaster Response/Humanitarian Assistance. Facilitating the provision of assistance including through collaboration on processes, tools and technologies to save lives and alleviate human suffering through disaster preparedness, response and recovery
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Health. Advancing global health care and addressing HIV/AIDS challenges through effective technology
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Environmental sustainability. Promoting a clean and sustainable environment by focusing on climate change and other forms of environmental degradation
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Education and youth empowerment. Expanding educational opportunities to enable access to quality education through dynamic, learner-focused technologies and resources
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Growth. Enabling economic development through digital inclusion, local innovation, access to credit and job opportunities
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Governance. Promoting enhanced government service delivery, engagement with civil society, transparency, rule of law, human rights, child Internet trafficking and protection issues, and strong intellectual property rights

This expanded initiative is an outgrowth of numerous successful joint global projects between Microsoft and USAID that have taken place over the last five years in areas such as education, digital literacy training and economic development.

“Microsoft believes in enabling new innovative avenues of social and economic empowerment,” said Gerri Elliott, corporate vice president of the Worldwide Public Sector organization at Microsoft. “This collaboration with USAID, PEPFAR and MCC — all leaders in solving issues faced in the developing world — is strategically aligned with Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential goal of applying the benefits of technology toward the health and well-being of people around the world.”

“In this age of increasing interconnectedness, this global collaboration with Microsoft will help to mobilize ideas and resources, skills and technologies to spur innovation and deliver results far more efficiently and effectively than ever before,” said Henrietta Fore, acting administrator of USAID.

The first project for collaboration under this global Memorandum of Understanding will be an alliance between Microsoft, USAID and Indonesia Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness Development Activity (or SENADA) — a USAID-sponsored competitiveness project. The alliance partners will sponsor iMULAI, a national business innovation competition and awards program. This competition will promote the spirit and importance of innovation to business entrepreneurs and the general public in Indonesia. The competition also seeks to grow Indonesia’s global IT competitiveness.

“This groundbreaking public-private partnership will help PEPFAR leverage the tools of the information age and the core competencies of Microsoft to bring HIV/AIDS collaboration to the next level,” said Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator of PEPFAR.

“Our joint collaboration with Microsoft, USAID and PEPFAR will provide new avenues for MCC assistance to create the conditions that will unleash private sector investment, support job creation with technology, and be an incentive for policy reform,” said MCC CEO Ambassador John Danilovich.