Improved investment policymaking to foster an inclusive, responsible and sustainable digital economy in Africa

The digital economy is reshaping global growth, but many developing countries are falling behind due to weak access and infrastructure. This growing “digital divide” is now compounded by an “intelligence divide” as artificial intelligence advances, making investment and international cooperation urgent to ensure countries can participate fully and avoid deeper inequality.

Strengthening policymakers’ ability to design inclusive digital investment policies can help ensure fairer access to infrastructure, education and innovation, especially for women, girls, youth and persons with disabilities as envisaged under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Inclusive investment policies can help reduce barriers, expand participation in the digital workforce, and improve access to services, narrowing both digital and social equity gaps.

Objective

The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of selected least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa to scale up investment that fosters an inclusive, responsible and sustainable economy. It supports putting in place frameworks on areas such as market access, cross-border data flows, data protection, cybersecurity, taxation, intellectual property and technology transfer, competition policy, investment promotion, digital infrastructure and related skills with a view to enhance the ability of member States to attract critical international investment, spur growth, participate more fully in the global digital economy, and derive developmental benefits.

Activities

The project aims at increasing and improving the capacity of policymakers in the beneficiary countries to design investment policies, in line with their development objectives and the SDGs to attract and mobilize international investment for an inclusive, responsible and sustainable digital economy, as well as to implement policies, and monitor and evaluate their impact.

It will be deployed through two phases:

• Phase 1 includes an assessment report for each beneficiary, analyzing national and international investment-related policies for the digital economy and providing concrete and tailored recommendations, including a draft national action plan.
  
  It will also include training workshops to build capacity in designing inclusive investment policies for the digital economy, including best practices from other countries. Advisory services will also be provided by UNCTAD through regular consultations at the request of government officials to address ongoing and emerging issues in investment in the digital economy.
   
• Phase 2 will include the enhancement of a policy reform monitoring tool (the Live Implementation Matrix), the development of a country-specific matrix for each beneficiary country, as well as training workshops to support policymakers in designing, tracking and managing investment policy reforms for the digital economy, including implementing the recommendations of the assessment reports. 
  
  A global workshop will wrap up the project to promote experience-sharing and capture lessons learned.

Intended outcomes

The following outcomes are expected:

• Increased capacity of policymakers in beneficiary countries to design investment policies, in line with their development objectives and the SDGs, to attract and mobilize investment for an inclusive, responsible and sustainable digital economy.
   
• Improved capacity of policymakers in beneficiary countries to implement policies, monitor progress, evaluate impact and adjust policies to attract and mobilize investment for an inclusive, responsible and sustainable digital economy.

Link to the SDGs

• SDG 1: No poverty
• SDG 5: Gender equality
• SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
• SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals

Monitoring and evaluation

To assess the project’s performance in achieving its expected outcomes in each target country, data will be gathered through a structured monitoring and evaluation process at four key intervals: project inception to establish baselines, after each major activity, every 12 months to assess progress and adjust, and at project completion. 

This process will include surveys, official documents, meetings’ records and workshop reports, digital analytics and follow-up consultations. All data will be stored in a centralized, secure digital repository to ensure accessibility, transparency and accountability throughout the project lifecycle.

• Documents