ADB supports Nepal’s digital transformation toward high‑impact services

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $40 million concessional loan to help Nepal accelerate its digital transformation agenda and expand access to high‑impact digital services for citizens and businesses.
The Nepal Digital Transformation Project - the first in South Asia to be co-financed under the ADB–World Bank Full Mutual Reliance Framework (FMRF) - will strengthen the country’s data hosting and cybersecurity infrastructure to enhance government-wide digital security and resilience, along with core digital public infrastructure for modern, user‑centric services, according to a press note issued by the ADB. "It will support key initiatives such as developing an integrated citizen service portal, improving the national social registry, establishing a secure government-wide data exchange platform for safe and efficient information sharing, and digitalizing about 11 high‑impact government services, according to a press release issued by the multilateral lender."
“Digital transformation is no longer optional - it is critical for improving public service delivery and supporting Nepal’s economic development,” said ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois. “The reforms supported by ADB and the World Bank will make key services easier to access, reduce waiting times and administrative barriers, and enhance transparency in government processes - helping build greater trust between citizens and public institutions.
The project will be implemented by Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. It aligns with Nepal’s Digital Nepal Framework 2.0, Sixteenth National Plan, e‑Governance Blueprint, and ADB’s country partnership strategy for Nepal, 2025–2029, which identifies digital transformation as a core crosscutting priority, the press note reads.
The FMRF is an innovative co-financing arrangement between ADB and the World Bank designed to streamline project preparation, reduce duplication, and deliver faster and more effective development support. The World Bank is the lead lender for the Nepal Digital Transformation Project, approving its $50 million concessional loan in February this year.
ADB is a leading multilateral development bank supporting inclusive, resilient, and sustainable growth across Asia and the Pacific. Working with its members and partners to solve complex challenges together, ADB harnesses innovative financial tools and strategic partnerships to transform lives, build quality infrastructure, and safeguard our planet. Founded in 1966, ADB is owned by 69 members - 50 from the region.

Mobile-Phone Technology powers saving Surge in developing economies

More adults than ever in low- and middle-income countries now have bank or other financial accounts, leading to a rise in formal saving, according to the World Bank Group’s Global Findex 2025 report. This momentum in financial inclusion is creating new economic opportunities.  Mobile-phone technology played a key role in the surge, with 10 per cent of adults in developing economies using a mobile-money account to save, a 5-percentage point increase from 2021.

In 2024, some 40 per cent of adults in developing economies saved in a financial account in 2024, a 16-percentage-point increase since 2021 and the fastest rise in more than a decade. Higher personal saving, through banks or other formal institutions, fuels national financial systems, making more funds available for investment, innovation, and economic growth. In Sub-Saharan Africa, formal savings increased by 12-percentage points to 35 per cent of adults.

“Financial inclusion has the potential to improve lives and transform entire economies,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “Digital finance can convert this potential into reality, but several ingredients need to be in place. At the World Bank Group, we’re working on all of them. We’re helping countries get their people access to new or improved digital IDs. We’re constructing social protection programs with digital cash-transfer systems that deliver resources directly to those in need. We’re modernizing payment systems and helping to remove regulatory roadblocks—so that people and businesses have the financing they need to innovate and create jobs.”

Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, one of the supporters of the Global Findex, on the occasion, said, “More people than ever have the financial tools to invest in their futures and build economic resilience, including women and others previously left behind. This is real progress. The case for investing in inclusive financial systems, digital public infrastructure, and connectivity is clear—it’s a proven path to unlocking opportunity for everyone.”

The Global Findex is the definitive source of data on global access to financial services, from payments to saving and borrowing. It highlights a major milestone in financial inclusion: nearly 80 per cent of adults worldwide now have a financial account, up from 50 per cent in 2011. But 1.3 billion adults still lack access to financial services. Mobile phones could help close this gap: about 900 million adults without financial accounts have a mobile phone, including 530 million with smartphones.

Investment in systems that enable instant money transfers, such as UPI in India or PIX in Brazil, could help expand financial usage. So could stronger consumer-protection frameworks and efforts to make phones and accounts more secure.

