Reaping the benefits of digitisation in the developing world

The digital revolution has provided a unique opportunity for developing countries to take advantage of this phenomenon. Digitisation, with all its hindrances and risks, can help developing countries advance economically, socially, culturally and politically so that the well-being of their citizens is enhanced. 

Naturally, questions are often asked: What will it take for developing countries to reap the benefits of digitalization and participate fully in the global digital economy? 

Three things are needed: one, closing the global digital divide: even as new technologies spread rapidly around the world, billions of people have still never used the internet.  

Two, preparing for the jobs of tomorrow. Innovation is radically changing the nature of work, new jobs are emerging and others are evolving. To compete in the digital economy, countries will need to prioritise education and build the digital skills of their workforce while creating efficient safety nets to support those transitions. 

Three, developing secure, reliable digital systems: As the world is going digital, strengthening capacity in areas like cybersecurity and personal data protection has become more important than ever.

In that perspective, developing countries may focus on specific areas, which, among other things, include: first, maximising the social and economic value of data by encouraging private investment in data infrastructure and services, strengthening data governance and developing integrated public sector data management infrastructure, platforms and analytics capabilities. 

Second, promoting universal access to fast, affordable and resilient connectivity through effective telecommunications policy and regulation, stimulating broadband infrastructure investment and boosting digital literacy and access to internet-connected devices to promote use. 

Third, reducing the environmental footprint and strengthening the climate resilience of digital infrastructure and systems, and using digital technologies, business models and data to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and support climate resilience across other sectors. 

Fourth, digital trust and safeguards: Building trust in the usage of digital platforms and services among people, governments and businesses by strengthening data privacy protections, raising cyber awareness and building capacity to protect critical infrastructure and systems from threats. 

Fifth, boosting economic growth and creating jobs by encouraging investment in domestic and export-oriented digital/technology and related services industries and facilitating partnerships to develop skills training and job placement programmes tailored to market demand. 

Digital technologies are transforming the world, and nowhere are the stakes higher than in developing countries. 

With new digital technologies come opportunities for low and middle-income countries to diversify their economies, create new jobs, transform agriculture, and improve health and education. But digital technologies can also entrench exclusion and disrupt peoples' livelihoods.

A 'Digital Roadmap' for the developing world may ensure that the digital revolution in developing countries leads to inclusive growth and human development for everyone. 

This is a critical moment in history. Some countries will prosper in a new global digital economy, but countries that are not ready will risk being left behind. Countries have the agency to act now. 

The 'Digital Roadmap' for developing countries identifies five priority areas for countries to create their digital future. The five areas are: crafting a digital compact for inclusive development, putting people at the centre of the digital future, building the digital essentials, reaching everyone with digital technologies and governing technology for the future. 

Such a roadmap should emphasise some basic guiding principles: first, technology will not guarantee success no matter how innovative it is. Just as important as new technology is the social and economic environment in which technology is used. 

Technology will almost always be a force for growth, but technology is not automatically a force for inclusion. Without a deliberate effort to include everyone, digital technologies can end up entrenching existing inequality. 

Second, government, civil society and the private sector should come together to craft a shared national vision. Everyone has a role to play in major economic transformation. 

With new digital technologies come opportunities for low and middle-income countries to diversify their economies, create new jobs, transform agriculture and improve health and education. But digital technologies can also entrench exclusion and disrupt peoples' livelihoods. 

The 'Digital Roadmap' presents an overarching vision for a globally connected world that both delivers on the opportunities presented by technology and limits downside risks. Importantly, it also sets out how this vision can be achieved.

Third, embracing country-wide digital change will be disruptive. Navigating it requires coordinated action. Reconfiguring an economy will result in some resistance. The best way to achieve buy-in, and to balance trade-offs, is through dialogue: the private sector and civil society in its broadest sense (including community leaders, academia, trade unions, NGOs and faith groups). 

The political economy of upheaval is difficult, but change can be managed with discussions that are inclusive of multiple groups. These dialogues should result in a national digital compact: a shared vision of the future to which everyone commits. 

Fourth, rapid technology affects people's lives. Failure to put people at the centre of social and economic change can lead to social unrest. The pace and intensity of change means it is all the more important that people are at the centre of the digital future – not the technology. 

This requires equipping people to benefit from opportunities while also protecting them from the potential harms of the digital age. 

Governments should take responsibility for ensuring that vocational education is truly useful for workers and businesses in the digital age. The private sector needs to be involved in keeping curricula up to date.

Fifth, digital products and services cannot be created in a vacuum – essential components need to be in place – physical infrastructure, foundational digital systems (such as digital identification and mobile money) and capital to invest in innovation. 

These are the basic ingredients needed for existing firms to adopt more productive technologies, and for digital entrepreneurs to build and innovate. Having reliable infrastructure and interoperable systems means that firms and service providers can focus on their core business, without having to build an enabling environment from scratch.

Sixth, if technology is to be a force for development for everyone, it must reach everyone. Just over half of the world's population is connected to a digital life; for the rest, digital opportunities do not mean much. 

Without digital connections, people cannot participate in digital work platforms, benefit from new technologies in education, or engage with government services online. Women, people with lower levels of education, and people in poverty are usually those who lack digital access. Reaching everyone requires looking beyond current business models. 

The private sector needs to design for inclusion, ensuring the poorest and most marginalised consumers, to ensure they are not left even further behind.

Seventh, the unprecedented pace of change and emergence of new risks in the digital era (such as algorithmic bias, cybersecurity, and privacy threats) are creating headaches for even the most well-resourced countries. 

For developing countries, the challenges are even bigger. Digital technologies fundamentally shape what people do and how they do it: freelancers may face algorithms that determine their chances of getting hired. Banks might face a financial system with heightened risk from new, non-bank deposit holders. 

These issues, and many others, require new and adaptive approaches to decision-making. Emerging global norms will need to consider the needs of developing countries.

The digital revolution has been advancing at a break-neck speed. It will affect not only the developed world but also the developing countries. Through proper and pragmatic measures, the developing world must seize the opportunities the digital revolution offers and reap its benefits. 

Dr Selim Jahan is the Former Director of the Human Development Report Office and Poverty Division at the United Nations Development Programme, New York, US