Digitalisation is widely recognised as a key force shaping the future of the global economy and is now a key element of donor agencies’ COVID-19 recovery strategies. Recent experiences highlight both risks and opportunities for PSD practitioners:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the uptake of digital applications worldwide and gives developing countries a new opportunity to accelerate their digital progress. Indeed, digital technology has already had a transformative development impact, e.g. in the financial sector.
- In other sectors, however, developing countries risk remaining largely passive consumers of digital products and services produced elsewhere. Job creation impacts are still unclear, and the digital divide based on gender, age and geography might grow.
- Harnessing the opportunities and addressing the risks will require additional investments in digital infrastructure, skills and regulatory frameworks and nurturing tech firms and industries that use local knowledge to respond to local needs.
For more specific information on COVID-19 related trends and donor support to digitalisation, please refer to the DCED knowledge page on Promoting economic recovery and resilience in the context of COVID-19.
DCED Synthesis Note External publications
Summarises key economic development opportunities and risks of digitalisation and how different PSD approaches can be used to address them.
World Development Report 2019 (Overview Chapter), World Bank, 2019
14-page summary of the 2019 World Development Report, highlighting key findings on the changing nature of work in the context of digitalisation and government policy options.
Analysis and recommendations for developing countries to create and capture greater value from the digital economy.
Global reviews
- Shaping a Just Digital Transformation, OECD Development Co-operation Report, 2021
- The Future of Work in Africa : Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All, Africa Development Forum, 2020
- Leapfrogging Africa: Healthcare, Education, Connectivity, and Finance, ADIS 2020
- Digitalization and Development Cooperation: An assessment of the debate and its implications for policy, OFSE, 2018
- Leapfrogging: The Key to Africa’s Development?, The World Bank & China Development Bank, 2017
- The Future of Work in the Developing World, Brookings, 2016
- Digital Dividends, The World Bank, 2016
Country, region and sector case studies
- Digital Opportunities in African Businesses, IFC, 2024
- Driving Digital Transformation of African Economies: Evidence and methodology, GSMA, 2024
- Digital Transformation for Quality Jobs, African Union & OECD, 2021
- Strengthening Youth Livelihoods and Enterprise Innovation in Africa’s Digital Era, ODI, 2021
- Mapping e-Marketplaces in Africa, ITC, 2020
- Leveraging Digital Connectivity for Post-COVID Competitiveness and Recovery in the Commonwealth, Ashton-Hart, 2020
- Digitalization and Decent Work: Implications for Pacific Island Countries, ILO, 2019
- 33 Showcases – Digitalisation and Development, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019
- ICT as an Enabler of Transformation in Ethiopia, The World Bank, 2014.
Cross-cutting tools and guides
- Digital Economy Kit – Harnessing Digital Technologies for Inclusive Growth, Pathways for Prosperity Commission, 2020
- Toolkit 2.0 – Digitalisation in Development Cooperation, GIZ, 2019
- From Principle to Practice: Implementing the Principles for Digital Development, Waugaman, 2016
- Opportunities & Imperatives arising from COVID-19: Guidance on more Inclusive Digital Adoption, Woodard & Krueger, 2020
- Digital Skills Toolkit, ITU, 2018
- Digital Inclusion Benchmark, World Benchmarking Alliance, 2020
- Digital Adoption Index: Measuring the Global Spread of Digital Technologies, World Bank, 2016
- Results and Indicators for Development: Digitalisation, European Commission
- Blockchain: A World Without Middlemen? Promise and Practice of Distributed Governance, GIZ, 2019
- Use of New Technologies in Regulatory Delivery, DCED, 2020
- Digitalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, IMF, 2020
- Policy and Regulatory Issues with Digital Businesses, The World Bank, 2019
- Digitalisation and Responsible Business Conduct: Stocktaking of policies and initiatives, OECD, 2020
- Private sector development and the digital economy in support of regional integration in Africa, UN Economic Commission for Africa, 2019
- Which Policies and Regulations can help advance Digitalization?, UN Broadband Commission, 2017
- The effects of automation in the apparel and footwear industries and their gender dimensions: Indonesia case study, ILO, 2024
- Women and E-Commerce in Southeast Asia, IFC, 2021
- Women and E-Commerce in Africa, IFC, 2021
- Jobs Interventions for Young Women in the Digital Economy, World Bank, 2020
- Digital Jobs for Youth: Young Women in the Digital Economy, S4YE, 2018
- Making the digital economy work for informal sector women in India, IT for Change, 2019
- Industrial Development Report: Industrialisation in the digital age, UNIDO, 2020
- Industrial Development and ICT in Africa, Gamal Ibrahim et al., 2019
- Digitalisation and the future of manufacturing in Africa, ODI, 2018
- Digitalisation and industrialisation: Friends or foes?, UNCTAD, 2018
- Digital industrialisation in developing countries, Parminder Jeet Singh, 2018
- Small Goes Digital: How digitalization can bring about productive growth for micro and small enterprises, ILO, 2021
- #Digital4MSME: How to use the market systems approach for digital transformation, GIZ & DCED/BEAM, 2021
- The use of IT solutions in inclusive value chains, Endeva, 2019
- Digital Commerce and Youth Employment in Africa, MCF, 2019
- Fostering participation in digital trade for ASEAN MSMEs, OECD, 2019
- Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa: How a Continent Is Escaping Silicon Valley’s Long Shadow, The MIT Press, 2020
- The role of Innovation Hubs taking start-ups from idea to business. The case of Nairobi, Kenya, IZNE, 2017
- The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report, 2018-2019, CTA, 2019
- Digital Technologies in Agriculture and Rural Areas, FAO, 2019
- Adoption of ICT Innovations in the Agriculture Sector in Africa: A Systematic Literature Review, Wageningen University, 2020
- Use of ICT for Agriculture in GIZ Projects, GIZ, 2016
- Digital Strategy 2020-2024, USAID, 2020
- Donor Support to the Digital Economy in Developing Countries, UNCTAD, 2019
- Digital Agenda for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (BHOS), Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019
- Digital Strategy (in German), BMZ, 2019
- Digital Strategy 2018-2020: Doing Development in a Digital World, DFID, 2018
- Roadmap to the digital future, GIZ, 2018
- Digital strategy for Norwegian development policy, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2018
- Digital4Development: mainstreaming digital technologies and services into EU Development Policy, European Commission, 2017
- Hack the Future of Development Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark, 2017
- ‘Digital for Development’ for the Belgian Development Cooperation, 2016
Photo credits: Hendri Lombard/World Bank; erict19/flickr.com; Beyond Access, South Africa/ flickr.com C. Schubert/ flickr.com