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.

The Solomon Islands Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment is the tenth such assessment conducted by UNCTAD and the third for a Pacific Islands Nation. The Solomon Islands economy is undergoing a transformational shift driven by growth in productive sectors a robust public sector reform program a stable financial system closely integrated with nearby developed economies and concerted efforts aimed at enhancing national education and health systems. The country has made remarkable progress in the past decade in improving the fundamental drivers of the economy along three axes: improving financial inclusion enabling a gradual diversification in productive sectors (such as tourism fisheries and agriculture) away from dependence on logging and mining and leveraging ICT as a driver for connecting government to citizens.

Liberia is at an important juncture in its development trajectory. Since the last decade the country has embraced a private sector led growth model which is now gathering pace. The policy conversations have shifted from post-conflict reconstruction to greater involvement in global value chains domestic market development and recently the role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in government and business. E-commerce is very much a nascent area and as this assessment notes each institution has its own interpretation of what e-commerce means and entails for the country. For some it is a payment system while for others it is a website. Cognizance of the overall ecosystem is only now starting to develop among the public and private sectors as well as support actors such as academia banks and telecommunication firms. The Government can help increase the momentum by integrating e-commerce in the national development agenda and facilitating steady policy and technical support.