Overview
TrainForTrade blended learning strategy to boost the digital economy in Small Island Developing States of Africa, the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific
This project is financed by United Nations Development Account Tranche 14. Code: 2225F
It will be implemented in collaboration with The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)/ the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) , the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the United Nations Resident Coordinator System, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Courses of this project are delivered in collaboration with the Pacific Digital Economy Programme, a joint initiative of UNCDF, UNDP and UNCTAD, with financial support from the Government of Australia.
Objectives
This project will strengthen the capacities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific to adopt trade policies that foster digital economy development and enhance crisis responsiveness. It will develop the skills and knowledge with innovative approaches based on a recognized blended learning method and state-of-the-art technological solutions.
The project is structured in three different components:
- Legal aspects of e-commerce
- Digital economy statistics
- Digital identity for trade and development
Target countries and partners
The project covers 38 Small Island Development States in 2022, 39 SIDS in 2023.
Pacific
- Cook Islands (2023)
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Nauru
- Niue (2023)
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Caribbean
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS)
- Bahrain (removed in 2023)
- Cabo Verde
- Comoros
- Guinea-Bissau
- Maldives
- Mauritius
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Seychelles
- Singapore
Legal Aspects of e-Commerce
Delivery
The course was delivered for SIDS in October/December 2023.
Objective
Enhance the capacities of lawmakers, government officials and other stakeholders in all aspects to be considered for the drafting of electronic commerce laws.
Specific objectives:
After the course participants will be able:
- To explain a wide range of regulatory issues that concern e-Commerce;
- To describe the new developments and scope of e-Commerce issues;
- To exchange experiences and knowledge on harmonization aspects of e-Commerce.
TARGET POPULATION
- Policy and law makers, regulators (enforcement agencies) in charge of defining general policy guidelines and elaborating national legal frameworks for e-commerce
- Judiciary (lawyers, judges, police) involved in electronic commerce issues
- Service providers, businesses offering on-line products and services
Each course module includes interactive assessments and links to communication tools for online interaction. Every module consists of video presentations, a participant manual, a forum, tests and case studies. Participants should spend between 4 to 5 hours per week to study the material and participate in the forums.
· Module 1. Regulating e-Commerce
· Module 2. Trade and e-Commerce
· Module 3. e-Transaction
· Module 4. Consumer protection
· Module 5. Payments and taxing e-Commerce
· Module 6. Protecting personal information
· Module 7. Securing e-Commerce
· Module 8. Cybercrime
· Module 9. Content regulation
The course will be conducted in TRAINFORTRADE’s distance learning platform. In the platform, participants will have access to manuals, multimedia presentations, module exams, opinion surveys and forums created for each module for discussions with the instructor and other participants.
A 90-minute follow-up webinar will be organised at the end of the course. The topic will be defined during the assessment of the online sessions.
Recommandation
| Policy areas | Main challenges |
| E-commerce readiness assessment and strategy formulation | Limited awareness of e-commerce relevance among policy and law makers, consumers, and businesses. Lack of statistical data on electronic commerce and the digital economy. Persistent barriers for women and youth to engage in e-commerce, preventing the leveling of playing fields through increased inclusion. |
| ICT infrastructure and services | Limited Internet access in rural/ remote areas and costly access to fixed and mobile-broadband Internet. |
| Trade logistics and trade facilitation | Inadequate facilities for physical delivery of online purchases. |
| Payment solutions | Overreliance on cash-based transactions, plus low access to and limited experience with online payments and the use of credit cards. |
| Legal and regulatory frameworks | Weak legal and regulatory frameworks, including protection of consumers online. |
| E-commerce skills development | Inappropriate education for the digital economy and lack of business development skills and adequate e-commerce skills for MSMEs. |
Digital Identity for Trade and Development
This component of the project will increase knowledge on solutions to common challenges implementing e-commerce at policy level and for small to medium sized enterprises. Awareness of the risks and challenges with digital authentication in the next frontier with e-commerce and security.
Modules:
- Fundamental Concepts of Digital Identity
- Data Protection
- ID Usage
- Governance
- ID Technology Solutions & Risks
- Digital Trade Agreements
Target population
- Ministry in charge of e-commerce
- Telecommunication/ICT
- Trade
- Revenue/Tax/Finance authorities
Recommandation
- To address high costs: Regional cooperation in technology for implementation of digital ID (e.g. CARICOM States to work collaboratively to strengthen technology infrastructure and reduce costs of rolling out e-ID system), select technology carefully
- To address privacy and cybersecurity concerns: Implement separation of function of identification and authorisation, avoid centralisation of data collection/storage, avoid centralisation of logs
- To ensure accountability and implementation: Setting up of dedicated Ministry or body to oversee implementation
- To obtain buy-in: Awareness campaigns for citizens, stakeholder engagement (e.g. with private sector organisations), adopt low-hanging fruits as use cases
- To ensure coordination within Government: Have regulatory forums for data protection regulators and other authorities that have a role in e-ID system to come together to ensure effective compliance and implementation, address risks and govern data sharing amongst authorities.
- To enhance security and reduce risks, governments should prioritize the issuance of digital identification documents for all individuals. Lack of IDs forces vulnerable people to travel through unsafe areas, exposing them to theft and exploitation. Ensuring access to proper identification is critical for safe, legal travel and protecting human rights.
Statistics on the digital economy, e-commerce, and digital trade
Delivery
The course is planed to be delivered for SIDS in June/July 2025.
Objectives:
- Identify the stakes and challenges associated to the development of statistics on digital trade
- Link digital trade and SDGs
- Get acquainted with the key concepts and definitions in the area of statistics, trade and e-commerce
- Get a clear vision of what indicators should be produced and what should be the priorities
- Get insights into how to develop digital trade statistics at national level and be able to develop a customized roadmap
- Get a clear vision of the possible data sources on digital trade, their strengths and shortcomings
- Get insights on how to get the most from administrative data sources and from surveys
- Get a clear vision of what statistics should be produced and how they should be organised
Modules:
– Module 1: Digital trade, digital economy and statistical concepts
– Module 2: Setting the objectives, identifying the pre-requisites and defining a roadmap
– Module 3: Data collection
– Module 4: Data compilation
– Module 5: Dissemination and analysis
– Module 6: Trade-in-Services Statistics Information System
Blended learning approach
TrainForTrade has a long-standing experience in blended learning, combining Asynchronous Instructor-Led Online Learning activities and face-to-face workshops following the TrainForTrade methodology.
Blended learning gives trainees as well as trainers more flexibility in the training process. Access to knowledge and information can take place across time and distance using technologies.
This project entails online “Design a Curriculum” sessions, interactive online courses, interactive online workshops, webinars as well as a high-level hybrid conference.
Outputs
The project will fulfil its objective with two expected outcomes:
- Enhanced understanding by key actors from beneficiary countries on legal and practical aspects of digital economy
- Strengthened capacities of policymakers of beneficiary countries in designing digital economy policies to promote new digital services and develop digital authentication methods
Videos
Legal Aspects of e-commerce – November / December 2023
A Caribbean Perspective (Matthew Cowen,
Martinique)
Related links and documents
Dec Acc 14 TFT SIDS presentation 15 July 2022
Dec Acc 14 TFT Digital Identity for Trade and Development – Course report 8 May 2023
Dec Acc 14 TFT Legal Aspects of E-Commerce for SIDS (LAEC) 6 December 2023
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