All human beings deserve a chance to fulfil their potential. However, in today’s world, opportunity is not evenly distributed. Barriers include limited or lacking access to essential elements of a good life, such as healthcare, education, nutrition, energy, communication, mobility, financial services and gainful employment. Current economic realities combined with the adverse effects of climate change threaten to accelerate and codify this state of inequity.

Billions of people around the world do not use mobile Internet for stubbornly persistent reasons: lack of network infrastructure, lack of affordable Internet service and devices, gaps in skills and ability, and the perception that the Internet is not relevant. Based on insights from its Last-mile Internet Connectivity Solutions Guide, the International Telecommunication Union calls for more precise data to identify underserved populations and geographies. Sustainable connectivity solutions should then be selected based on their technical and financial appropriateness to the specific context and by balancing regulatory, revenue and usage models. Expanding connectivity requires creativity and collaborative approaches comprising policy and market mechanisms.

Universal access to the Internet is a global goal. But digital divides based on gender and income will persist unless development actors and governments also aim for meaningful connectivity, measured in terms of the reliability, quality, speed and cost of digital services and devices. These targets should inform planning, regulation and policies for broadband development and markets. A number of developing countries have found creative solutions to lower costs and improve the quality of broadband connectivity. Development co-operation actors should support them to effectively track and measure meaningful connectivity and address inequities in targeted, inclusive ways.

Connecting schools can benefit whole communities by aggregating demand, consolidating service delivery and controlling costs. But a huge gap exists between developed countries, where almost all schools are connected, and developing countries which have much lower school connection rates. This case study draws on the evidence generated through Giga, an initiative that works to map unconnected schools and connect them to the Internet. It highlights that sustainable connectivity for schools requires government commitment to enabling strategies, and innovative approaches to mobilise funding among governments and development co-operation actors.

National digital transformations are complex, multifaceted and often overwhelming to the people and institutions undertaking them. Experiences from pioneering countries such as Estonia, India, Korea and Singapore can inform local and global digital transitions. Approaching the challenge by considering its interlocking component parts can also help development actors to support effective and inclusive processes. Successful transformations depend on the “5 Ps”: political will to enable and sustain change; the right policies to help build trust in digital systems; pricing and procurement measures to help ensure countries have access to the best‑suited digital technology; the right products to build effective systems; and people with the right skills are essential not only in countries undergoing digital transitions, but in development organisations supporting them.

Digital sovereignty helps countries maintain control over their decision making and implementation of services. Proprietary technology can lead to technological lock-ins and silos that threaten digital sovereignty, but digital public goods, a type of open-source solution, allow countries to adopt, adapt and scale technology in ways that maintain their flexibility. As uptake of digital public goods – and thus digital sovereignty – spreads, it is reshaping the patterns of development co-operation.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund’s Inclusive Digital Economy Scorecard assesses a country’s aggregate progress on the main components of an inclusive digital economy – skills, innovation, infrastructure, and policy and regulation – and progress specifically to improve women’s inclusion. This chapter draws on the experience of twenty-three countries that have used this tool to design context-specific digitalisation strategies and policies for digital transformation. It highlights that the information generated from this tool can guide governments and development actors in identifying and addressing barriers to equal and inclusive digital economies.

Digital financial services offer a gateway to financial inclusion, but women face barriers to accessing and using them. Digitising payment of public sector wages and social protection benefits has prompted millions of previously unbanked women to open accounts in recent years, a trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 crisis with the digital payment of emergency relief and private sector wages. As governments and companies take steps to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic, prioritising women’s digital financial inclusion will ensure stronger, more resilient economies that recognise and advance the strengths of women. Development co-operation providers should share good practices and learnings on responsible digital payments to strengthen data protections and build inclusive digital ecosystems to reach the still substantial numbers of unbanked and underserved households in low- and middle-income countries.

To build trust in digital tools and systems – and the governments and companies which use them – data laws and regulations need to be well designed, tailored to local realities, and enforced effectively and consistently. Early evidence suggests that in many countries, the regulations and governance systems meant to protect against misuses of personal data fail to meet these standards, potentially undermining public confidence in the advantages of digital transformation. At the global level, low- and middle-income countries have largely been excluded from debates on data policies and have little leverage to influence how cross-border data flows are managed. Development actors should support efforts to strengthen implementation of existing data protection standards, and harmonise those standards while recognising developing countries’ different needs and resources, and better measure the impact of data protection laws on economic and digital development.

To harness and accelerate the value of data for development, new mechanisms and partnerships to access and reuse data that have already been collected will need to be established. Data collaboration is a cost‑effective and innovative way to multiply the development impact of data. By combining and triangulating data from various sources, data collaboratives can generate new insights and overcome data inequalities. Establishing and operationalising structures and frameworks for responsible use and reuse of data, including addressing concerns about data misuse, should be an urgent priority to truly unlock the promise of digital data for development.

Countries use data and digital technologies to make healthcare more financially sustainable and better prepared for future challenges while providing efficient, high quality and people-centred services. The COVID-19 pandemic catalysed the digital transformation of health systems, but the health sector lags in harnessing the potential of data and transforming services for the 21st Century. Expanding the digital transformation of the health sector in developing countries will require national strategies that are inclusive of all stakeholders as well as more co-ordination and support from development co-operation partners.

The business models of the most ubiquitous social media platforms – where Internet users spend a large part of their time – rely on gathering and leveraging personal data to predict and shape behaviour. Societies are now facing up to the negative effects of so-called ‘persuasive technologies’ and their influence on people’s beliefs and actions, including misinformation and political polarisation. In low-income countries, the potential misuse of persuasive technologies is of special concern given the low levels of digital literacy and skills, and mistrust of institutions. Development institutions can deliver multiparty efforts that support local entrepreneurship and innovation, including the use of collective intelligence tools, to reshape prevailing social media dynamics.