Author Archives: Samira Aliyari

The country’s young people are chasing their entrepreneurial dreams amid a digitalization boom powered by e-government tools developed by UNCTAD.

Not everyone can turn the theft of a cell phone into a good experience. But then again, not everyone is Richard Odjrado. When this young Beninese entrepreneur’s phone was stolen – for a second time – he transformed calamity into ingenuity.

Mr. Odjrado, 34, has created a revolutionary anti-theft tracker for smartphones that alerts the owner if the phone is moved without their permission, enabling them to locate it if it’s lost or stolen. The tracker is also operated from a smart watch he’s designed.

He spent nearly two years researching and developing his anti-theft solution before launching his company AS World Tech, which also makes glasses and laptops.

Boom for registrations

Between 2019 and 2022 the number of young people opening new businesses in Benin skyrocketed, more than tripling from 7,416 registrations to 23,312.

“That’s growth of 212%,” says Laurent Gangbes, chief executive of the Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Exports (APIEx) in Benin, who’s behind an initiative to digitize government services and make it easier to do business in the West African nation.

The boom is powered by low-code software developed by UNCTAD, and “demonstrates a national demand for digital services that support entrepreneurial ambitions,” Mr. Gangbes added.

UNCTAD explores how developing countries can leverage green, innovative technologies to grow their economies while fighting climate change.

Science, technology and innovation (STI) tools are indispensable in tackling today’s pressing challenges such as climate change, which need global solutions.

That’s the message from UNCTAD ahead of the 26th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), slated for 27 to 31 March in Geneva and online. UNCTAD provides substantive support to the CSTD.

The tools include green technologies – goods and services with smaller carbon footprints – that present new opportunities. “These opportunities not only offer the chance to build resilience and mitigate climate disaster, but also to spur economic and technological development,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.

Ms. Grynspan will open the event during a segment to be livestreamed on UN Web TV and UNCTAD Facebook starting 8.30 a.m. GMT on 27 March.

The CSTD session will bring together government ministers, policymakers, international organizations and leading experts. They will discuss two main themes: “Technology and innovation for cleaner and more productive competitive production” and “Ensuring safe water and sanitation for all”.

Participants will take stock of the progress made towards implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) regionally and internationally. They will also discuss ongoing STI policy reviews by UNCTAD and cooperation projects to facilitate access to key technologies in developing countries.

A conversation with ‘great minds’

The event will feature “a conversation with great minds”, a special segment with two world-class scientists, focused on prioritizing research and development for climate action.

They are Hiroshi Amano, who won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing efficient light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, and Karen Scrivener, a material chemist known for her pioneering work in decarbonizing cement.

Julia Sieger, a journalist and presenter with France 24, will moderate the conversation.

Need to close the green tech gap

The meeting will underline the urgent need for international support for developing countries to benefit more from green technologies such as electric vehicles, solar and wind energy.

UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report 2023 estimates that such technologies will quadruple their market value to $2.1 trillion by 2030. Notably, market revenues for electric vehicles could increase five times to reach $824 billion, up from today’s $163 billion.

Meanwhile, frontier technologies like artificial intelligence and Internet of Things can spur cleaner and more competitive production, help diversify economies, create higher-wage jobs and catalyse economic growth, while curbing climate change.

As developed countries currently reap most of the economic benefits of green technologies, international solidarity is critical for developing countries to catch up.

“As developing countries respond to today’s interconnected crises, strategic, long-term actions to build innovation and technological capabilities will be key to achieving sustainable economic growth and resilience to future shocks,” said Shamika N. Sirimanne, UNCTAD’s technology and logistics director, who also heads the CSTD Secretariat.

“They need both domestic policies and international cooperation to reap the benefits of the current technological revolution.”

UN focal point for STI for development

The CSTD is the UN’s “torch-bearer and focal point for science, technology and innovation for development.” It analyses how STI, including emerging and disruptive technologies, can accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for everyone, everywhere.

It’s a forum for strategic planning and knowledge-sharing, providing foresight about critical STI trends in key sectors with an impact on the economy, environment and societies.

World trade hit a record $32 trillion in 2022, but growth turned negative in the last half of the year. Environmentally friendly products defied the trend.

Global trade was worth a record $32 trillion in 2022, but amid deteriorating economic conditions and rising uncertainties, growth turned negative in the last half of the year and is set to stagnate in the first half of 2023.

The silver lining was the strong performance of trade in “green goods”, whose growth held strong throughout the year, says UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update, published on 23 March.

Green goods, also called “environmentally friendly goods”, refer to products that are designed to use fewer resources or emit less pollution than their traditional counterparts.

Defying the downward trend, trade in such goods grew by about 4% in the second half of the year. Their combined value hit a record $1.9 trillion in 2022, adding more than $100 billion compared to 2021.

Among green goods that performed especially well were electric and hybrid vehicles (+25%), non-plastic packaging (+20%) and wind turbines (+10%).

“This is good news for the planet,” says Alessandro Nicita, one of the report’s authors, “as these goods are key to protecting the environment and fighting climate change.”

The good news comes just days after the UN released its latest climate report, in which scientists have delivered a “final warning”, saying rising greenhouse gas emissions are pushing the planet to the brink of irreversible change.

More green growth expected

UNCTAD expects green industries to boom as countries scale up efforts to fight climate change and cut emissions.

The organization, in its recent Technology and Innovation Report 2023, projected the global market for electric cars, solar and wind energy, green hydrogen and a dozen other green technologies to reach $2.1 trillion by 2030 – four times more than their value today.

“The patterns of international trade are anticipated to become more closely tied to the transition towards a greener global economy,” the Global Trade Update says.

Slowdown hits goods harder than services

While imports and exports of green goods held strong throughout 2022, most products saw their trade start to decline in the second half of the year – and the downturn continued in the fourth quarter.