The Findex data also show that digital financial services are helping narrow the gender gap in account ownership: globally, 77 per cent of women have accounts compared with 81 per cent of men. In low- and middle-income countries, women’s account ownership nearly doubled, from 37 per cent in 2011 to 73 per cent in 2024.

For the first time, the report includes data on personal mobile-phone ownership and internet use.  Globally, 86 per cent of adults owned a mobile phone, including 68 per cent of adults with a smartphone, according to the Global Findex Digital Connectivity Tracker 2025 shows. The rising use of mobile phones for digital transactions, however, comes with new risks. Of the 4 billion adults in low- and middle-income economies who own a mobile phone, only around half use a password to protect their phone.

Across all developing countries, more adults are also using mobile phones or cards to pay merchants. In 2024, some 42 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income countries made an in-store or online digital merchant payment, up from 35 per cent in 2021. Three-quarters of adults, who receive government payments, and half of wage earners, receive their money into an account, a practice that helps reduce theft and ensure that money goes to the right person.

Regional Highlights

East Asia and Pacific: The region leads the world in digital connectivity and use of financial services: 86 per cent of adults have a smartphone and 83 per cent of adults have a financial account.

Europe and Central Asia: The region has the highest internet usage and social media engagement rates among developing economies. Mobile-phone ownership rates top 94  per cent.

Latin America and the Caribbean: About 70 per cent of adults have an account, and over half use their account digitally using a card or phone.

Middle East and North Africa: Account ownership rose to 53 per cent from 45 per cent in 2021. In 2024, some 17 per cent of adults save formally, up from 11 per cent in 2021.

South Asia: Nearly 80 per cent of adults own an account, although the high rate is driven by India, where 90 per cent of both men and women have an account and 65 per cent own a mobile phone.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Account ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa grew to 58 per cent of adults, up from 49 per cent in 2021. Use of mobile money accounts is at the highest levels in the world.

Attacks through digital medium pose new threat to press freedom

The umbrella organisation of Nepali journalists claimed that 2022 was very challenging in terms of freedom of the press and expression in Nepal.

"The new threat to press freedom has been added, as new means have been adopted to curb freedom of the press and expression, with the advancement of new technology," a press note issued by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) reads.

People or groups disagreeing with the news and views have started systemetically attacking media organisations and individual journalists through new technology, it further reads, adding that it has posed more challenges to the journalists' safety.

“Unlike previous years, media and journalists were attacked through digital means this year," the press note signed by general secretary of the FNJ Roshan Puri adds. "Acts including gaining unauthorised access to the content management system (CMS) of online media, organising unfollow campaigns, threatening journalists through social media platforms, attempting to shut down or hack social media accounts increased this year."

Stating that new media-related laws promulgated by the federal, state and local governments have also posed challenges to the press freedom that is guaranteed by the constitution, the FNJ said, "Rather than promoting freedom of the press and expression, these laws are bent on curbing the Constitutional rights."

According to the FNJ, a total of 132 male and 18 female journalists and six media organisations were affected by such incidents but the number of press freedom violation incidents has come down compared to the past year. In 2021, some 62 incidents of violation of press freedom were recorded while 190 journalists and four media organisations were affected.

The FNJ has recorded 53 incidents of press freedom violation this year. Threat to the free press will eventually lead to rise in bad governance fuelled by corruption, and the country will have to suffer as the cost of doing business will increase hampering new investments.

Why more countries should adopt digitalisation to curb illicit trade in endangered species

Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on world leaders to end the ‘senseless and suicidal war against nature’.

Technological advancements have now created solutions to help stop this war and improve humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Digital technology exists to help us to know what is happening in the world and making better informed decisions about how-to live-in harmony with our rich but fragile ecosystems.

Take wildlife trade for example. Much has changed since the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) came into force in the early 1970s to prevent the world’s commercially traded wildlife species from becoming extinct. Back then, many people were unaware of many of the species in faraway places, or how their purchasing decisions may have reverberating effects on them.

“Over time, we have become collectively better educated about the need to preserve the multitude of species on our planet,” he said, adding that many understand why it’s important to conserve biodiversity to ensure future generations can also benefit from nature. 

