DIGITAL SOLUTIONS IN PROJECTS: POTENTIAL FOR LEAPS FORWARD IN DEVELOPMENT

SECURE SMARTPHONES, ONLINE HEALTH SERVICES, INDUSTRY 4.0 – WE ARE CURRENTLY SUPPORTING DIGITAL INNOVATIONS IN MORE THAN 200 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION PROJECTS. TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS AND COMMISSIONING PARTIES, WE ARE SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES TO HARNESS THE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. NOWHERE MORE SO THAN IN FRAGILE STATES AND DISADVANTAGED REGIONS – AND FOR POPULATION GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM PROGRESS SO FAR. IN CONTEXTS LIKE THESE, DIGITAL CHANGE CAN LEAD TO REAL LEAPS FORWARD FOR DEVELOPMENT.

INDUSTRY 4.0 – MADE BY GERMANY AND CHINA: STARTUP FACTORY FOR INTELLIGENT PRODUCTION

Whether mechanical engineering or the production of plastics or electronics – the Startup Factory in Kunshan on the outskirts of Shanghai, which was established in conjunction with local government, enables German and Chinese companies to shape the digitalisation of their value chain. This allows them to experience exactly what ‘Industry 4.0’ means and how ‘intelligent production’ works.

In the Smart Manufacturing Demonstration Lab, for example, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited technical resources can try processes out for themselves, for instance testing independent and adaptable production steps by networking robots equipped with advanced sensor technology. A core objective of this type of intelligent production is manufacturing tailor-made, individualised products en masse. Fair general conditions for sustainable economic growth. The Startup Factory is one of 35 lighthouse projects supported by GIZ at the local level since 2016 as part of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The flagship project, German-Chinese Industry 4.0 Cooperation, is making an important contribution to establishing fair general conditions for sustainable economic growth in a globally networked world. GIZ’s experts are advising decision-makers from the fields of politics, business and the scientific and academic community on current developments in China and, together with a wide range of actors, devising specific guidance for policy-makers.

LEARNING FROM SOUTH KOREA: IMPROVING DIGITAL CONSUMER PROTECTION

South Korea is an international pioneer in the field of digital consumer protection. In 2014, it issued an anti-bloatware guideline following a data leak that affected millions of people. Bloatware refers to apps installed on brand new smartphones that often collect data in secret and more often than not cannot be deleted. Hoping to learn from South Korea’s experience, the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection has tasked GIZ with implementing the Consumer Protection on Smartphones project. In May 2018, a GIZ team plans to organise an expert dialogue between the two industrialised countries. This will provide an opportunity for South Korean and German mobile communication and internet companies, consumer associations, think tanks and research and government institutions to discuss successful practices in digital consumer protection, identify security threats and find approaches that will enable users to regain ownership of their data and gain user autonomy.