Covid-19 Response: Digital Transformation and Industrial Recovery

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) sees that the “new normal” in the post-pandemic (Covid-19) world will increasingly be driven by advanced technologies and their applications for inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

UNIDO is adapting to this new reality through a multi-dimensional approach encapsulated in one phrase: “prepare and contain, respond and adapt, recover and transform”. Through this approach, UNIDO is providing tailored-solutions to its Member States to help them recover and build inclusive, sustainable and resilient economies.

This work hinges upon proactive interventions utilizing 4IR technologies in several areas, notably for institutional transformation; strengthening innovation clusters and ecosystems; upgrading the capacities of MSMEs; technology upskilling and learning; enhancing investment promotion agencies; and fortifying quality infrastructure in order to boost business resilience and competitiveness; as well as fostering smart production and effective partnerships.

A more comprehensive explanation of how 4IR technologies are being deployed for inclusive and sustainable industrial development is provided by the recently-published UNIDO report, COVID-19: Implications and Responses – Digital Transformation and Industrial Recovery.

The document provides a detailed overview of potential implications of Covid-19 for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and how UNIDO is addressing the issues and assisting governments and the private sector to “build back better”.