CITES regulates and controls trade in various species of animals and plants, according to their status in the wild, with strict restrictions against commercial trade in endangered species while allowing a controlled and monitored approach for others.

The process to regulate the export or import requires both transparency and rigour at the borders to allow legal trade to proceed while preventing illicit wildlife trade.

However, for many countries – exporters and importers alike – border control may still be a human-intensive process and the paperwork to process the transfer of species from one territory to another is done by hand.

As countries implement the national single window approach for trade controls in general, some countries are digitalising this process. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has also posed challenges for in-person trade processes, which also accelerated countries looking into the automation of trade permitting.

While dematerialisation often implies a reduction in time and simplification of trade processes, the use of technology also improves the quality of risk assessment and inspection by the border agencies, including customs, helping combat illegal trade in wildlife specimens.

But how does this work in practice? Consider a customs officer presented with an animal or plant that appears to be exotic, maybe a protected species. How do they know that the certificate accompanying the animal or plant in front of them is legal or that the species being traded is the same as the one the paperwork claims it to be?

Since many countries currently rely on traditional paper-based means to process permits, human error can creep in, allowing the fraudulent trade in endangered species.

But an electronic permit system linked to a customs management system can help customs officers, importers and exporters ensure the right species are traded in the right quantities.

It facilitates coordination between customs and the Management Authority – the government agency responsible for CITES matters. Furthermore, the data generated from the electronic permit systems allows accurate reporting of trade in CITES-listed species, allowing informed decision making for sustainable, legal and traceable trade.

“Today, the 183 countries and the EU that are Parties to CITES are looking into the electronic permit system, and exploring solutions that would be cost-effective and interoperable among countries, which helps customs officers spot illegal attempts to trade in protected species and enforce applicable international trade laws,” he added.

One such solution is the eCITES@ASYCUDA base solution. Developed by the CITES Secretariat and the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s ASYCUDA programme, the system allows a streamlined and automated flow of CITES trade from permit application, review, issuance to border validation; meaning the trade in regulated animals and plants is done in a legal, traceable and sustainable manner in the country.

In Sri Lanka, which was the first country to implement eCITES@ASYCUDA base solution, the piloting of the digital permitting solution has increased annual approval rates for such permits by 17 per cent from 2020 to 2021. This shows that the system is facilitating legal trade, while helping curb illicit trade, and therefore boosting the conservation of CITES-listed species in Sri Lanka.

The average processing time for permits in Sri Lanka has also fallen from 120 hours in 2020 to 39 hours today. Adopting such a digital solution also provides better data for improved analysis and monitoring. Prior to the roll-out of the solution in 2020, no statistics were available.

Beyond Sri Lanka, the system is also being piloted in Mozambique, where similar improvements are foreseen, as well as a few other countries that have embarked in testing the system.

Global problems require global solutions

Fundamentally, the more countries around the world that use electronic permitting solutions, the more sustainable international trade in wildlife species can be. And the greater the level of protection for endangered species globally.

Global problems require global solutions and international cooperation is essential for the conservation of certain wild animal and plant species against overexploitation through international trade.

Digital systems can also facilitate the exchange of electronic permits and information across borders, improving international cooperation, increasing transparency and preventing the use of fraudulent permits.

Such a system would particularly be useful in developing countries, which are home to many valuable and threatened species, but may not have adequate staff for permitting and border controls, and need access to systems that are efficient and effective as they fight the criminals seeking to bypass those controls.

The international community has an important role to play in testing and moving towards innovative technological solutions that are available to all countries, so that we improve the conservation and sustainable use of our natural resources together, while leaving no one behind.

As the UN Secretary-General has said several times, our health and the health of the natural world – and indeed, our planet – are all intricately linked.

Using digital solutions to support nature conservation is fundamentally an act of human interest and at the same time, our responsibility to leave a healthy planet for future generations.

