Digital Dividends: How ADB puts Technology at the Heart of Development

We are living in a time of unprecedented transformation. Technologies are improving at exponential rates and achieving rapid mass adoption. The inexorable force of technological disruptions combined with climate challenges are reshaping societies faster than the capacity of many governments to respond. 

For the Asian Development Bank (ADB), this confluence presents an opportunity to lead boldly with digital transformation as a core strategy to speed up the pace of inclusive and sustainable development among its developing member countries.

Gone are the days when digital tools were treated as mere after thoughts to conventional development programs. Today, ADB is deploying digital as an enabler to open new frontiers in climate resilience, financial inclusion, green innovation, and social equity. 

From Digital Divisions to Digital Inclusion

Despite Asia’s growth trajectory — with the region expected to account for over 50% of global GDP growth in 2025 — a stark digital divide persists. Millions of people across rural and remote areas still miss out on benefits from digital public infrastructure, lack internet access, and are unable to access basic financial and other services. This digital divide widens the development gap, compounding the challenges posed by fragile institutions, informal labor markets, youth unemployment, and climate shocks.

In partnership with ADB, the State of West Bengal implemented an e-public procurement portal that resulted in large savings in the purchase of medicines.

In this light, digital transformation becomes a development imperative. By combining digital, finance, and sustainability innovations, ADB aims to shift multiple drivers of change into focused forces for inclusion — to ensure that growth benefits all, especially the most vulnerable.

This shift is demonstrated in ADB’s initiatives in sustainable digital finance, where we integrate environmental, social and governance objectives into financial innovations using digital technologies. Two projects illustrate this shift.

Digital Procurement in West Bengal

In West Bengal, as in other Indian states, health and education account for a sizable share of sub-national public expenditure, with procurement of medicines a substantial budget item. In partnership with ADB, the State of West Bengal implemented an e-public procurement portal that resulted in large savings in the purchase of medicines. 

This was achieved by: 

• exploiting economies of scale through bulk procurement of medicines that were previously bought separately by hospitals;
• reducing financial leakage and deviation of funds as electronic tenders eliminated face-to-face contacts and opportunities for corruption.
• passing on benefits of such measures by selling medicines at substantially reduced costs in government hospitals. 

A relatively simple but powerful use of digital technology improved governance, accountability, and value for money. The West Bengal government established a Medical Services Corporation that developed an e-tendering system, providing an end-to-end digital process from bidding to ordering and supply tracking of medicines on an Essential Drug List.  This shows that even relatively basic digital systems, when well-designed and well-targeted, can deliver significant development dividends.

Decentralized Bamboo Financing in the Philippines 

In the Philippines, ADB partnered with with the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council, comprising key government agencies and the private sector, to develop a bamboo value chain program at the nexus of digital, climate financing, and community resilience. Bamboo’s properties as a nature-based solution are manifold. In many countries, it is a source of food, feed, and fuel. As a rapidly regenerative species, it removes carbon ten to fifteen times faster than trees. Moreover, engineered bamboo products have now achieved higher strength to weight ratio than steel and higher compression value than concrete, presenting enormous potential for green construction.

Processing of bamboo poles into engineered bamboo in a factory in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. Photo: Rizome

The development challenge is to trace an income stream to an identified clump or cluster of bamboo so the farmer shares in the benefits.  Working with its partners, ADB is developing a digital solution to ensure that the income stream is converted into a traceable and secure system of assigned quasi-property rights, and is verifiably linked to the farmer, many of whom are indigenous peoples.

In this way farmers are incentivized to produce  and maintain healthy and sustainable regeneration of the bamboo cluster. This is critical as it maximizes their carbon capture and primes them for trading on carbon markets, where bamboo projects need to be registered, monitored, reported and verified.

Indigenous farmer preparing bamboo seedlings for planting in Bukidnon province, Philippines. Photo: Rizome

Working with startups, ADB is developing a digital solution that ensures bamboo carbon credits are high quality, each accurately representing the removal of  one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. By developing a blockchain-based supply chain platform with a digital monitoring, reporting and verification system of bamboo projects, the benefits of the bamboo value chain can accrue to all participants, not least the indigenous farming communities.

These two examples show how technology is no longer a support function for development work, but a strategic driver of inclusion, innovation, and impact.

A Five-Point Vision for Digital Development

To scale up digital initiatives, ADB has made digital transformation a strategic priority. As outlined in our draft Digital Transformation Operational Approach 2025–2030, we are focused on five pillars:

• Digital Public Infrastructure: Investing in digital ID, payment systems, and data exchanges to build trust, transparency, and efficiency.
• Private Sector Innovation: Supporting green fintech, blockchain, and insurtech through blended finance, guarantees, and advisory services.
• Digital Skills and Capabilities: Promoting digital literacy and technical skills across governments, businesses, and schools — especially for women and vulnerable groups.
• Gender and Inclusion: Expanding access, empowering women entrepreneurs, and increasing STEM participation to build a more inclusive digital ecosystem.
• Cross-Border Interoperability and Governance: Enabling data sovereignty, regulatory harmonization, and trustworthy digital systems that facilitate regional cooperation and commerce.

To drive these goals, ADB has established a Digital Sector Office to embed digital across its operations and ensure that it becomes a core enabler of development impact.

Building Our Digital Future Together

No successful example of digital transformation is an individual effort. It requires collaboration across governments, the private sector, academia, civil society, and multilateral institutions. A key to success is not to pursue digital for its own sake. It is about empowering people through digital tools so they can harness opportunities, enhance resilience, protect their communities and in turn the planet.

Whether it’s through a digital procurement system or a blockchain-powered bamboo project, ADB is committed to deploying digital technology to drive sustainable and inclusive development in Asia and the Pacific.

This article was co-written by Bruno Carrasco, Director General, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department (CCSD); Antonio Zaballos, Director, Digital Sector; and Emil Bolongaita, Principal Knowledge Specialist (Innovation), CCSD.