Digital Money: The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State

Citi Public Digital Money | The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State | March 2022 13 Citi Public Digital Money | The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State | March 2022 12 Dubai Dubai’s transformation began with the “Smart Dubai” initiative — first launched in 2014, followed by two more in 2017 and 2021. Under the umbrella of Smart Dubai initiative (2014 and 2017), the Dubai government has launched over 130 initiatives in collaboration with the private sector, leveraging emerging technologies to improve the lives of its citizens and businesses. Some of the key initiatives covered under the Smart Dubai initiative include: 17 • Dubai Data Wealth: Dubai is the first city to make data sharing, use, and reuse mandatory. As part of this, the ‘Dubai Pulse’ platform was launched, which has so far ingested over 600+ data sources and provides a single source of truth. • Smart Services: A universal app, Dubai Now, was launched, providing users with access to over 120 services from over 30 entities. To date, the application has processed over 11 million transactions worth over US $1.6 billion. • The Dubai Paperless Strategy: The initiative was launched to digitize government transactions across 42 government entities. So far, the initiative has saved more than US $200 million. Estonia Shortly after obtaining independence in 1991, Estonia launched a digital-first approach to modernising its economy. Estonia pursued a digital-first strategy for governance and sectoral digitization since the early 2000s. Estonia started with digitization of schools and today every school in the country is online. In addition, the government also offered free computer training for 10% of the adult population. 19 In 2002, Estonia implemented a high-tech national ID system that is now even used for voting in general elections. Another essential feature of the country's digital society is e-Residency, a first-of-its- kind project that allows anyone to launch a business without having to live there. The eNomads initiative, which allows employees to work remotely from anywhere in the world, is now being explored. Furthermore, the country boasts one of the strongest eGovernment program in the world, with nearly all services available online driven by X-road — a decentralised data platform launched in the early stages of their digitization journey. The country has now passed a new Digital Agenda 2030, which intends to further digitalize the economy using emerging digital technologies. As part of the initiative to strengthen public services and essential infrastructure, the government plans to spend €100 million. 20 The emphasis areas for public service digitization will include government cloud adoption, open data centres of excellence, automated delivery of public services based on life events, and 5G adoption and cyber-security. • Dubai Blockchain Strategy: Unveiled a slew of blockchain-powered initiatives and services across multiple industries. The government also unveiled the Dubai Blockchain Policy, the city’s first comprehensive blockchain implementation policy. The Smart Dubai initiative has already created significant impact — 100%digitization of government services that has helped the government save US $350 million 18 annually is a great example. The third iteration — Smart Dubai 2021 launched recently focuses on four pillars namely (1) offering seamless service, (2) efficient use of urban resources, (3) safe cities and (4) personalized experiences for individuals and businesses. Like, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the government of Sharjah has also launched ‘Digital Sharjah’ — an application and a website providing services of the government through a single interface. The platform currently offers services across seven categories namely: business, transportation, utilities, social services, general, real estate, and security. Soon, the platform will expand to cover other categories such as: culture, arts, creative industry among others. All these initiatives, both at the federal and regional levels are expected to further UAE’s digital capabilities while making interactions with the government seamless and efficient for residents and businesses. Uruguay In terms of digitalization, Uruguay has been one of the most progressive countries in the Latin American region. So far, the country has implemented five digital agendas. Initially, the agenda was focused on closing the country's digital divide; however, digitalization is now completely integrated into the economic planning process. The first two agendas focused on developing the necessary ICT infrastructure, along with government service digitization. The third digital agenda launched in 2011 emphasized on solving for the digital divide by focusing on universal internet access, ICT education, and financial inclusion. The fourth agenda (2020) sought to accelerate the country's digital adoption by focusing on digital skilling, digitization of strategic sectors such as healthcare, utilities, and investments in next-gen ICT infrastructure. The government has recently launched the fifth such agenda (2025), structured into twelve strategic objectives, classified into five main priority action areas for the government. The focus areas include (1) digital citizenship, (2) digital technologies as a tool for social integration, (3) digital transformation of productive sectors (use of IoT in public service management, energy, water, communications, and transportation), (4) innovation and (5) cybersecurity. The agenda’s focus areas closely align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 and the Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (ELAC).