Dubai – The conference on foreign direct investment (FDI) Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) has begun this Monday (8) in Dubai with the “Shaping the Digital Future of FDI.” The gathered names from the public and private sector in order to discuss this theme and its challenges, including Republic of Tatarstan president Rustam Minnikhanov, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) secretary general Mukhisa Kituyi, and others.
According to Ayman Sejiny (right in the picture), chief executive officer of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) in Saudi Arabia, the digital economy is already an important part of the strategy of most of the 54 organization member countries. “Many [of the countries that adopt this strategy] are growing much faster than the already developed economies. At the same time, they have the chance to adapt fast. They have resources and digital access and have already thought about the specific requirements in of [digital] regulation. So, education is fundamental,” he said during the debate.
The executive talked about the concept of economy 4.0, which involves the digital development to more quickly and efficiently reach the most competitive sector and even country to invest in. “Knowing this strategy, you know exactly in which country you have more competitive advantages. For example, with this strategy, you can learn which agriculture sector will bring higher profits. And that is why investments are worth it. And how will big data help distribute labor? What is the demand? How the artificial intelligence is going to calculate all big data for you? I think this is a great opportunity that should be pursued much more,” Sejiny pointed out.
The challenges for this sector include taking practical solutions to countries and regions that still have little access to technologies and the possibilities of digital investment. “When we talk about foreign direct investment (FDI) focused on the digital economy, we are not talking about structure, and energy comprises 30% of [what] this technology [needs]. It is important to look at FDI within the infrastructure,” pointed out Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Ethiopia.
Songew pointed out the need to create a market for 1.2 billion people living in the African continent and encourage economies to keep innovating. “For us, industrialization means trading more and starting doing that among ourselves. Therefore, we will need more services. Now, the continent’s Gross Domestic Product is mostly in the service sector. There are 9.6% of contribution from the manufacture sector, and almost 50% from services. We don’t need just infrastructure. Infrastructure must be cheap and affordable,” she explained.
“Basically, we don’t have as much ports as we need. But I think that as the digital space is becoming more and more important, when talking about leadership in the continent, we are talking about governance. The more we use industry 4.0, the more efficient we will become and the easier it will be to create a good business environment,” stressed the secretary.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
