UNCTAD works with Governments of developing countries and key stakeholders to improve their digital economy capabilities through eTrade Readiness Assessments. These assessments analyse the digital and e-commerce ecosystems of beneficiary countries and provide policy recommendations based on the challenges and opportunities for e-commerce development identified across the seven policy areas. To operationalize those recommendations, UNCTAD established an eTrade Implementation Support Mechanism in 2020 to increase in-country coordination support and build national capacities needed to ensure efficient and effective implementation of e-commerce policies and initiatives. The eTrade Readiness Assessment of Zimbabwe is the fortieth such assessment conducted by UNCTAD and the twenty-first in Africa. It helps identify the challenges and measures to be taken to support the development of e-commerce and digital trade in line with Zimbabwe’s vision for digital transformation and its development aspirations. The eT Ready development process has laid the foundation for strengthening policy dialogue and engagement with a broad range of national stakeholders.

The eTrade Readiness Assessment of Trinidad and Tobago aims to identify the main challenges and opportunities to e-commerce development and to propose policy recommendations for a robust and safe e-commerce ecosystem, favourable to all consumers and supportive of local businesses which are empowered to serve domestic and international markets. The assessment is expected to further strengthen the efforts that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in pursuit of the digital transformation of the economy and society, including ongoing efforts to develop the National E-Commerce Strategy 2024-2029.

The eTrade Readiness Assessment of Ghana expands UNCTADs ongoing e-commerce technical assistance in West Africa, in alignment with the ECOWAS E-Commerce Strategy adopted in July 2023. Building on eight national assessments and two regional assessments, for the West African Economic Monetary Union and the Economic Community of West African States, this assessment details the challenges and policy gaps prevalent within Ghana's burgeoning e-commerce sector as well as Ghana's potential to harness national initiatives and government-backed projects to foster the growth of the digital economy. The policy recommendations outlined in Ghana's eT Ready report are strategically tailored to foster a more inclusive and sustainable development trajectory. They are designed to support Ghana's Industrial Transformation Programme and Digitalization Agenda, aligning with ongoing efforts by ECOWAS members to advance e-commerce within the region through the ECOWAS E-commerce Strategy.

The present assessment is part of the development of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) e-commerce strategy, for which UNCTAD was referred by the ECOWAS Commission in 2020. It documents the strengths, weaknesses and challenges that ECOWAS member States face in creating an enabling environment for the emergence of e-commerce and the digital economy, and is the first step in the preparation of the regional strategy. This diagnosis is predominantly based on updates of assessments already published, as well as seven rapid reviews conducted with countries that have not yet benefited from assessments.

The Kenya eTrade Readiness Assessment is the fifth assessment conducted by UNCTAD in a non-LDC country and follows an enhanced methodology. As per this methodology, surveys were disseminated as part of the data collection effort. In Kenya, they targeted respondents in three distinct groups, i.e., public sector, private sector and consumers. Through collaboration with the British Standards Institutions (BSI), an eTrade for All partner, the surveys were enriched to investigate the role of standards in e-commerce development. The assessment adds to the 29 assessments conducted by UNCTAD since 2017. Kenya’s eTrade Readiness Assessment was conducted during a period when the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing, and it is reflected in some of the findings of the report. The enduring economic and social impacts of the pandemic make it even more important for policy makers and other stakeholders to join forces to take actions aimed at addressing the e-commerce situations. With the eTrade for all partners, UNCTAD is committed to supporting Kenya in its resolve to harness the potential of e-commerce for development.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the importance of digital solutions in facilitating access to essential goods and services. Several governments of developing countries have thus decided to speed up the implementation of reforms in electronic commerce in order to support their economies in better coping with the consequences of the crisis. This crisis has also highlighted the glaring disparities in access in terms of means, practices and opportunities related to electronic commerce, both at the global level between countries with different levels of economic development, and at the national and regional level between different population groups within the same economy.

Iraq’s economy is at a turning point. For decades it has relied on crude oil production and export to drive the economy. In many ways, this was a success story, with oil revenue contributing to healthy GDP growth and funding a wide range of government services. With the relatively improved security environment and a shift towards post-conflict reconstruction, Iraq is now well-positioned to diversify its economy and take advantage of new digital technologies. The economy is gradually improving, with 4.4 percent GDP growth in the first half of 2019. This growth was driven by a rise in crude oil production, but also a rebound in non-oil economic activity. The Iraqi economy also received a boost of confidence in 2019 with the signing of several trade agreements with its neighbors, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. Looking towards the future, there is a stark need to diversify the Iraqi economy. Oil accounts for more than 90 percent of government revenue and in 2018, crude oil constituted 98 percent of exports. Increasing non-oil economic activity would diversify the Iraqi economy, increase employment opportunities and create new value chains. Increasing regional and international trade will be key. Iraq also has a very young population, with nearly 60 percent of the population under 24 years old. The oil sector employs just one percent of the population, however, and the public sector can no longer afford to absorb the thousands of graduates the country produces. In this context, the role which e-commerce can play is promising. There is deep appreciation of the importance of e-commerce among the people of Iraq and a few promising startups. However, very few practical steps have been taken to create an enabling environment for e-commerce to thrive, and no national plans have been established to move Iraq towards a digital future.

The eTrade Readiness Assessment of Afghanistan focuses on examining seven key policy areas that are most relevant for e-commerce. Within each area, critical readiness gaps are identified and relevant recommendations are proposed to overcome barriers and bottlenecks to the growth of digital trade. Despite a challenging environment, the digital economy has demonstrated important signs of growth. The ICT sector is maturing rapidly, and e-commerce activity has ramped up. This assessment comes at an opportune time for the country to take stock of the e-commerce ecosystem and implement the recommendations to help support the ecosystem.

This publication focuses on seven key policy areas that are most relevant for e-commerce. Within each area, critical readiness gaps are identified and relevant recommendations are proposed to overcome barriers and bottlenecks to the growth of digital trade. There are signs that Malawi has started to consider some of the benefits that e-commerce can bring to its population and some important initiatives have been undertaken in this direction. However, the overall ecosystem needs to be structured and organized to avoid the proliferation of informal and unskilled operators, with obvious losses for government and consumers.

The eTrade Readiness Assessment of Tuvalu focuses on examining seven key policy areas that are most relevant for e-commerce. Within each area, critical readiness gaps are identified and relevant recommendations are proposed to overcome barriers and bottlenecks to the growth of digital trade. The Tuvalu Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment is the nineteenth such assessment conducted by UNCTAD since the launch of the Programme in 2017. There are signs that Tuvalu has started to consider some of the potential benefits that e-commerce can bring to its population and in particular in reducing some of the negative effects of its geographic location and small size. For this to happen, existing policies such as TKIII and TPF must be implemented, while higher visibility of the digital economy in the national development agenda constitutes a necessary pre-condition to tackle all the aforementioned challenges. This Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment helps identify opportunities and barriers for Tuvalu to engage in and benefit from e-commerce and the digital economy. It also helps operationalize relevant strategies included in the Tuvalu's Trade Policy Statement and the Tuvalu Private Sector Development Plan. Both documents highlight agriculture, fisheries, tourism and labor mobility as key areas of export growth, all of which could be supported by e-commerce. They also note other important cross-cutting areas that are relevant to e-commerce, including competition policy and consumer protection, public procurement, intellectual property rights, and gender issues.