Shamika N. SirimanneDirector, Division on Technology and LogisticsUNCTADshamika.sirimanne@unctad.org

Digitalisation as an enabler of growth in developing countries

EPP GROUP HEARING

11 April 2018

Brussels

On the cusp of a new digital economy

Both opportunities and risksfor developing countries

Both opportunities and risksfor developing countries

Digital economy is evolving fast…

Sources: UNCTAD, Cisco, ITU

Developing economies accounted for nearly 90% of the 750 million people that went online for the first time 2012-2015, India (177 m) China (122m).

$189

Latest estimates from UNCTAD

• Global e-commerce sales in 2016: $25.7 trillionB2B e-commerce: $23 trillion

B2C e-commerce: $2.8 trillion

• Top three markets: United States, Japan, China

• EU in top 10: Germany, United Kingdom, France & Italy

But at different speeds and there are gaps …

Sources: UNCTAD, ITU

Source: UNCTAD.

The e-commerce divide is hugeShare of population buying online, latest year

E-commerce ReadinessBased on UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index 2017

Common challenges in LDCs

Lack of a shared vision and strategy for e-commerce, no statistics!

ICT infrastructure is in place in main cities but missing in rural areas

95% or more of payments for e-commerce are cash on delivery

Lack of postal addressing system for the last mile delivery

Legal and Regulatory Framework for e-commerce needs updating

60 developing countries lack data protection legislations

ICT and other digital skills often not part of national education curriculum

Financing for e-commerce startups perceived as risky by banks and

accelerators are often missing

The policy challenge is multifaceted

Coordination

Effective cross-sectoral collaboration needed within the government and with other stakeholders.

A better measurement

Need to build the capacity of developing countries, and especially LDC, to collect more and better data on relevant aspects of the digital economy.

Need to increase international supportTo prevent widening digital divides and greater income inequalities, the international community will need to expand its support on a massive scale.

Source: WTO

UNCTAD and the Digital EconomyCapacity-building

• E-Commerce and Law Reform• ASEAN, EAC, ECOWAS, SELA; ALADI, individual countries

• ICT Policy Reviews/E-commerce strategies• Egypt, Rwanda, Oman, Botswana

• Measuring E-Commerce• Costa Rica, India, Kenya, Thailand, regional training

• eTrade for all• Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessments: Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR,

Liberia, Myanmar, Nepal and Samoa,

• Next: Bangladesh, Senegal, Solomon Island, Vanuatu and Zambia…and more are in the pipeline

• Growing demand from non-LDC developing countries

eTrade for All is connecting the dots among partners and

beneficiaries to reap e-commerce gains more quickly

• African Civil Society for the Information Society

• African Development Bank

• Economic Commission for Africa

• Economic Commission for Latin America and the

Caribbean

• Enhanced Integrated Framework

• E-Residency (Estonia)

• Inter-American Development Bank

• International Association of Prosecutors

• International Centre for Trade and Sustainable

Development

• International Civil Aviation Organization

• International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation

• International Telecommunications Union

• International Trade Centre

• Internet Society

• United Nations Commission on Trade Law

• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

• United Nations Commission for Latin America and the

Carribean

• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for

Asia and the Pacific

• United Nations Economic Commission for Western

Africa

• United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

• United Nations Social Impact Fund

• Universal Postal Union

• World Intellectual Property Organization

• World Bank Group

• World Customs Organization

• World Trade Organization

• E-commerce readiness assessment and strategy

formulation

• ICT infrastructure and services

• Payment solutions

• Trade logistics and trade facilitation

• Legal and regulatory frameworks

• E-commerce skills development

• Access to financing

7policy

areas

29partners

193 potential

beneficiaries

1platform30 +

private sector

contributors

• African Alliance for E-commerce

• Alibaba

• Bangladesh Association of Software and

Information Services

• Bizisol

• Burundishop

• DHL

• eBay

• einstituto.org• Etsy

• Fedex

• Fiata.com

• First Atlantic Commerce

• Google

• Huawei

• Impact Enterprises

• International Council of Swedish Industry

• Kapruka and Grasshopper

• King and Spalding

• Latin American eCommerce Institute

• Nextrade Group

• PayPal

• RingierAfrica

• TCS Express & Logistics

• UPS

• vTex

• World Information Technology and Services

Alliance

• World SME Forum

eTrade for all members Online resources

+12 new

memberssince April 2017

17members

29members

In April 2017 Today

22DevelopmentSolutions online

News and events updated

every day

eTrade for all platform since April 2017: new members and online resources

E-commerceIndicators and

country profiles

A new RBM framework forE-commerce and Digital Economy Programme

• To create clear vision for UNCTAD’s work on E-commerce and the Digital Economy

• To design projects aligned with achievable results

• To demonstrate results through the monitoring of indicators at all levels

• To link clearly the work with relevant SDGs

• To facilitate learning

• To meet member states’ demand for RBM and accountability

• To allow the programme to scale

• E-COMMERCE WEEK 2018

• 16-20 APRIL 2018 in GENEVA

• Second session of the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on E-commerce and the Digital Economy

Save the date!

Key facts

More than

1'000 participants

5 day-event including

a 3-day dedicated meetings

of experts (IGE 2018) on

leveraging platforms and

digital entrepreneurship for

development

1 high-level

conversation, eTrade

for all private partners

meeting, networking

opportunities … and

much more…

• 2 Ministerial Roundtables: SDGs & Gender

• 1 High-level Dialogue

• Special session on EU’s Digital for Development Strategy, with

• Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner

• Amani Abou-Zeid, AU Commissioner

• 60+ sessions; 1,000 participants

• Launch of Rapid eTrade Assessments for Lao PDR, Liberia and Myanmar

• New data on Internet user perceptions

• Sharing Economy – Learnings from China

• Towards an ASEAN E-commerce Agreement

E-Commerce Week Highlights

• Egypt e-commerce strategy

• E-commerce in Africa

• Measuring the digital economy and trade

• Block-chain, trade and development

• First global meeting of e-commerce associations

• Consumer protection online

• Building digital skills

• Data flows and digital platforms

• …and much more

a) How can developing countries foster local platforms for domestic and cross-border e-commerce?

b) What are the existing barriers related to international e-commerce platforms that developing countries, including the least developed countries, face and how can these barriers be overcome?

c) What are some of the operational constraints that small and medium-sized businesses in developing countries face when setting up trade online, and how can they be overcome?

d) What are the good practices that developed and developing countries, including the least developed countries, can learn from each other?

Intergovernmental Group of Expertson E-commerce and the Digital Economy, 2nd sessionTopics for discussion:

Concluding remarks

• UNCTAD – with partners - is ready to support developing countries on e-commerce and the digital economy

• We encourage member states to take advantage of the E-commerce Week and the IGE on E-commerce and the Digital EconomyShare EU’s experience with developing countries

• European Union can help to emphasize the development dimension of e-commerce

• Strong support from the European Union needed to scale our support to the developing world

• Urgent action is needed to avoid widening divides and inequality

Thank you!