Japanese grant for Implementation of Development of Digital Elevation Model and Orthophoto

The Government of Japan has extended grant assistance of up to Rs 1.32 billion (¥1,170,000,000) to Nepal for the Development of Digital Elevation Model and Orthophoto.
Japanese ambassador to Nepal Saigo Masamichi, and finance secretary Sishir Kumar Dhungana signed notes to this effect at the Finance Ministry here today, according to a press note issued by the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu.
Another set of grant agreements for implementing the programme was also signed by chief representative of JICA Nepal Asakuma Yumiko, and joint secretary at the the International Economic Cooperation and Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry Shreekrishna Nepal, the press note reads, adding that Nepal, as same as Japan, is a country prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides and floods. “In particular, floods during the monsoon in the Terai region cause loss of human lives and damage a number of properties every year.”
There were incidents of large-scale inundations in 2017 and in 2019. In this regard, developing and improving of a flood warning and evacuation system has been an urgent issue.
Japanese government will cooperate with the Nepal government as much as possible to enable Nepal to become a disaster-resilient country, the press note reads, adding that the digital elevation model and orthophoto to be developed under the programme is expected to contribute towards flood-risk reduction, especially through non-structural measures. “Both the digital elevation model and the orthophoto enables the preparation of high precision hazard maps, which can identify inundation prone zones in order to assist the preparation of practical evacuation plans.”
The Embassy of Japan – in its press note – showed confident that the objectives envisaged by the project will be achieved, and contribute towards further strengthening the relationship, friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Japan and Nepal.

World Trade Report sees increasing role for services trade, need for global cooperation

The 2019 edition of the WTO’s World Trade Report highlights that services have become the most dynamic component of international trade and that its role will continue to expand in the coming decades. It stresses the need to enhance cooperation in the international community to support this expansion. The report was launched during the WTO Public Forum today by director-general Roberto Azevêdo.
“From logistics, to finance, to informatics, services have become the indispensable backbone of our economies,” said DG Azevêdo in his opening remarks. “Services generate more than two-thirds of economic output,” he said, adding that they account for more than two thirds of jobs in developing countries, and four-fifths of employment in developed ones. “But services also play an increasingly important role in international trade. Global value chains for merchandise could not function without logistics and communications services. And thanks to digitalisation, services that once had to be delivered face-to-face, like education, can now be delivered remotely.Yet services are often overlooked in discussions on global trade, and the extent of their contributions to global trade is not always fully appreciated. This report attempts to remedy this oversight.”
The report underlines that trade in services – ranging from distribution to financial services – can help countries boost economic growth, enhance domestic firms' competitiveness and promote inclusiveness. It illustrates how the share of services in international trade has continued to grow, and how technology, climate change, rising incomes and demographic changes will have an impact on services trade in the future. It also suggests ways to maximize the potential of services trade globally in the years to come.
On average, services account for about half of GDP worldwide. For developed economies, they account for around three-quarters of GDP and their proportion is increasing rapidly in developing economies.
According to the report, services trade has grown 5.4 per cent per year since 2005, while trade in goods has grown at 4.6 per cent on average. Trade in computer services and research and development have recorded the most rapid annual growth over the past decade.
According to the WTO Global Trade Model, a new quantitative trade model used by the WTO to make projections about global trade, the share of services in global trade could increase by 50 per cent by 2040. This is thanks to lower trade costs and the reduced need for face-to-face interaction due to digitalization. It is also dependent on policy barriers to services trade being lowered. 
Many developing economies are becoming increasingly services-based and their share of world services trade has grown by over 10 percentage points since 2005. However, services trade is concentrated in five developing economies – China; Hong-Kong China; India; the Republic of Korea and Singapore – accounting for over 50 per cent of developing economies’ services trade in 2017.
The report reads that services trade may help women and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a more active role in world trade, particularly in developing economies, helping to reduce economic inequality. When MSMEs in developing countries start exporting services, they are on average two years younger than manufacturing firms. However, they export less than 5 per cent of total sales. Services are the main source of employment for women. However, the service sectors that account for most women employment have been so far among the least traded.
Despite their decline by 9 per cent between 2000 and 2017, barriers to trade in services remain much higher than in goods trade. This is largely due to the limited possibilities to supply certain services across the border and the regulatory intensity of many service sectors.
Technologies are key drivers of services trade, enabling cross-border trade of services that have traditionally needed face-to-face interaction. Digital technologies are also reducing the cost of trading services. The report finds that if developing countries are able to adopt digital technologies, their share in world services trade could increase by about 15 per cent by 2040.
The report notes that policy barriers to services trade – mainly regulatory measures – are much more complex than in goods trade. The authors of the report note that for services trade to be a powerful engine of economic growth, development and poverty reduction international cooperation will need to be intensified and new pathways will need to be found to advance global trade cooperation and make services a central element of trade policy.

