Telling the trade stories of least developed countries

In Africa, the unique experience of each of the 16 million rural women who make a living from shea inspires us more and more every day. Shea is an important crop, both economically and socially. It employs 4 million women for export and generates USD 237 million a year in income at the community level in West Africa. At the household level, shea accounts for up to 12% of household income and up to 32% of cash available, which is earned during the lean season.

Niger is a landlocked country of some 26 million people, located in the heart of the Sahel. It is surrounded by Algeria and Libya to the north, Chad to the east, Nigeria and Benin to the south, and Burkina Faso and Mali to the west. This geographical position makes it vulnerable to instability in any of these countries, but also constitutes a strategic location to promote beneficial links between countries to the north and south. The EIF partnership with the Government of Niger began in 2005 with a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) undertaken by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The DTIS was adopted in 2010 by the Council of Ministers, following an extensive consultative process involving multiple stakeholders in government, development partners, the public and private sectors and civil society. The DTIS highlighted development priorities for Niger, particularly the need to integrate trade into the country’s development strategies and the regional and global trading system. The subsequent 2015 DTIS Update notes: "Niger's geographical position, landlocked and on the periphery of a region with multiple geopolitical and economic constraints, makes trade facilitation the key to the country's commercial integration - and beyond that, to its growth and development."

Centrally located on the African continent, Chad shares a border with six countries. Chad is Africa’s fifth-largest country and its largest landlocked country. Due to its geography, Chad is reliant on neighbouring countries – such as Cameroon and Sudan – for access to seaport infrastructure. Chad’s history of conflict and its dependency on oil have resulted in a number of social, political, and economic challenges that disproportionately impact its poorest citizens. While the country’s main exports are oil and gold, agriculture is a crucial driver of the economy, with the majority of Chadians relying on subsistence farming and livestock rearing. Gum arabic, sesame, cattle, and cotton are Chad’s primary agricultural exports.

Digitalization has the potential to transform the way businesses achieve a triple bottom line – economic, social and environmental – to address the rising concerns of shareholders. One way to achieve this objective is to enhance transparency and meaningful integration of these dimensions into the entire supply chain, for which digitalization can be a powerful tool.

Digital technology touches every aspect of human lives and all the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While digital transformation can help the 45 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to sidestep traditional development pathways, the real challenge is the growing digital divide between the LDCs and the rest of the world. As richer parts of the world become increasingly adept at leveraging digital technology for value creation, the LDCs risk falling further behind.