The impulse paper of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development deals with development through digitization, the goals, approaches and activities of the reform concept "BMZ 2030" and the expansion of innovation networks.

In most countries in Africa, the proportion of women in technical professions is extremely low. One of the main problems: Young women often lack role models. With the #WomenRulingTech campaign, atingi wants to help change this. The core idea: 150 female influencers from technical professions tell their stories, share experiences and tips on atingi's channels, and thus encourage young women to also take this career path.

Corporate due diligence is closely tied to a transparent supply chain. However, due to the high number of middlemen, to date it has been difficult to ensure the sustainability of the natural rubber supply chain in Indonesia. Within the framework of the develoPPP-programme funded by BMZ, the mobility supplier Continental and GIZ established a digital traceability system that shows the flow of goods along the entire supply chain. By involving local processing companies and smallholder direct marketing, structures have been established to ensure transparency in the natural rubber supply chain. One of the benefits for smallholders is improved productivity and higher income.

Around 30 million people in low and middle income countries earn their income through digital platforms. However, many of them are exposed to unregulated working hours, price pressure or mismanagement by platform operators. To promote fair labour principles and standards, BMZ supports the “Fairwork Foundation”, an initiative of the Oxford Internet Institute. The report continues to chart the evolution of the national gig economy, most recently impacted by the pandemic. It also shows the first impacts in supporting the workers facing unfair working conditions and lack of benefits and protections afforded to other employees.

The European Commission has established two new one-stop shops for research and innovation for cooperation between the EU and Africa and the EU and Mediterranean countries.

The UN, through its goals for peace and security through cooperation among nations, has addressed the dynamic and negative impacts of AI on societies, the environment, ecosystems, and human life, and has drafted this Recommendation as a norm-setting instrument.

The report gathers insights and recommendations from the Inclusive SDH Data Partnership initiative, which aims to promote data partnerships and strengthen cross-actor data ecosystems, particularly for data produced by civil society and human rights institutions.

In order to decrease the digital and financial divide for women and girls, a market system development approach needs to be leveraged. UNCDF’s “Inclusive Digital Economies & Gender Playbook” provides a practical how-to guide to ensure the transformation of women into builders of emerging digital economies.