ICTD InfoBank: A Knowledge Sharing Portal on ICTD for the Asia-Pacific region

The WTO Secretariat has published a new information note looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected e-commerce, including the implications for cross-border trade. It notes the increased use of e-commerce as consumers adapt to lockdowns and social distancing measures and draws attention to several challenges, such as the need to bridge the digital divide within and across countries.

A better understanding of how and why young entrepreneurs in South Asia and South-East Asia use digital financial services and digital business solutions can fuel inclusive growth and youth entrepreneurship in those regions. This report offers an up-to-date regional picture of trends related to youth entrepreneurship and financial inclusion based on results from Findex and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey data, as well as qualitative insights from an online survey of 64 young entrepreneurs.

The world in 2020 is in a state of flux. While much progress has been made globally over the past ten years in expanding access to, and adoption of, broadband infrastructure and services, significant challenges remain in tackling digital inequalities, addressing the current widespread impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accelerating efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

In 2019, Internet use surpassed the 50 per cent mark, 75 per cent of the total world population had an active mobile broadband subscription, and fixed broadband subscriptions had grown to just over 15 per cent. Over 57 per cent of households today have Internet access at home. Yet, the digital divide persists, and the gender divide remains a reality.

Digitization has gained more prominence amid COVID-19 and has highlighted the value of big data for public sector management. The brief explains the potential benefits of big data for public services such as health, social protection, and education and how this can contribute to the post-pandemic recovery. It also assesses the key enablers and policy actions needed to realize big data benefits in the region.

This report analyses progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and the Pacific and its five sub-regions as well as the availability of data. It assesses gaps which must be closed to achieve the goals by 2030. This assessment is designed to ensure the region’s actions remain on target and shortcomings are addressed as they arise. It is a resource for all stakeholders involved in prioritization, planning, implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformations. Digital solutions are increasingly needed to continue some of the economic and social activities remotely. However, unless adequately addressed, existing digital divides are likely to result in even greater inequalities.

This policy brief explores how ASEAN countries have leveraged digital technologies to fight COVID-19 and investigates the roles of governments, local technology ecosystems, and citizens in deploying such solutions. The findings suggest that the development and use of digital solutions have accelerated collaboration between different spheres of governments, technology companies, research entities, and society at large.

ITU’s Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2020 offers a snapshot of the most important ICT indicators, including estimates for the current year. Latest figures show a wide urban-rural connectivity gap. Large swathes of the rural landscape are still not covered by a mobile broadband network, and fewer households in these areas have Internet access. The data also reveal that mobile cellular subscriptions are declining for the first time in history and that global growth in mobile broadband subscriptions is levelling out.

The outbreak in 2020 disrupted both supply and demand sides of an interconnected world economy. Asia and the Pacific was not immune as lockdowns and travel and trade restrictions affected nearly all aspects of cross-border economic activity. The Asian Economic Integration Report 2021 looks at how regional economies individually or collectively respond to the crisis by, for example, leveraging rapid technological progress and digitalization as well as increasing services trade to reconnect and recover.