13,000 Mongolians to Benefit From World Bank Digital Economy Project

The sun rises over Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on May 1, 2018. Thomas Peter/Reuters

The World Bank approved on June 6 a credit of $40.7 million for a digital economy project in Mongolia that would help to provide skills and literacy training to 13,000 civil servants and citizens.

The goal of the Smart Government II Project is to help Mongolia improve online public services to citizens and businesses, boost digital skills training, and increase digital-enabled jobs, the bank said in a statement.

It’s the second digital economy program undertaken by the World Bank in Mongolia. The first project, for which $19.4 million in credit was granted, contributed to the country’s public sector transformation and online service delivery.

Under the new project, 3,000 new digital jobs will be created for youth and women in Mongolia and 2,000 businesses will be digitalized.

The World Bank also aims to improve the nation’s legal and regulatory environment for building digital trust and cybersecurity.

In December 2021, the Mongolian parliament approved a personal data protection law, which took effect in May. The Law on Protection of Personal Data regulates the collection, processing, use, and security of personal information by individuals and organizations.

The digital economy project will help female-owned businesses increase their competitiveness in the global digital market and build resilience for future crises, said Andrei Mikhnev, World Bank country manager for Mongolia.

“This project will provide Mongolian women, persons with disabilities, and rural or remote inhabitants with easy-to-use and efficient digital public services, and allow youths to develop digital skills and access a wider range of jobs,” he said.

The World Bank said its new project would help Mongolia to become a “digital nation” within the next five years, noting that Mongolia’s government successfully provided online public services to citizens and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.