5. Machines in the Tropics

For years, with UNDP’s assistance, great efforts were made to collect census data from across the archipelago and have it sent abroad for processing, all at an enormous cost. Given how expensive and unsustainable the entire endeavour was, UNDP moved to equip the nation with the necessary technology and expertise. In August 1983, as part of the Maldives' journey toward digitalization, the country set up its very first computer. UNDP trained a team of three notable individuals who later trained others, becoming pioneers of the local ICT industry.