Whose Wallet, Whose Future? Operationalizing Multistakeholder Financing for Digital Development

Tech Global Institute, Research ICT Africa, Factum, Foundation for Media Alternatives

Session 224

Tuesday, 7 July 2026 ∼ 17:00–17:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room G3, ITU Varembé Building Interactive Session

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Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation

The WSIS+20 review invited the ITU to establish an internal task force to assess the gaps and challenges in financing for digital development, and to recommend concrete ways of strengthening the financial mechanisms that developing countries depend on. This is a meaningful opportunity to ensure that the communities most affected by financing gaps are at the centre of the conversation.

The communities most affected by financing gaps have too often been distant from the rooms where financing decisions are made, with limited opportunity to inform the mechanisms meant to serve them. The new task force is an important opening to change that, and because it is structured as an internal body, civil society's contribution will be most valuable when it is proactive, well-coordinated, and brought to the process early.

When organizations from across the Global Majority come forward with evidence-based inputs, they strengthen the task force’s ability to deliver recommendations that reflect lived realities on the ground.

This session convenes civil society organizations from across regions to build a shared, coordinated strategy for contributing their expertise and priorities to the task force's work. The conversation is organized around three questions that move from principle to practice.

1. Priorities: What principles and approaches should guide the task force's work so that it delivers meaningfully for Global Majority communities?
2. Evidence: What promising financing models are already being tested across Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia that can inspire and inform the task force's deliberations?
3. Engagement: How does civil society most effectively contribute to an internal body, and simultaneously advance financing agendas in the national, regional, and bilateral fora where binding financial commitments are actually negotiated?

This session is for anyone who believes the future of digital financing should be shaped by those it claims to serve.

Ms. Liza Garcia Executive Director Foundation for Media Alternatives, Philippines Remote Panellist

Liza Garcia is feminist based in the Philippines. She has over 20 years of experience working in non-governmental organizations on issues related to children, migration, women, and digital rights. She currently leads the Foundation for Media Alternatives, a non-government organization based in the Philippines that assists citizens and communities in their strategic and appropriate use of various communications media.

Ms. Pria Chetty Executive Director Research ICT Africa, South Africa

Pria is the Executive Director at RIA. With a career spanning over two decades, she has advised global technology firms, intergovernmental organisations, national governments, and regulators on critical issues such as data governance, AI regulation, cybersecurity, digital economy and trade, and digital inclusion. Pria’s professional journey includes heading the digital policy and regulation practice area at Genesis Analytics’ Centre of Digital Excellence (C0DE), and the Regional Director of technology law and policy advisory firm EndCode. Prior to this, she headed the Southern Africa technology law practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Her impact extends to working with international organisations. She served as a Regional Data Protection Advisor to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and a Data Protection Advisor to the African Union (AU). In these roles, she spearheaded efforts to develop model frameworks, laws, and policies for African countries, fostered multistakeholder consultations, and guided national legal reforms. Pria has also worked with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, leading education, skills, and digital inclusion policy and programmes. As a thought leader, Pria has presented at numerous international conferences and published widely on technology law and policy, focusing on addressing the unique challenges of developing countries. Her contributions to regional and international expert groups and advisory boards further underscore her commitment to shaping inclusive and equitable digital governance frameworks. These include her election to the Global Council of the International Fund for Public Interest Media; her advisory position to the Centre for Communications Governance and to the Global Network Initiative’s Strategic Multistakeholder Dialogue; and an appointment to a Panel of Experts to guide the multi-year programme on the social dimensions of the Digital Economy, hosted by Wits University and sponsored by the South African Department of Science and Innovation. Pria has received several awards and recognition for her work and contributions including being named as one of the Top 50 Inspiring Women in Tech. Pria is completing her doctoral studies at the University of Cape Town, focusing on legal reforms to enable open government data implementation.

Mr. Omar Rajarathnam Executive Director Factum, Sri Lanka

Omar is the founder and executive director of Factum, an Asia and Asia-Pacific focused thinktank on Diplomacy, Tech-plomacy, Digital and Energy Futures. He advocates for consequential platform accountability, pressuring tech companies to invest in solutions for social issues they have manufactured and encourages civil society organizations to pursue decolonized funding models aimed at institutional sustainability and local ownership.

Ms. Shumaila Shahani Lead, Global Policy & Advocacy Tech Global Institute Moderator

Shumaila H. Shahani is trained in law and works at the intersection of technology, ethics, and equity in the Global Majority.

Topics

Capacity Building Digital Divide Digital Economy Digital Inclusion Global Digital Compact (GDC) Infrastructure WSIS+20 Review

WSIS Action Lines

C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
C2. Information and communication infrastructure
C3. Access to information and knowledge
C4. Capacity building
C6. Enabling environment
C11. International and regional cooperation

This session directly addresses C1 by examining how governments and all stakeholders, particularly civil society from the Global Majority, can shape the governance and outcomes of financing for digital development. It connects to C2 and C3 by focusing on financing the infrastructure and access gaps that prevent meaningful connectivity. C4 is engaged through the session’s emphasis on capacity and the capability of communities to govern financing models. C6 is central, as the session interrogates the enabling environment needed for inclusive financing mechanisms. Finally, C11 is at the heart of the session, which is fundamentally about international and regional cooperation in mobilizing and governing resources for digital development across multiple fora.

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

Financing for digital development is foundational to closing infrastructure gaps (Goal 9) and reducing the inequalities between and within countries that the digital divide both reflects and reinforces (Goal 10). The session's focus on inclusive, accountable governance of financing mechanisms speaks directly to Goal 16's vision of just and inclusive institutions. The session embodies Goal 17 by convening a multistakeholder partnership to mobilize resources and coordinate action for sustainable digital development, with concrete commitments to joint follow-up.

GDC Objectives

Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
Objective 2: Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all