Martine Koopman

Senior ICT4D expert with a 20+ years’ experience specialising in the creation and integration of ICT solutions in rural development, education and agriculture programmes, with gender and youth as cross cutting themes. Her key expertise lies in the designing of digital strategies and sustainable business models with multi private and public stakeholders, undertaking feasibility studies of ICT solutions, assessing investments options and facilitating the creation of communities of practice. She has conducted several evaluations of complex ICT-enabled programmes, assessing their suitability towards increased technology uptake, user-centred content development and strategies to scale up. With a background in economics and business administration, her most recent assignments include the design and content creation for ICT-enabled extension services for rice producers in Ghana, and an evaluation of the outcome and impact results of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ICT4Ag Strategic Program. Among other clients were Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IFDC, Cadena, Data4Development, IADB, Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Accra, GFA and KfW. Martine has co-authored many papers on ICT4D and youth in agriculture and worked in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. In Ghana, she has worked as Country Programme Manager for the International Institute for Communication and Development from 2008 to 2015, thus developing a solid understanding of the use and challenges of ICT on the ground. Martine endorsed the principles of digital development and is part of GODAN capacity development working group and actively involved in the growing debate on better ICT use for effective poverty reduction.