UNCTAD E-Commerce Week - Ministerial and CEO Round Table

UNCTAD E-Commerce Week - Ministerial and CEO Round Table on "How to ensure that Digitalization Brings Inclusive Development in Africa"

11 December, Nairobi, Kenya

Firstly, let me thank UNCTAD for the opportunity to speak to you here today. It is a pleasure to be back in Nairobi for the first ever Africa eCommerce Week.

I am sure this audience understands well the importance of access to the digital economy, including e-commerce, for social, economic and environmentally sustainable development. But to do so people need to be connected. Connectivity brings many other benefits such as education, healthcare, increased productivity and opportunities for innovation. Without this connectivity the Sustainable Development Goals will not be achievable.

ITU’s latest statistics showed that for the first time more than half of the world’s population is now using the Internet.
However, in Africa estimates are that just over 24 per cent of the population are online, and in LDCs the situation is much worse. The good news is that of all regions, Africa has seen the highest rate of increase of people using the Internet. This is driven by the rapid growth in mobile-cellular subscriptions. The challenge is to bring connectivity to the rural and remote communities. It is a challenge due to the terrain difficulties and the poor return on investment compared with urban areas. Public/private partnerships, competitive licensing, infrastructure-sharing, tax incentives and use of Universal Service Funds should all be used to encourage investment in these areas.

New technology innovations such as low-earth orbiting satellite networks and high-altitude platforms offer great potential to cover these areas more economically. International agreement on the spectrum for these networks will be the subject of negotiation at the ITU World Radio Conference in Egypt next year, along with the spectrum allocations and standards for 5G. I believe with these developments we will see a huge improvement in the situation in the coming years.

ITU, as the lead UN agency for information and communication technology, spearheads the digital revolution which is underpinning the digital economy. The Final Acts of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference concluded in Dubai last month, refers to the digital economy over 50 times.

But connectivity does not mean people will connect. The service has to be affordable, with relevant content in the local language. People have to be persuaded as to why it is to their advantage to spend their money on getting connected. They have to be given the digital skills to take full advantage of being connected.

Regulatory steps are needed to create a more competitive mobile market which will align prices more closely with costs and enhance affordability. It is important for governments to rationalize their ICT sector taxation and other fees in order to find the right balance between the need for revenue and the development of their digital economy.

Digital skills need to be embedded in school curriculums and special emphasis needs to be placed on encouraging girls and women to develop these skills. There is a huge, and unfortunately in Africa growing, gap between the number of men and women online.

Turning specifically to the subject of this conference, e-commerce is based on trust. Security and privacy standards are the foundation of trust between the trading parties. Digital identification and authentication are essential for the conduct of e-commerce. ITU standards on Public Key Infrastructure secure the communication between buyer and seller and are fundamental to e-commerce, as is digital identity management including biometric identity. ITU’s international standards ensure interoperability and interconnection, which brings the benefits of reduced costs through economies of scale.

The ITU is in partnership with the World Bank and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to further develop these standards and solutions to increase financial inclusion and access to digital financial services globally. ITU organizes an annual symposium to bring together regulators from both telecom and finance sectors, service and payment providers and fintech to share lessons learned and best practices in digital financial services, including most importantly cybersecurity, consumer protection and privacy. Next year’s symposium, known as the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) Symposium, will take place in Cairo, from 22-24 January 2019. It is open to all interested parties free of charge. Details can be found on the ITU website and I encourage you to attend. We need more participation from Africa. Only by participating can your specific requirements be included in the standards and can you best understand which standards are best suited to your needs and how to implement them.

ICTs now cut across so many sectors, services and businesses that I always stress the need for us to focus on our own specific competencies, pool our resources and avoid duplication of effort. We need to work together policy makers, regulators, civil society, academia and industry at the national, regional and international level. Collaboration, coordination and cooperation are my three key words. That is how we will bring inclusive development in Africa. And that is how we will turn today’s digital revolution into a development revolution.

Thank you