Camara-e.Net to Presidential Candidates: Ineffective Digital Transformation in Brazil – Digital Convergence

Digital convergence … 26.08.2022 … Digital convergence

The Brazilian Chamber for the Digital Economy has sent a letter to the candidates for the President of the Republic, asking them all to make a public commitment to the digital economy. According to the entity, it is estimated that by 2025 a quarter of the world’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) should come from the digital economy (24.3%), according to Oxford Economics. And Brazil’s numbers are not good. According to the 2021 digital competitiveness ranking prepared by the IMD World Competitiveness Center, Brazil remained in 51st place among 64 countries compared to factors related to the conditions the country creates for the adoption, creation and promotion of digital technologies in the public and private sectors. sectors.

In the letter, camara-e.net emphasizes that the country is already behind schedule and emphasizes that the digital transformation strategy is still insufficient. The presidential candidates are asked that “efforts must be focused on reviewing existing policies to see if they are compatible with this new scenario; creating norms and policies in line with the new reality, in step with the characteristics of the digital economy, enabling its continuous expansion and the creation of institutional arrangements between the state, business, the third sector and the academic community, which encourage the country’s entry into the new economy.”

Read the main points of the letter to the presidential candidates:

Expand quality and secure Internet access: enable the full integration of Brazilians into the digital economy, seeking to reduce inequalities resulting from network access;

Promoting public-private partnerships: the private sector in alliance with government. the interest of entrepreneurs in investing in access to new technologies and digital training of the Brazilian population;

Driving digital transformation: digital technologies facilitate innovation and productivity and expand access to government services and international markets. In 2019, labor productivity in Brazil was 75% lower than in the United States, 34% in Chile, 30% in Mexico and 26% in Argentina, according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development);

Implement policies aimed at training, qualification and digital reskilling of Brazilians, encouraging the development and maintenance of a skilled workforce in the country: improving digital skills has the potential to help around 21 million Brazilians find work, which can result in an addition of up to $70 billion to national GDP, reveals McKinsey & Company;

Ensuring adequate public resources for ICT research, encouraging the application of digital technologies aimed at sustainable development and environmental protection: technologies can be important allies in the control of greenhouse gas emissions, in the analysis of data on deforestation, in resource allocation, climate change mapping, among others;

Encourage the development of smart cities;

Encourage the development of electronic commerce: in the scenario of economic crisis, e-commerce continues to show its economic potential;

Encourage innovation: encourage the development of innovative business models, new products and services, encouraging job creation, productivity growth and sustainable economic and social development;

Create a regulation in principle for the use/development of artificial intelligence: it is essential that there is clarity and certainty in the implementation of these new technologies as soon as possible, given the many positive effects they can have for markets, digital and physical;

Establish appropriate norms for the new economic scenario: norms must take into account the specificities of the digital economy, and not simply transfer obligations designed for completely different scenarios;

Promoting digital literacy and training teachers at all levels of education: it is important that society is ready to use new technologies in a safe and responsible way;

Create incentives for digital economy sectors: several governments are putting digital at the center of their programs to recover economic growth, Brazil should not be left out;

Improve the tax system: tax policies should prioritize the construction of a predictable, transparent tax model, aligned with international best practices and compatible with Brazilian reality;

Increase global confidence: Brazil must prioritize attracting investment. For this, it is essential that there is a legally secure environment and a more open economy;

Definitely implement a digital government: complete the digitization of government services, increasing efficiency and transparency;

Ease of doing business in the country: according to the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, Brazil ranks 137th among 190 economies analyzed, according to the OECD;

Encouraging the development of digital health and electronic commerce of medicines: enabling millions of Brazilians to access health services and medicines with greater speed, quality and safety;

Implement digital security policies: foster a safe environment for network users, allowing Brazilians to have more confidence in digital media;

Remove regulatory barriers to the development of new business models around e-commerce, such as multi-channel sales models.

The entire letter is available on the website camara-e.net.