Chinese UnionPay International gets license of payment system operator in Nepal

UnionPay International can now provide electronic card network and card clearing services in Nepal as the central bank has provided a license for the payment system operator to the Chinese company to facilitate transactions with business sectors located in China.
Chinese envoy to Nepal Hou Yanqi twitted – making public the information of licencing of UnionPay International – congratulating the Chinese company for obtaining the first payment system operator license for an international company. “We expect and encourage more Chinese companies to come to Nepal to conduct business under the premise of compliance," she twitted.
According to the central bank, the license has been provided to the UnionPay International Company Limited – registered at Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce, Shanghai China – in line with the Licensing Policy for Institution, Mechanism Operating Payment Related Activities, to carry out ‘Electronic Card Network and Payment Switch’ related activities under the direction, terms, and conditions issued by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).
Unlike earlier, the transaction done by UnionPay International – that claims to offer the payment service in 174 countries – will now be recorded in Nepal’s banking system, now on wards. Earlier, some 2 months ago, the central bank had banned the use of Chinese digital wallets WeChat Pay and Alipay in Nepal saying that Nepal was losing foreign income due to illegal use of those payment applications by Chinese tourists.
Payment system providers are systems established with the objective of processing, routing, switching, operation, control and clearing of payment related activities. They can also help settle cross border transactions via an electronic system.
The central bank has already provided similar license to four domestic payment sevice providers including Prabhu Technology, Nepal Clearing House, SmartChoice Technologies and Nepal Electronic Payment Systems.

Thegana, a new address system in Nepal

Thegana Services has announced the launch of Thegana – a mobile phone App – that’s compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems.
“Android version is available now and iOS will be coming in a week,” chief executive officer of Thegana Services Bishal KC said, adding that ‘Thegana’ is a re-engineered address system which divides the surface of Nepal into 858 million squares that are (14m x 14m) each, and every one of them identified with unique fixed codes. “The codes give addresses to everyone everywhere, allowing them to receive deliveries, access emergency services, register the address to a bank account, navigate to and from, and more.”
The main goal of ‘Thegana’ is to provide everyone with an electronic address, a press note issued by the company reads. ‘Thegana’ code is more accurate than the existing physical street address, it reads, adding that the people can pinpoint a specific location anywhere in Nepal and communicate with it more quickly and easily than any other method. “One of the key features of ‘Thegana’ App is that it works offline.”
In order to ascertain a user’s location, ‘Thegana’ code is composed of 9 characters – the first 3 corresponds to a district and the latter 6 to a specific location in that district. For example, ‘Thegana’ address for General Post Office, Sundhara, Kathmandu is KTM-P82746 (KTM for Kathmandu district). Likewise, the address for Ashoka Pillar in Lumbini is RUP-F79GV6 (RUP for Rupandehi district). The last 6 characters can also be customised to one’s liking by registering it with the app, the press note reads, “For example, Thegana has customised its office address to KTM-HELLO.”
‘Thegana’ will provide users with greater working flexibility by integrating and digitising existing addresses and assigning unique ‘Thegana Codes’ to them, KC said, adding that ‘Thegana’ has worked hard to roll out the initial release Nationwide so everyone from every corner of the country. “As we know, the addressing system in Nepal is poor, thus and we have incorporated crowdsourcing mechanism to collect, verify and digitise existing addresses.”
In times of natural disasters, for example, ‘Thegana’ can provide the simplest way to communicate with a specific location, which can be critical to effective disaster response, which ‘Thegana’ is able to address effectively. “The App also comes with turn-by-turn navigation option.”
Thegana Services has already partnered with few local authorities to provide a much-needed proper addressing system, he said, “Bouddha Ward No. 6, Kathmandu has taken that first step in addressing the need of proper addressing system by working with ‘Thegana’.
“We have been talking about ‘Smart Cities’ for quite some time now, and smart addressing system is the foundation of making the rest of the features of ‘Smart City’ truly smart, as address is one of the basic elements of communication between individuals, businesses and public institutions alike,” according to KC. “The lack of a complete, accurate and proper addressing system constitutes a major socio-economic challenge in Nepal,” he said, adding that without an address, we might as well be non- existent, let alone calling oneself a citizen of a smart city. “Thegana App has been designed to work seamlessly with our other services, enabling a rich user experience made with modern mobile framework to meet user needs wherever and whenever they need.”

