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Center for Technology and Economic Development

Farmers in rural Africa often lack important geographical and agricultural information about their land. Sometimes they do not even know the boundaries of their own property. CTED built a GIS agricultural mapping system that allows farmers to precisely map the boundaries of their land and food transportation routes.
Farmers in rural Africa often lack important geographical and agricultural information about their land. Sometimes they do not even know the boundaries of their own property. CTED built a GIS agricultural mapping system that allows farmers to precisely map the boundaries of their land and food transportation routes.

The Center for Technology and Economic Development (CTED) is a research center at New York University Abu Dhabi that focuses on the development of innovative and cutting-edge technologies that can significantly impact economic development with a specific focus on problems faced in under-developed areas around the world. CTED is headquartered in Abu Dhabi with branches in New York and Accra.

CTED houses several research projects that aim to tackle a wide range of developmental problems across five areas including food and water, healthcare, financial access, energy, and education.

Research Activities

  • rural financial services
  • mobile market information systems
  • affordable solar energy platforms
  • low-cost rural wireless communications
  • next generation mobile health care tools

The Center not only produces high-quality research in the respective disciplinary fields but also develops new ideas with big impacts for the poor and possible spinoffs in startups and licensing agreements. CTED projects have been pilot-tested in many countries in Asia, Africa, America, and the Middle East in partnership with several organizations in the individual countries.

The Center relies on the broad multi-disciplinary expertise already available at New York University Abu Dhabi, New York University and NYU Polytechnic Institute in economics and economic development, foreign policy, management, micro-finance, politics, computer science, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, physics, chemistry, material science and engineering. CTED works closely with NYU Africa House, the Development Research Institute and the NYU CATER Lab.

Innovative Technologies for Economic Development

Along with rigorous multidisciplinary research, CTED holds regular events and workshops that engage the wider NYUAD and NYU community. Once of our primary initiatives is  CTED Entrepreneurship Lab.