WSIS Action Line C7 E-business: Building an inclusive digital economy
International Trade Centre, Universal Postal Union, UN Trade and Development, in collaboration with UN Industrial Development Organization
Session 380
The role of the WSIS e-business action line and the Global Digital Compact
For 20 years, the WSIS action line on e-business has been creating digital opportunities for businesses and development in areas that have also been covered by the Global Digital Compact (GDC) objectives:
Objective 2 focuses on expanding inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all, to be advance through enabling environments that “enhance productivity, facilitate the growth of e-commerce, improve competitiveness, accelerate digital transformation and support investment and the transfer of digital technologies on mutually agreed terms to developing countries.” This objective is linked to SDGs 8, 9, 10, 16, and 17.
Objective 4 recognizes that cross-border data flows are a critical driver of the digital economy and hold potential benefits for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, and is linked to SDG 17.
Objective 5 to enhance international governance of AI promotes the participation of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in the digital economy.
This session continues the discussion of the WSIS+20 High-Level Event of 2024, further exploring how the GDC impacts the WSIS action line on e-business, its scope, and the multi-stakeholder approach. It will also discuss how UN agencies can ensure effective collaboration to prevent silos, ensuring that implementation of the WSIS action line contributes to both achieving the sustainable development goals and the GDC objectives.
Radka Sibille recently joined the Universal Postal Union as Digital Policies and Trade Coordinator, supporting countries’ efforts to foster digital and trade inclusion through the wide postal infrastructure around the world. Ms. Sibille has extensive experience in international relations, diplomacy and digital issues, and held various positions in the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union.
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-business
The WSIS Action Line C7 on e-business (ICT applications) seeks to improve the access to, and use of, digital technologies for business purposes, in particular by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in developing economies so that they can reap the benefits of the digital economy.
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Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
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Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
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Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
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Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
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Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
The WSIS Action Line C7 on e-business has been mapped to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, and 17. In the goal to end poverty (Goal 1), e-business can improve the equal access of men and women to economic resources and e-commerce activities; it can facilitate remittances and mobile payments. In the fight against hunger (Goal 2), the use of ICT by rural enterprises can improve the productivity of small-scale food producers and help build local and export markets for their products. E-business can support gender equality (Goal 5) by empowering women's entrepreneurship through ICT and in the ICT sector. The e-business action line also supports economic growth through the ICT sector and offers opportunities for decent job creation (Goal 8), entrepreneurship, and the formalization of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. E-business also facilitates access to financial services and market information (Goal 9), as well as to exports from least developed countries through e-commerce (Goal 17).
- The eTrade for All initiative : offering development solutions for digital readiness.
- The ITC Digital Moonshot initiative: helping to get more MSMEs online and engaged in digital trade and entrepreneurialism.
- The UPU Connect.post initiative : connecting every post office to the Internet by 2030, to bring meaningful digital inclusion of businesses and citizens in the communities they serve.
- The UNCTAD E-commerce and Digital Economy Programme : enhancing the capacities of developing countries to harness the evolving digital economy for more inclusive development.
- Webcast WSIS 2024: The e-business action line and the Global Digital Compact