Smart Chhori to promote digital, financial literacy among girls and young women

Khalti, a digital payment platform in Nepal is launching a special ‘Smart Chhori’ programme tomorrow. The programme is aimed at empowering girls and young women in Nepal through financial knowledge and skills. As part of this initiative, 10,000 adolescent girls and women from across the nation will be trained on financial and digital literacy expecting that they will later emerge as influencers in their communities.
Nepal has a high female unemployment rate and lacking digital skills has become one of the barriers for women and girls in enhancing their career. Still today, a lot of financial decisions are taken by the male members of the family and lots of women still struggle to use smartphones and handle basic finances. Smart Chhori programme – with an aim to encourage women and girls into digital finance – will help them to be ready for what's there to come in this rapidly advancing digital world.
Smart Chhori – a free e-learning platform inside Khalti Digital Wallet app – will help girls learn about the basics of digital payments, online security and personal finance. Girls and young women from age group 15-35 years having a smartphone and access to internet can enroll in the programme.
Through this programme, Khati aims to equip young Nepali girls with the knowledge, skills, and attitude which can change their lives by helping them become independent, establish good financial habits, discuss saving, budgeting, and expenses with family members and improve their future prospect for decent work opportunities, according to director of Khalti and coordinator of Smart Chhori programme Amit Agrawal.
"'Digital Nepal’ and ‘Smart City’ have become buzzwords recently," he said, adding that the physical infrastructures alone are not sufficient to turn this dream into reality. "Digitally literate population and public participation is very essential."
Females comprise 51 per cent of Nepal’s population. "Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) have been playing a significant role to promote health care in villages across Nepal. "We can mobilise our daughters in a similar way as the agents of change to promote digital literacy and simplify lives of people with the use of internet technology," he said, adding that Smart Chhori programme is launched with an aim to prepare female workforce to change Nepal into a Digital and Smart Nepal. "We request all interested girls to enroll in Smart Chhori programme and be Smart Role Models in their communities."
By enrolling in this programme, adolescent girls and young women can grow their digital and financial skills and leverage smartphones and internet to make an impact in the lives of people in their communities. Interested girls and young women aged 15-35 years can join the training programme by clicking on Smart Chhori banner on the home screen of Khalti app, available both in iOS and Android platforms. "This e-learning platform is available for female users only," he added.