The report shows that global trade in goods, worth $25 trillion in 2022, declined by 3% in the fourth quarter. But trade in services remained almost constant, finishing the year at $7 trillion.

And UNCTAD nowcasts for the first quarter of 2023 show global trade in goods will increase by about 1% in terms of value. Meanwhile, trade in services is set to jump by about 3%, as demand continues to grow for information and communication technology services, and travel and tourism sectors recover further.

The transport equipment sector saw trade grow by 14% in the fourth quarter of 2022 – although the result for the year was -6%.

On the negative side of the spectrum, energy took the biggest fall in the fourth quarter of 2022, dropping by 10%. Yet the sector still reported 24% growth for the year.

Negative factors weigh on outlook for 2023

The outlook for trade remains uncertain amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and concerns about inflation, high commodity prices – especially for energy, food and metals – and the risky combination of high interest rates and public debt.

As of 30 November 2022, more than half of least developed and other low-income countries were either at high risk or already in debt distress.

The report warns that “the current record levels of global debt, coupled with high interest rates, will continue to negatively affect the macroeconomic conditions of many countries.”

The global trade downturn in the fourth quarter of 2022 hit developing countries harder, as their imports and exports both fell by 6% compared with the previous quarter. The fall was largely due to the 7% drop in exports from East Asian economies.

But positive factors could prevail

Things could pick up in the second half of the year, the trade update says. It highlights positive factors such as the prospects of an averted recession in the European Union and the United States, and a weaker US dollar, which fell by almost 7% between November 2022 and February 2023.

“As most trade is denominated in dollars, a weaker dollar would result in increased demand for traded goods,” the report says.

Concerns about global supply chain disruptions and shipping costs have also eased.

The Shanghai containerized freight rate index has returned to pre-pandemic levels and is expected to remain low throughout 2023. And the China purchasing managers index has increased by more than 5 percentage points since December 2022, indicating strong manufacturing and services activity.

“Overall, although the outlook for global trade remains uncertain, the positive factors are expected to compensate for the negative trends,” the report says.

Bahrain’s commercial sectors have witnessed a significant recovery with an increase in shopping activities marking the advent of the New Year.Hotels and tourist facilities in Bahrain stepped up preparations, as the country has this year witnessed the biggest celebrations in its history on this occasion, including distinguished performances and programmes that attracted citizens, residents and tourists.

The hotel industry, in particular, witnessed an increase in booking volume, in terms of rooms or New Year’s celebrations. Also, many citizens and residents travelled to spend holidays abroad, which reflected positively on sales activities of travel and tourism agents.The retail sector also registered a remarkable recovery, as the markets witnessed high demand for festive goods namely clothes, flowers, sweets and gifts, especially with promotions and discounts offered by many stores at the end of the season.

The global reach of private digital currencies makes national regulatory responses challenging but developing countries are not without choices.

While these private digital currencies have rewarded some, and facilitate remittances, they are an unstable financial asset that can also bring social risks and costs.

UNCTAD has released three policy briefs that delve into these risks and costs, including the threats cryptocurrencies bring to financial stability, domestic resource mobilization and the security of monetary systems.

All that glitters is not gold

The policy brief entitled “All that glitters is not gold: The high cost of leaving cryptocurrencies unregulated” examines the reasons for the rapid uptake of cryptocurrencies in developing countries, including facilitation of remittances and as a hedge against currency and inflation risks.

Recent digital currency shocks in the market suggest that there are private risks to holding crypto, but if the central bank steps in to protect financial stability, then the problem becomes a public one.

If cryptocurrencies become a widespread means of payment and even replace domestic currencies unofficially (a process called cryptoization), this could jeopardize the monetary sovereignty of countries.

In developing countries with unmet demand for reserve currencies, stablecoins pose particular risks. For some of these reasons, the International Monetary Fund has expressed the view that cryptocurrencies pose risks as legal tender.

Public payment systems in the digital era

The policy brief entitled “Public payment systems in the digital era: Responding to the financial stability and security-related risks of cryptocurrencies” focuses on the implications of cryptocurrencies for the stability and security of monetary systems, and to financial stability.

It is argued that a domestic digital payment system that serves as a public good could fulfil at least some of the reasons for crypto use and limit the expansion of cryptocurrencies in developing countries.

Depending on national capabilities and needs, monetary authorities could provide a central bank digital currency or, more readily, a fast retail payment system. Given the risk of accentuating the digital divide in developing countries, UNCTAD urges authorities to maintain the issuance and distribution of cash.

The cost of doing too little too late

The policy brief entitled “The cost of doing too little too late: How cryptocurrencies can undermine domestic resource mobilization in developing countries” discusses how cryptocurrencies have become a new channel undermining domestic resource mobilization in developing countries.

While cryptocurrencies can facilitate remittances, they may also enable tax evasion and avoidance through illicit flows, just as if to a tax haven where ownership is not easily identifiable.

In this way, cryptocurrencies may also curb the effectiveness of capital controls, a key instrument for developing countries to preserve their policy space and macroeconomic stability.

Required policy actions

UNCTAD urges authorities to take the following actions to curb the expansion of cryptocurrencies in developing countries:

• Ensure comprehensive financial regulation of cryptocurrencies through regulating crypto exchanges, digital wallets and decentralized finance, and banning regulated financial institutions from holding cryptocurrencies (including stablecoins) or offering related products to clients.
• Restrict advertisements related to cryptocurrencies, as for other high-risk financial assets.
• Provide a safe, reliable and affordable public payment system adapted to the digital era.
• Agree and implement global tax coordination regarding cryptocurrency tax treatments, regulation and information sharing.
• Redesign capital controls to take account of the decentralized, borderless and pseudonymous features of cryptocurrencies.