UNCTAD – the United National Conference on Trade and Development –– has commissioned Simon White, Managing Director of Southern African IDEAS to contribute to the forthcoming annual Information Economy Report 2011. The theme of this year’s report is: Information and Communications Technologies and Private Sector Development.

The Information Economy Report 2011 (IER 2011) report will focus on how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be better leveraged to promote private sector development (PSD) in developing countries. To this end, the report will build on the IER 2010, which emphasized the much improved opportunities for ICTs to reach enterprises among the poor. The IER 2010 also stressed the need for a dual approach that caters to both subsistence-based enterprises (which have the greatest need for intervention) and growth-oriented enterprises (which may be in a better position to benefit from intervention).

The IER 2011 will identify areas offering opportunities for relevant policy intervention, take stock of the current role played by ICTs in PSD strategies of developing countries and development partners. The report will review country experiences in relevant areas and propose concrete policy recommendations.