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By Joey Gardiner, 16 July 2001 17:13

NEWS Vernon Ellis, international chairman of Accenture has accused IT companies of not doing enough to address the global digital divide and labelled their approach up to now as short-sighted. According to Ellis, IT firms in particular need to adopt a more holistic view of the world economy and had to realise that investment in poorer countries would pay off by enlarging the market in the long term. Last week, dozens of the UK's high-tech firms failed to get in to a new stock index - called FTSE4GOOD - which only lists ethical companies. Ellis spoke to silicon.com on the launch of a joint initiative between Accenture, the Markle Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), called the Digital Opportunity Initiative (DOI) which seeks to encourage businesses to invest in underdeveloped countries. He said: "Businesses have to realise it is in their long-term interests to be a good global citizen and get involved in development programmes, not just morally but economically. There is no need to see a conflict between philanthropy and hard economic reality." He compared the situation with the introduction of decent levels of health and safety during the industrial revolution, where many of the firms which took an enlightened view prospered in the long term. The DOI launched a report today examining the depth of the global digital divide and outlining how to tackle it. The report claims information communication technology (ICT) is vital to promoting wider economic and social development in poorer countries. If not dealt with, poverty in many areas will get even worse. The report also highlighted the benefits ICT has brought in healthcare and education in many countries, and cited It economies like India's and Bangladesh's as shining examples of how the divide can be bridged.