Publish Date : 18-Apr-2018
EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel says Europe is dedicated to helping Africa build a single digital market, so that e-commerce can pave the way to better jobs and greater equality on the continent.
Mindful of its own experience in building a single digital market, the European Union is dedicated to helping Africa do likewise and help unleash the transformative power of e-commerce on the continent, the EUs digital economy and society commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, has said on the opening day of UNCTADs E-Commerce Week in Geneva.
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have boosted economic development worldwide, with estimates showing that, for example, a 10% increase in internet access gives a 1.2% push to per capita gross domestic product (GDP).
Getting more people affordable and reliable connections in Africa, where broadband penetration is as low as 16% in some parts of the continent, is therefore key to growing the economy and fighting poverty.
Better connectivity will also be an important step to increasing the ICT sectors contribution to Africas GDP, which currently stands at just 5%. The African Union aims to triple this figure by 2040.
EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel
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E-Commerce Week (16-20 April 2018)
As we all know, the digital revolution has changed the way we manufacture goods, provide services, buy products, obtain information and interact with each other, Ms. Gabriel told a packed room in the Palais des Nations, the UNs European Headquarters.
Creating a single digital market was the EUs response to the challenges posed by the digital transformation in our society and in our economies, she said.
However, as you know, the digital revolution doesnt stop at the borders of the EU. Our expertise and our experience can be put to the benefit of development cooperation between the EU and Africa, Ms. Gabriel said, adding that the digital economy was identified as a priority during the November 2017 European Union-African Union Summit in Abidjan, Cte dIvoire.
UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi hailed the leadership that the EU has shown in pathbreaking work improving internet governance and consumer protection and taking on major online platforms, to hold them to the fire on their responsibilities.
This is not only exemplary but also, in a way, an inspiring understanding of how to balance between the critical importance of this digital space but also the responsibility of regulators for the protection of consumers, for sustainability of new initiatives, Dr. Kituyi told the Geneva meeting.
A marginal role in European aid
The European Union provides more than half of global development aid. Traditionally, however, the EUs efforts have focused on energy, agriculture, education, health, transport and governance.
Digitalization only plays a marginal role in [official development assistance] programmes, Ms. Gabriel said, citing one figure to illustrate the point. Of the 30 billion euros of official development assistance given by the European institutions, digitalization covered only 250 million euros, she said.
Yet the development potential of digital technologies is clear. Getting government services online improves their quality and reach and putting mobile phones in the hands of young entrepreneurs gives them a tool to create tailor-made solutions for local problems, she said.
And this conviction that digitalization is a driver of development led the European Commission in May 2017 to publish its first strategy on digitalization for development the Digital 4 Development (D4D) policy. The policy is dedicated to mainstreaming digitalization across development policy and promoting the principles of the European digital single market in developing countries.
The D4D policy focuses on four main priorities: assuring affordable broadband connectivity, improving digital literacy and skills, promoting digital entrepreneurship and using digitalization as an enabler for sustainable development by deploying e-government, e-commerce, e-health, e-education and e-agriculture.
Towards a Pan-African digital market
But the EUs vision doesnt stop there, Ms. Gabriel said.
We want to support our African partners with the goal of creating a Pan-African digital market, allowing citizens and businesses to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital revolution.
And such work is already underway, according to Amani Abou-Zeid, the African Union Commissioner for infrastructure, energy, ICT and tourism.
Ms. Abou-Zeid said: Since February 2018, we have been implementing in collaboration with the European Commission the launch of the policy and regulation initiative for digital Africa, PRIDA, to foster universal, accessible and affordable broadband across the continent.
Im quite confident that his three-year projectwill improve the quality of the internet and support continental integrating projects including the Single African Air Transport Market, launched in January 2018, but also the Continental Free Trade Area, CFTA, launched a few weeks ago in Kigali, she said.
A priority for the African Union, she said, is to ensure that new technologies bring about inclusive growth, helping to reduce inequalities and lower unemployment on the continent.
All technology can also result sometimes in joblessness, and we want to make sure this does not happen when we transform our economies, Ms. Abou-Zeid said.
Youth unemployment is of considerable concern for Africa, where about 65% of the total population is below the age of 35. The 2017 EU-AU Summit therefore also identified job creation for young people as a key objective for the continents digital economy.
Separating the winners from the others
In discussing how to create opportunities, its important to get the views of those on the ground, Dr. Kituyi said, referring to private companies trying to grow e-commerce in Africa.
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