January 2022
ADVANCING DIGITAL TOOLS FOR INVESTMENT PROMOTION & FACILITATION IN THE MENA REGION Sarah Marion Dayan
SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS This policy brief accompanied discussions at the regional workshop “Integrating digital tools and solutions into MENA IPA activities”, organised on 14 October 2021 by the EU-OECD Programme on Investment in the Mediterranean 1, in collaboration with the OECD IPA Network. The workshop gathered IPA practitioners from MENA and peer countries (including Estonia, the United Kingdom and Dubai, UAE) to share specific digital practices and tools adopted, as well as challenges and opportunities faced by IPAs in digitalising activities. This brief sets out points for discussion, drawing on the results of the OECD Survey on Investment Promotion & Digitalisation. The survey was completed online by IPAs from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Libya and Tunisia 2 in summer 2021, as well as by IPAs from 36 OECD countries for comparative analysis. The brief was updated after the workshop to incorporate key points shared by MENA and peer IPAs. Notable findings from the survey and interactive discussions between MENA and peer IPAs include: •
Many MENA IPAs use, and have recently expanded, digital tools to support investors throughout the investment process, from investment promotion (i.e. targeting and attracting investors) to investment facilitation (i.e. supporting entry of operations); some have also introduced tools to provide aftercare services following project establishment. MENA IPAs use digital tools for internal processes, but noted that maintaining consistent use for customer relationship management is a challenge.
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MENA IPAs seem to use digital tools for a wider range of activities than OECD agencies. This may reflect advancements to ease administrative procedures for investors in jurisdictions where steps to invest can be lengthy and cumbersome. Compared to OECD countries, a greater proportion of MENA economies have digitised most procedures to invest and set up a business.
1 This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. 2 References to Tunisia’s IPA throughout this note refer to the Tunisian Investment Authority (TIA). Tunisia operates more than one
national IPA, however, only TIA completed the second half of the OECD Digital survey, on which this policy note focuses.