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Friday, November 29, 2019

What's New
Young digital entrepreneurs leading Africa into a new era
By 2035, one third of the global workforce will be in Africa. Growth in the digital economy has seen young e-commerce entrepreneurs on the continent build businesses that aim to empower people and solve their problems.

A programme born of a partnership between UNCTAD and the Alibaba Business School has mentored 122 entrepreneurs in the digital and technology space. These entrepreneurs have created 3,400 direct jobs on the continent and generated US$100 million in annual revenues. More
UNCTAD empowers women in informal cross-border trade
Women engaging in informal cross-border trade often lack access to information on trade rules and customs procedures and suffer from weak entrepreneurial capacity.

An UNCTAD project is empowering such women in six border districts of Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, where it has equipped 150 traders with information on trade procedures, helping them reduce business costs and expand opportunities. More
Escaping commodity trap critical for landlocked developing countries
Landlocked developing countries face special trade and development challenges arising from their lack of territorial access to the sea and geographical remoteness from international markets. Commodity dependence is one such challenge.

UNCTAD's assessments show that these countries need to diversify their economies and put in place new development policies and strategies to meet the goals of a plan of action adopted for these countries for the decade 2014-2024. More
Germany gives €1.6m for UNCTAD’s work on the digital economy
Germany's Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development will contribute €1.6m (US$1.76m) over three years to UNCTAD's work programme on e-commerce and the digital economy. The funding will support UNCTAD’s programme to help ensure the evolving digital economy delivers for all, not just a few people. More
Keeping markets fair in digital era requires stronger cooperation
As economies become more digital, keeping them competitive and fair requires stronger government cooperation. Dominant firms, previously kept in check by national competition and antitrust laws, now escape that jurisdiction due to digital platforms' ability to operate without borders.

The first Istanbul Competition Forum, held on 25 November, gathered more than two dozen competition authorities to address the challenges posed by the growing concentration of market power and wealth creation in the digital economy. More