The digital economy is expanding rapidly, creating new opportunities for economic growth and structural transformation worldwide. In developing countries, digitalization is increasingly recognized as a key driver of productivity, innovation and sustainable development. However, UNCTAD’s recent World Investment Report 2025 shows that investment in the digital economy remains highly concentrated: over 80% of greenfield FDI in digital sectors flows to just 10 developing economies, mainly in Asia.
Growth is also uneven across sectors. In 2024, international investment in digital services in developing countries reached $37 billion in 2024, while investment in core infrastructure remained limited, at $9 billion. Globally, greenfield investment in ICT infrastructure amounted to $15 billion – far below the $62 billion needed annually. Data centres and fintech investment also tend to favour middle-income economies, with just 3 % reaching least developed countries (UNCTAD, 2025).
To close these gaps and unlock digital investment, countries increasingly require a comprehensive policy toolbox with diverse instruments capable of creating virtuous dynamics across different levels of government and markets. A key consideration is understanding how regional, sub-regional and national strategies — together with technology- and sector-specific strategies — can complement each other to foster investment and accelerate digital transformation.
These strategies help shape the enabling environment for the development of the digital economy, including infrastructure expansion and technology adoption. Their introduction also signals a government’s commitment to digital transformation, offering investors greater predictability and confidence in the country’s digital trajectory.
This Investment Policy Monitor builds on the findings of the World Investment Report 2025: International investment in the digital economy. It reviews regional, national and sectoral or technology specific digital strategies, focusing on their investment-related components and identifying common gaps.
Key findings:
- Adoption of digital strategies is accelerating, but gaps persist in their integration with other policies. By 2024, 86% of developing countries and 80 % of least developed countries (LDCs) had a national digital strategy, up from under 50% and 25% in 2017. Although recent strategies are more comprehensive, many lack alignment with broader development, investment, industrial and environmental policies.
- The investment promotion dimension remains limited. Many strategies address enabling conditions, such as regulatory frameworks and infrastructure, but explicit investment targets and promotion measures are rare: fewer than half mention foreign direct investment (FDI), and only 20% refer to investment promotion agencies (IPAs).
- Environmental sustainability is insufficiently embedded. Despite the growing environmental footprint of the digital economy—including energy use, emissions, water consumption and electronic waste—only 55% of developing countries’ strategies mention environmental sustainability, often in broad terms. This is notable given its growing importance for investment decisions, particularly in sectors such as data centres and semiconductors.
- Sector- and technology-specific strategies are scarce. Strategies for artificial intelligence (AI), data centres and semiconductors can boost investment attraction by clarifying priorities, regulatory needs and, in some cases, sustainability standards, thus offering concrete tools to mobilize investment. However, their adoption remains limited, particularly in developing countries.
- Regional digital strategies differ in investment focus and national uptake. These frameworks promote policy harmonization, interoperability and coordinated infrastructure development. However, uptake at national level is uneven, and so is their emphasis on investment.
- Aligning digital strategies with investment and sustainability objectives is key to investment attraction. Integrated frameworks linking digital, industrial, investment and environmental policies improve policy coherence and send clearer signals to investors, while supporting coordinated implementation.