UNCTAD eCommerce Week Democratizing Digital Intelligence

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) organized a virtual discussion titled, “Democratizing Digital Intelligence: Maximizing the Value of Data for Business in Emerging Markets” during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) eCommerce Week 2022. The session was held on April 26 at 10:00 ET and featured Carolina Rossini, LLM, MBA, JD and Co-Founder and Chief Impact Partnerships Officer at the Datasphere Initiative; Dario Giuliani, Founder and Director at Briter Bridges, Nedyalko Dervenkov Chief Executive Officer of the Bulgarian Startup Association (BESCO); and Seval Kalkan, Project Director of the “I Can Manage My Business” program at the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TURKONFED).

In recent decades, the introduction of new digital technologies, platforms, and business models has led to a data-driven digital economy where business intelligence products guide decisions, identify trends, and drive economic growth. These insights are often developed by global digital platforms and governments who are often the only entities with the staff, skills, resources, and access to refine raw data into valuable data products. Despite serving as raw data producers, businesses in emerging markets are still in the early stages of maximizing the value that can come from data.

The emergence and adoption of technologies such as 5G, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence enable cities and towns to become smarter, more connected, and more responsive to citizen demands. Yet, without appropriate support to develop the capacity, expertise, and insights to leverage data within digital economy ecosystems, local business communities will be afforded fewer economic opportunities in today’s modern economy and be at risk of misuse and abuse of their data. Businesses of all sizes must understand how to best build and grow value from data, while mitigating associated risks. This session represented perspectives from business associations, entrepreneurs, as well as civil society from emerging markets to discuss how business communities could acquire value from data and the multistakeholder processes needed to establish a safe, innovative, and inclusive digital economy ecosystem.