POLICY BRIEF 2026: Assessment of the Nexus Between Digital Trade/ e-commerce and Climate Change in the IGAD Region

The Horn of Africa Digital Market Integration (HDMI) project seeks to establish a unified digital market across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, aligned with regional integration objectives and complementary to continental initiatives, such as the African Union Digital Transformation Strategy. The HDMI project prioritises digital financial services (DFS), interoperability, logistics improvements, and digital skills development to expand inclusive trade and economic opportunity, especially for women and youth.

At the same time, the Horn of Africa region is among the most climate vulnerable regions globally. Recurrent droughts, floods and heat stress affect agricultural production, trade logistics, energy systems, and population mobility, pressures that also shape whether digital trade systems can operate reliably and inclusively.

Digital expansion across Africa is accelerating, but connectivity, affordability and skills gaps remain binding constraints. Climate extremes further elevate risks for power, transport corridors and telecommunications systems, directly affecting reliability of digital payments, e commerce delivery and cross border logistics (ITU, 2023; GSMA, 2022; WMO, 2024; IGAD/ICPAC, 2023). Meanwhile, e waste is an increasingly significant environmental and health risk, where formal collection and recycling systems remain limited (Global E waste Monitor, 2024).