CMCFeature CARIBBEAN-The Davos Disconnect

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens is more relevant today than ever. The wealthy and powerful are meeting again this year in glamorous Davos at an invitation-only event. They arrive in chartered aircraft and private jets to speak about our warming climate, among other global concerns.

The super-rich politicians and celebrities gather for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting later this month (January 15-19 in Davos) when global inequity is at its highest. Last year saw a phenomenal growth of wealth in significant economies, with valuations of at least eight companies exceeding the trillion-dollar mark.

On the other hand, those at the margins are barely scraping a living and are preoccupied with where their next meal is coming from. Globally, 7.33 million people face hunger, and 2.33 billion are food insecure. The situation is most dire in the 44 Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The data show that it is getting worse for people living in the poorest and most vulnerable countries. According to Oxfam, the wealthiest one percent own almost half of the world’s wealth, while the poorest own just 0.75 percent. In addition to inequality, geopolitical tensions and external threats, including climate change, are rising. At the same time, the global economic outlook remains subdued.

The 2025 theme for Davos, ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,’ is particularly timely for wealthy countries, which reap rich dividends due to rapid technological advancements. Equally, the theme holds profound significance for people living in LDCs, where new and relevant technologies can permanently alter their development trajectory.

However, only 36 percent of their citizens have access to the Internet, and digital infrastructure is weak. So, if we care about a more equal world, a necessary first step is to focus on the reality of those living on less than US$1.90 a day.

In terms of solutions, the Davos gathering should look at concrete and practical ways to help these countries with financing and technical expertise to reduce this alarming gap, in which poor people are not just left behind but completely excluded.

The summit agenda outlines five priorities and their rationale – all pertinent for LDCs if the will, financing, and collaboration can be mustered.

Reimagining growth:
The World Economic Forum notes that the digital economy has the potential to account for up to 70 percent of the new value generated globally in the next ten years.

This potential and attendant economic benefits will reside overwhelmingly in the wealthiest countries. Nonetheless, the digital economy provides an outstanding opportunity for the poorest countries to leapfrog in their development gains.

With support through technology transfer, financing, and capacity building in the LDCs, their development trajectory can change, creating new jobs and opportunities for their people.

Industries in the intelligent age:
This thematic focus is invariably on the world’s largest businesses and economies. However, big business can do much to help grow a global economy that benefits everyone.

Sharing best practices and investing in LDCs are prime examples of ways to promote a more equitable transition into the tech future. Business is vital in enhancing these countries’ presence in global supply chains.

They can also support small and medium enterprises by boosting their productive capacity at the domestic level. However, this has not happened thus far, and the time to change the focus is now.

Investing in people:
Globally, education systems struggle to adapt to fast-changing technologies, with just 54% of countries having digital skill standards. However, in the world’s poorest nations, 260 million primary and secondary school people did not attend school in 2020.

As long as LDCs spend more on servicing their external debt than on education, this appalling inequality will not change. Using low-cost, high-impact technologies to build human capital in LDCs is fundamental. There is much the wealthiest countries can do in this critical area.

Safeguarding the planet:
Large pockets of the world’s poorest are starving due to climate-induced disasters and food insecurity. Climate financing action is vital for LDCs, which contribute less than four percent of global emissions but bear some of the most severe impacts of climate change.

Existing and new technologies, as well as those that can help predict climate change and manage disasters, should be transferred to those who need them most. Of course, the developed world must meet its commitments to financing climate action.

Rebuilding trust: There is much talk about global collaboration and multilateralism – at a time of rising global inequality and increasing isolationism. Davos could do well to foster greater inclusivity and, in doing so, build this much-needed trust and hope.

Those with great wealth and influence also have a great responsibility. Unless the World Economic Forum’s annual summit focuses on the more than one billion people living in the world’s poorest countries, it will remain an echo chamber for the privileged.

A global future rooted in equity, shared prosperity, and collective resilience is possible and essential for us all. Davos 2025 must seize the opportunity to redefine itself as a proper forum for global progress.

(*Deodat Maharaj, the former head of the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency, manages the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries. He can be reached at: deodat.maharaj@un.org