Asean’s digital economy holds significant growth potential due to the region’s young and tech-savvy populations and increasing internet penetration. To capture those growth opportunities, economic ministers from the region launched negotiations on the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) last month.

DEFA seeks to offer a comprehensive roadmap to empower businesses and stakeholders across Asean through accelerating trade growth, enhancing interoperability, creating a safe online environment, and increasing participation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). As such, the areas of negotiations for DEFA will include digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital ID, digital payments, cross-border data flows and emerging topics such as artificial intelligence.

The negotiations are expected to be completed by 2025, and focus on creating a sustainable and inclusive digital ecosystem.

According to Boston Consulting Group, Asean’s digital economy is set to triple by the end of the decade through the adoption of digital technologies, from approximately US$300 billion to almost US$1 trillion by 2030. Progressive rules in DEFA could double this value contribution to unlock US$2 trillion to ASEAN’s digital economy.

“[However,] talent scarcity and lack of digital skills are major obstacles as they lead to high employment costs and impede businesses from adopting [technology],” says H.E. Dr Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at Huawei’s Seeds for the Future Summit 2023 in Shanghai.

He adds that since youths constitute 34% of the Asean population, there is a need to inspire and mould them to become changemakers who will drive Asean’s digital economy. “I strongly encourage private-led initiatives that share the vision for attracting and nurturing digital talents such as the Seeds for the Future programme. I hope it will provide more opportunities for the youth, as well as pay special consideration for the vulnerable groups such as women, people with disabilities, and those from rural areas to ensure balanced participation and inclusivity,” he states.

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Dr. Kritsachai Somsaman, centre director of the Southeast Asian Minister of Education Organization Regional Centre for STEM Education, shares the same sentiment. “In this fast-evolving digital landscape, the cultivation of digital talent is more critical than ever before. It is the key to boosting growth and resilience, and it holds the power to revolutionise industries, societies, and economies. The Seeds for the Future programme, at its core, is designed to inspire and nurture this next generation of leaders,” he says.

Seeds for the Future is Huawei’s flagship talent programme, which helps students understand the latest technology trends and applications as well as provides them with digital skills training. The Tech4Good competition is part of that, wherein students are tasked to propose technical solutions to address social problems.

Driving inclusive growth through partnership

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It takes a collective effort to build up the region’s digital skills. Recognising that, Huawei and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed a joint declaration last Thursday to drive digital development and inclusive growth across Asia Pacific. Besides digital capacity-building, the two parties will work together in five other key areas. They include co-building open and high-level dialogue platforms in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) policy and regulation, joint research, inclusive infrastructure, girls and youth empowerment, and digital practice-sharing.

“Digital inclusion is a shared responsibility for all sectors. We need a comprehensive framework that is need-driven, evidence-based, partnership-supported and future-proof. It involves close collaboration in five areas: Government policies and incentives, accessible broadband connectivity, enhanced affordability, empowered digital skills for communities, and a wide range of digital services,” says David Li, chief executive officer of Huawei Technologies (Thailand).

Prior to this joint declaration, Huawei has worked closely with ITU to drive ICT innovations through various initiatives in Asia Pacific. For instance, they have jointly published several research reports on digital infrastructure and digital economy in the region. The key findings were also presented during regional ministerial ICT roundtables to inform policy changes and share replicable practices.

Additionally, Huawei supported ITU’s “Girls in ICT” initiative this year by offering a variety of training and internship programmes to motivate young women to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies and careers in areas including 5G, cybersecurity, and the cloud.

“I would like to acknowledge Huawei as one of our key partners globally and in the region. They have been supporting the work of the ITU in digital transformation from Latin America to Africa to Asia Pacific. We would like to continue to strengthen our working relationship, and the signing of this Declaration is going to be impactful and transformative,” says Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of ITU.

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