Global report highlights transformative impact of digital technologies on trade

The 2018 edition of the WTO’s flagship publication, the World Trade Report, finds that digital technologies – the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and Blockchain – will have a profound impact on global trade, adding up to 34 percentage points to trade growth by 2030 thanks to lower costs and higher productivity.
However, they could also create a challenging environment for those seeking to keep up with the latest innovations. The Report launched today at the WTO Public Forum also shows that digital technologies are likely to further reduce trade costs and boost trade significantly, especially in services and for developing countries. Global trade is projected to grow by an additional 2 percentage points annually between 2016 and 2030 as a result of digitalisation, falling trade costs and the increased use of services. This corresponds with a 31-34 percentage point higher trade growth over 15 years.
The share of services in global trade is projected to grow from 21 per cent in 2016 to 25 per cent in 2030. The report also finds that the reduction in trade costs could be especially beneficial for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and firms from developing countries, provided they have the ability to keep up with the adoption of digital technologies. In the best scenario, developing and least-developed economies' share in global trade is predicted to grow to 57 per cent by 2030, from 46 per cent in 2015, whereas if they cannot keep up, this share is predicted to rise to 51 per cent.
The report discusses how digital technologies can unlock savings, such as through better route planning, autonomous driving and smart inventories made possible by artificial intelligence and robotics. Blockchain solutions – a system of decentralised, digital transactions – can reduce time spent on customs compliance and logistics. The Internet of Things, the networking and processing capabilities of everyday objects, can help to improve operational efficiency through better preventative maintenance of machinery and products. These technologies can therefore reduce transportation and storage costs, which represent a major share of overall trade costs.
Digital technologies can also significantly affect what the world trades. For example, remote controlled robotics have led to revolutionary advances in trade in services and the emergence of new services such as telesurgery. Enhanced technological capacities which allow faster and simpler processing of traded products could also foster trade in time-sensitive, certification-intensive and contract-intensive goods.
The report argues that new technologies are likely to change the established ways the world trades, with comparative advantages predicted to change across economies. AI, 3D printing and advanced robotics could reduce the role of labour as a source of comparative advantage, while factors such as the quality of digital infrastructure and market size as well as institutional and regulatory determinants of comparative advantage, including intellectual property protection, might become more relevant. 3D printing, furthermore, may to some extent reduce the need for outsourced assembly, the number of production steps and other factors related to global value chains.
The report identifies certain areas which may warrant international cooperation. These include key initiatives being undertaken by multilateral organisations such as facilitating a favourable legal and regulatory framework, competition-related issues, intellectual property rules, supporting MSMEs, promoting digital inclusion, and addressing challenges related to trade facilitation and infrastructure for information communication technology. The report concludes that, overall, the expansion of digital trade holds the potential to generate considerable benefits if it takes place under conditions that adequately address important public policy challenges. Issues concerning inclusiveness, privacy protection and cybersecurity are likely to figure prominently in debates on the future governance of digital trade.

UNCDF supports transforming agriculture with digital technology

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)’s Mobile Money for Poor (MM4P) programme has partnered with Sun Farmer Nepal and Prabhu Management to implement the innovative project that will enhance farmers’ income by integrating digital technology in agricultural value chains.
The partnership aims at facilitating the farmers to buy quality inputs to bring transformation in production of crops and vegetables and help them link with the market.
UNCDF believes that transformation in the agriculture sector and improvement in livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers is possible through the use of advanced technologies. With support from UNCDF, Sun Farmer Nepal in partnership with Prabhu Management will help farmers dramatically increase their income with modern agricultural solutions and digital finance.
Farmers will get support in infrastructure – irrigation and processing – quality inputs, training on cultivation of high-value crops and improving linkages to the market, according to UNCDF country office.
Launched in 2014, Sun Farmer Nepal is a renewable energy solution company that provides solar-powered irrigation solution to help farmers increase their productivity and income. The company will sell farmers products via a co-owned company jointly set up by Sun Farmer Nepal and partner farmers.
Prabhu Management is a sister company and the agent network manager for Prabhu Money Transfer and has one of the largest distribution networks with more than 3,500 agents in rural areas, mainly in saving and credit cooperatives.
UNCDF MM4P will support Sun Farmer to implement an innovative community-owned contract farming model driven on digital innovations. The solution will include pay-as-you-go solar pumps, a state-of-the-art agriculture market intelligence system for farmers and access to finance for agriculture inputs, logistics and sales. Prabhu Management, with its vast rural agent network, will provide the distribution infrastructure for financial services.
Agriculture is the primary sector of the Nepali economy. It employs 66 per cent of the population and contributes 35 per cent to the country’s GDP. Most of the farmers own small plots of land, where they grow subsistence crops and vegetables using traditional farming practices with limited access to finance for buying high quality inputs, which is one of the main reasons for low agriculture productivity.

SBI introduces digital village programme

SBI Nepal has launched a digital village initiative by installing a cash recycling centre in Jarisingpouwa in Shankarapur rural municipality, some 25-km east of Kathmandu.
The centre was inaugurated jointly by the Nepal Rastra Bank governor Dr Chiranjibi Nepal and SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya.
The newly launched cash counter will enable the villagers to deposit and withdraw money through the automatic machine.
On the occasion of SBI Nepal's 25 years of establishment – on July 7 – in Nepal.
The bank has, on the occasion, also distributed 430 debit cards among the people of the locality, which is a hillside location, though it is not very far from Kathmandu city. The bank also helped install solar street lights in the area.