Digital Connect Centers Network

The Digital Connect Centers Network is a government-UNDP partnership providing free computer and internet access, digital-literacy support and small-business services in underserved Belizean communities. It is implemented by the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) together with the Ministry of Investment/E-Governance and Digitalization Unit, and funded primarily through UNDP Belize's "Building Resilient MSMEs - Accelerating Digitization" project.

The first center opened in San Estevan Village, Orange Walk, in March 2023; by August 2023 the network had grown to six centers, including Corozal Town (at the Corozal Public Library), Bella Vista in Toledo, Belmopan, and a sixth center in Belize City hosted at the Small Business Development Center offices on Coney Drive. Each center is equipped with four desktop computers, a printer and a stable internet connection, and gives users access to BELTRAIDE's Virtual Knowledge Center platform, job portal and MSME directory.

Total project funding is reported at USD 360,000 from UNDP, with individual center launches (e.g. Corozal, Belize City) each backed by roughly USD 15,000 in UNDP investment plus BELTRAIDE contributions. Target users named across the announcements include youths, women, the unemployed and underemployed, migrants and the elderly. The Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics and E-Governance independently confirms the wider network in its own press material, reporting that a further center opened in Bullet Tree Falls Village, Cayo District (20 April 2023, the second in Cayo) with co-funding from the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) ICDF, indicating the government has drawn on more than one donor to expand the network.

Context: Belize has significant rural and peri-urban connectivity and digital-skills gaps, and the government has paired this centers network with e-governance modernisation and small-business-support goals.

Stakeholders involved: BELTRAIDE, Government of Belize (Ministry of Investment; Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics and E-Governance), UNDP Belize, Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) ICDF, Belize City Council, participating community libraries and Small Business Development Center.

Key learning points: The network scaled quickly (at least seven sites documented across UNDP and government sources within about two months of the first opening) by combining modest per-site equipment costs with existing public buildings (libraries, council offices) and more than one donor, but no aggregate figures for people trained or served have been published.

Evaluation: No independent evaluation or impact study has been published; available information comes from UNDP and Government of Belize (Ministry of Public Utilities) press releases describing inputs (funding, equipment, sites), not outcomes.

Information sources: https://www.mpuele.gov.bz/the-official-launch-of-the-bullet-tree-falls-village-digital-connect-center/ ; https://www.undp.org/belize/press-releases/beltraide-and-undp-launch-sixth-digital-connect-center-belize-city ; https://www.undp.org/belize/press-releases/government-belize-opens-corozal-digital-connect-center

Read the full analysis: https://www.mpuele.gov.bz/the-official-launch-of-the-bullet-tree-falls-village-digital-connect-center/