Digital trade is racing ahead, reshaping markets, rewriting rules, and redrawing the map of who gets to grow, and it’s waiting for no one. But as billions flow across fibre optic lines, the world's poorest nations remain on the margins.

The UK’s newly released Trade Strategy underscores this urgency. Announced last week, the strategy includes a strong emphasis on digital trade, positioning the UK as a global hub for digitally delivered services and a champion for modernising trade rules. The strategy aims to “shape global digital standards” and improve access for UK firms through innovative bilateral Digital Trade Agreements—yet it also highlights the growing divide between countries with digital capabilities and those without.

For developing economies, this global push raises the stakes: without the infrastructure and policy reforms to participate, they risk being left even further behind.

When Dr. Kati Suominen and Ilmari Soininen talk about digital trade, they’re describing both a blueprint and a warning. They’re calling to rewire global commerce, not just for speed or scale, but for fairness.

Following their participation in a recent Conversation Series panel in our London office, we spoke to both experts about what’s at stake for the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) in this new digital age, and how policies, platforms, and payment systems could either widen or narrow the global inequality gap.

A Great Reordering and a New UK Strategy

“Digital trade isn’t just growing,” says Dr. Kati Suominen, founder of Nextrade Group and one of the world’s leading thinkers on e-commerce and cross-border services. “It’s redefining who gets to participate in global trade.”

That participation is wildly uneven. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), LDCs account for just 0.2% of global exports of digitally delivered services. Africa, as a continent, claims less than 1%. “It’s a sharp reminder,” Suominen continues, “that without investment and reform, the digital economy won’t trickle down - it will lock people out.”

Ilmari Soininen, Director of Economic Growth at Palladium, frames the moment strategically. “When I speak with governments in Africa and Asia, there’s growing urgency. They see the potential of digital trade to leapfrog traditional economic models - especially where transport and logistics have long been bottlenecks. But that only happens if the digital rails are there.”

The Digital Advantage, If It Can Be Reached

So, what’s the promise? “Digitally deliverable services are inherently scalable,” says Suominen. “Whether it's IT services, online tutoring, app development—these are high-value, low-footprint industries. You don’t need ports, you need bandwidth.” Since 2019, she has been outlining how technologies like 5G, cloud computing, and AI open doors for firms of all sizes if supported by updated rules and infrastructure.

Soininen adds that the upside isn’t theoretical. “We’ve seen young firms in Ghana or Kenya build successful export businesses on platforms, even while facing local power cuts and connectivity issues.” He adds that the UK’s commitment to do more to build out the opportunities from the preferential access for LDCs into the UK services market is a welcome shift.

“With the right ecosystem, these entrepreneurs can thrive.”

Hard Walls and Missing Floors

Still, both warn that the barriers are real. “You’re not going to export digital services without affordable broadband,” Suominen says flatly. “And many rural regions are still priced out or simply not connected.” She also points to the skill gap. “Digital literacy is not just about using apps, it’s about navigating platforms, complying with cross-border tax rules, delivering professional services online.”

Soininen sees another problem: fragmentation. “LDCs aren’t just missing out because of infrastructure - they’re sidelined in rule-making. Only a handful are in agreements with modern digital trade chapters. That means they’re excluded from the very systems that could include them.”

Money In, Money Out

Financial access is another friction point. “If you can’t get paid easily and reliably,” says Suominen, “you’re not in business.” Her recent report, Uptake, Use, and Inclusion Gains from Fast Payment Systems, shows how modern payment infrastructure can unlock cross-border commerce for micro and small businesses.

She’s particularly focused on tools like low-cost e-invoicing, platform liability for tax compliance, and mobile-first payments. “These systems reduce friction and increase trust. They’re essential.”

Soininen agrees, noting the macro implications. “Trade is income. When MSMEs can plug into global markets and get paid, that’s tax base, that’s job creation, that’s resilience. It’s not just digital, it’s real economic developmental.”

Making the Rules Stick

But what happens after the agreement is signed? Suominen’s latest work, Watching the Watchmen: Monitoring Digital Trade Agreements, argues that implementation often lags behind ambition. “We need regional and multilateral monitoring to ensure commitments turn into outcomes. Especially when digital protectionism is on the rise.”

Soininen sees this as a practical challenge. “Without accountability, these agreements won't take hold. The private sector needs predictability, and governments need a reason to keep investing. Monitoring gives both.”

The Twin Agenda

The solution says Suominen and Soininen is that it’s about pairing the hard with the soft.

“Don’t just lay fibre,” Suominen says. “Build rules around data flows, privacy, and interoperability. Don’t just sign a deal, track its implementation.”
Soininen agrees. “We need a twin agenda. Hard infrastructure and soft reform. Market access and market readiness. If we do both, digital trade could genuinely transform how the Global South grows.”

And if we don’t? “We risk replicating the same inequalities of the past,” he says, “only faster, and with more bandwidth.”