Washington, DC — The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), in partnership with New Markets Lab (NML), today released a user-friendly guide to help governments, civil society, and businesses work together to make reforms that promote a more robust and inclusive digital economy. The “Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers” is being unveiled in two locations.
“The digital economy can drive democratic and economic development by opening new market channels for local business, promoting inclusive trade, and boosting tax revenue for governments,” Andrew Wilson, Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise, said. “This new guide encourages constructive dialogue on fostering a digital economy that enables and encourages local businesses to access global markets.”
The guide will be officially launched on two separate dates in two locations:
- Thursday, October 4 at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) annual conference in Tarrytown, New York;
- Monday, October 8 at a high-level roundtable on building partnerships for Kenya’s digital transformation at a Ouagadougou Declaration event in Nairobi, Kenya.
The guide explores four pressing digital economy themes: data protection, electronic transactions (e-payments and e-signatures), consumer protection, and cybersecurity. Together, these topics constitute much of the enabling environment for the digital economy and affect nearly every aspect of conducting business online in a responsible and secure manner. Inclusive economic growth and development in the digital age relies not only on infrastructure and investment, but on national policies and regulations that facilitate competitiveness and access to global markets for the local business community.
Beyond guidance for business, part two of the guide contains in-depth information for regulators and policymakers regarding existing international and regional frameworks, possible regulatory approaches, implementation and enforcement considerations, and institutional frameworks that exist for each priority topic. While not being prescriptive, this guide provides a common language for multi-stakeholder learning and dialogue.
The digital economy includes cross-border services, digital trade, and e-commerce. Too often, policies governing the digital economy are driven by governments and multinational companies, with minimal input from stakeholders like small and mid-sized firms. The “Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide” opens the door to that conversation.
As one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, CIPE strengthens democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform. CIPE is an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Published Date: October 04, 2018