Frontier technologies are being used to provide services via digital platforms that have spurred the creation of a ‘gig economy’. Some of this work is locally based, but there is also ‘cloud work’ that can be performed anywhere via the Internet. Using, adopting, and adapting frontier technologies requires sufficient ICT infrastructure, especially since AI, IoT, big data, and blockchain are internet-based technologies.

The G-20 introduced the Debt Service Standstill Initiative (DSSI) early in 2020 to suspend sovereign debt repayments of least developed countries (LDCs), so they can redirect their resources to fight COVID-19. The suspension period, originally set to end on December 31, 2020, is now extended to December 2021.

According to the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) 2021 Food Waste Index Report, a total of around 931 million tons of food is annually wasted globally, of which 61Pct is at the household, 26Pct at the food service, and 13Pct at the retail level. In fact, the report stated the veracity of global household estimates is medium to low. Food waste is food (including drink) and associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain in the following sectors: manufacturing of food products (under certain circumstances); food retail; food service; and households. “Removed from the human food supply chain” means one of the following end destinations: landfill, controlled combustion, sewer, litter/ discards/ refuse, co/ anaerobic digestion, compost / aerobic digestion or land application.

The first of its kind Global Crypto Adaptation Index launched in September 2020 assessed and ranked 154 countries on their level of adaptation and use of different digital currencies, in 12 months.

The UN projects average world GDP growth at 2.7Pct in 2021, up from 2.5Pct in 2020 and 2.3Pct in 2019—a ten-year low since the 2008 global financial crisis. The pickup in global activity will likely be driven by somewhat faster growth in developing regions, where several large economies are expected to recover from adverse shocks. East Asia remains the world’s fastest growing region.

Source: Mo Ibrahim Foundation, The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa. Sustainable Development Solutions Network

In the 2020 Africa SDG Index and Dashboards Report, most of the 17 SDG goals have witnessed serious setbacks, mainly due to COVID-19.

The slowdown of domestic economic activity translates into revenue shortfalls. The financing gap for SDGs in Africa that was already large is expected to widen, increasing the fiscal vulnerability of African governments. Without financial resources, sustainable development is elusive.

According to the Industrial Development Report 2020, much of the world, especially Africa, is not engaging with new technology and remains excluded from recent technological breakthroughs.

One fourth of the global currencies have values of more than 100 units per dollar, according to UN Operational Rates of Exchange on October 01, 2020. Most of the countries that have strong currencies against the dollar are liberal economies that have positive relationships with Western countries and the Breton woods institutions, while economies that have the weakest currencies are by large labeled as socialist countries.

According to the AfDB report released in June 2020, only 15 African countries have foreign currency reserves that cover their import for over five months. These countries either have oil resource or they have small import proportion. The African average is 3.2 months. ‘Countries with low foreign currency reserve will have less room to import medical equipment under the covid19 era’, according to the report.

Top 10 Host Economies, 2019

Source: UNCTAD, 2020

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow to developed economies shrank by six percent to an estimated USD643 billion from their revised USD683 billion in 2018, according to UNCTAD. FDI remained at a historically low-level, at half of their peak in 2007.