The Action Line C7 on E-business Beyond WSIS+20


International Trade Centre, Universal Postal Union, UN Trade and Development

Session 299

Monday, 6 July 2026 09:00–09:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room H1, ITU Montbrillant Building Interactive Action Line Facilitation Meeting

Advancing inclusive implementation

The session will use the case of Tunisia to show how the e-business action line can be implemented, highlighting how national stakeholders, development partners, and international agencies can collaborate to advance e-business in a developing country. The session will feature a keynote presentation by Mr. Khabbab Hadhri, Director of E-Commerce Development in the Ministry of Trade and Export Development, of the Republic of Tunisia.  

The e-business action line co-facilitators will also discuss how future work in this area fits into the context of the WSIS+20 review, progress on the 2030 agenda for development, and the Global Digital Compact. How can the action line address emerging challenges of inclusion and sustainability in the evolving digital economy? How can action line implementation be fit for purpose? How can micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries improve their participation and benefit from digital trade at the international, national, and local levels?

Topics
Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building Digital Divide Digital Economy Digital Inclusion Digital Skills Global Digital Compact (GDC) WSIS+20 Review
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C7 E–BUS logo C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-business

Developing countries will need support to manage the high speed and scale of the digital economy and to leverage it for development, including financing for digital economy projects.  Digital cooperation and support in the means of implementation are needed to distribute the benefits of the digital economy more fairly, avoid widening digital divides, and achieve sustainable development. 

Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 1 logo Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
  • Goal 2 logo Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
  • Goal 5 logo Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • Goal 8 logo Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
  • Goal 9 logo Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • Goal 17 logo 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).

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
  • Objective 4: Advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches
  • Objective 5: Enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity