Investments in ICT yield eight-fold return, digitalization index shows

(Nov. 2024) Huawei recently launched the Global Digitalization Index (GDI), a ranking of national progress in ICT development. It covers 77 countries representing 80% of the world’s population and 93% of its GDP.

 “The GDI is not just another benchmark tool,” says Bocar Ba of the UN Broadband Commission. “It’s a roadmap that will lead us to the achievement of digital transformation.”

That roadmap is based on four pillars: connectivity, digital platforms, sustainability, and policy.

“First, without connectivity, there is nothing,” he tells Huawei Editor-in-Chief Gavin Allen in a new Transform Talks. “Second, a relevant digital platform is necessary to convince citizens that there is a benefit to being connected. Third, we have to use green technology. And fourth, we need good governance: policies that will not destroy value creation, and an agile regulatory framework.” 

The GDI research shows that for every dollar of ICT investment, there is a US$8.30 benefit to the economy — an eight-fold multiplier — in terms of higher employment, increased productivity, and innovative new products.

Do enough governments know this?

“We need to spread the gospel,” Ba says, “to government leaders, industry, academia, and the public.”