MCDF’s Digital Infrastructure Workshop Two Highlights Key Lessons on Institutional and Regulatory Setup

Key lessons and good practices on the institutional and regulatory setup of digital infrastructure were highlighted during the second session of the virtual Digital Infrastructure Introductory Workshop Series on 4 March. The series is cohosted by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF), African Development Bank (AfDB), CAF—Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and World Bank.

View the Workshop 2 Video Recordings and Download the Presentations

Ministry officials, financiers, and stakeholders discussed institutional and regulatory approaches that support digital infrastructure and digital public infrastructure development as a driver of sustainable growth, facilitated by Mr. Ivan Rossignol, MCDF’s Senior Advisor on Digital Infrastructure and the workshop series moderator and strategic lead. Speakers focused on regulatory models emanating from China, East Africa (Uganda), the European Union (EU), Saudi Arabia, and the United States (US).

Mr. Nick Williams, Head of Information and Communications Technology Operations at the African Development Bank, delivered introductory remarks on behalf of the series co-organizers. He emphasized the importance of tailoring digital regulations to fit a given market’s needs and risks while considering how other countries and regions are addressing challenges and opportunities within the sector and seeking regulatory harmonization to ensure efficient data transfer and use across borders.

“In developing countries, the process of creating sustainable markets is dynamic but can be supported by appropriate regulation that takes into account the interests of both consumers and suppliers,” said Mr. Williams. “Defining what is appropriate is the key and critically examining practices from across the world is a necessity,” he continued.

Presentations on varying institutional and regulatory setups focused on data governance and cybersecurity strategies and the lack of established good practices in these areas. Ms. Irene Kaggwa, Program Manager at the International Telecommunications Union, discussed associated issues in Africa, drawing upon her experience as the former head of Uganda’s Communication’s Commission. Mr. David Satola, Chief Counsel, Legal Advisory and Knowledge at the World Bank, explained how it helped developing countries expedite the introduction of data protection measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speakers noted that regulatory agencies are increasingly avoiding overly complex and inefficient regulation and following a more country-specific and contextual approach to designing digital regulation. This approach aims to balance innovation and economic growth while promoting social protection, they explained.

Speakers added that the stable business environment provided by digital regulation is needed for International Financial Institutions (IFI) to lend to the digital infrastructure sector. Contrary to other, more traditional infrastructure sectors, there are no gold standards for digital infrastructure regulation that IFIs can recommend but IFI guidance is emerging in some areas such as data storage, they noted.

Mr. Mohammad Alzeer, General Manager of Infrastructure Quality at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, overviewed the country’s institutional architecture for data governance and how it is helping to lay the groundwork for Saudi Arabia to realize its national goal of becoming a global leader in the digital sector.

Mr. Chetan Gupta, Deputy General Counsel at digital payments company, Toast, discussed the EU’s and US’s regulatory regimes and called for more private sector-friendly digital regulation by implementing simple and predictable ‘bright-line rules,’ tiered compliance for different sizes of firms, and not setting fines too high. Dr. Samm Sacks, a Senior Fellow at Yale Law School, highlighted the developed nature of digital regulation in the EU and China, their approaches to the differentiation of data types, and how China’s authorities have modified the country’s data privacy reporting requirements over time in response to market feedback.

Strahan Spencer, MCDF’s Platform Team Head stressed that in addition to raising awareness of the importance of having an effective regulatory regime for digital infrastructure, MCDF and its partners had a practical objective for the workshop and the series as a whole. “We hope to generate concrete follow‑up requests for support from MCDF and our IFI partners from workshop participants,” he said. “These requests can either be for capacity building or the preparation of digital infrastructure projects based on participants’ deepened understanding of the issues.”

The next session of the Digital Infrastructure Introductory Workshop Series will take place online on 25 March and provide a deep dive on the role of IFIs in financing digital infrastructure and the digital economy.