The year 2023 was one of growth for Partner2Connect. The number of pledges received increased by 53%, the financial resources mobilized by 24% and the number of pledging entities by 55%. The Coalition also increased by 20% the number of countries engaged.
A critical success factor in the pledge mobilization efforts continued to be the targeted campaigns and major pledge drives at global events like the LDC5 Conference and SDG Digital. ITU’s Regional Development Forums also proved to be a powerful engine for growth, accounting for most of the new pledge submissions.
The focus areas of ADOPTION and ACCESS received the majority of the 293 new pledges submitted; skills, digital inclusion and digital innovation and entrepreneurship were the pillars most frequently targeted.
Programmatic pledges continued to be the most common among the 293 new submissions (58%); advocacy-related pledges came in second place (21%), putting policy-related pledges in third place (12%).
The private sector took first place in terms of the value of financial resources mobilized, pledging approximately USD 6 billion worth of new commitments in 2023. Government placed second with over USD 900 million.
The top three SDGs targeted through the pledges submitted this year were SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).
Of the 845 total pledges submitted, 261 (31%) target at least one LDC and are worth an estimated value of USD 12.24 billion.
Women are specified as one of the beneficiary groups in 47% of the 293 new pledges, and in 52% of all the pledges in the P2C platform.
Most of the 845 total submitted pledges originate from Europe (29%), followed by Africa (21%) and the Americas (20%). Combined, these three regions have pledged a total of USD 26.5 billion, accounting for 72% of the total resources mobilized by the Coalition.
About 83% of the total pledges involve just one (single) implementing entity; joint pledges account for the remaining 17%. Also, in 36 of the 275 pledges reported (13%), new partnerships were formed as a result of the pledge. Additional and new partners were sought to expand the outreach of programmes, extend the knowledge base, and increase the number of funding sources to help with localization efforts.
As of 6 December, of the total 845 pledges submitted by 408 entities, 275 pledges had been reported on by 143 entities. This means 33% of the total commitments had been reported on by 35% of all pledgers. The small proportional reduction relative to last year’s reporting rates (37% and 38% respectively) can be partly explained by the high number of new pledges submitted this year, for which implementation activities are just getting started.
Approximately USD 4.8 billion was spent towards the implementation of those 275 pledges that were reported on. This represents an increase of USD 1.5 billion in expenditure on implementation compared with 2022.
By the end of 2023, 73% of the 275 pledges reported on were in progress, 13% were in the planning phase, 12% had already been completed, and 3% had not started yet. Of those in progress, 55% were in the early to middle stages of implementation and about 19% were close to completion.
Challenges described by pledgers included natural disasters, difficulties in fundraising and capacity building, and delays in administrative procedures which hindered progress on the implementation of their pledges. They also highlighted some unexpected positive outcomes such as the growth of the digital economy in rural areas, improvements in educational quality and the living standards of families, and greater interest from policy-makers in upskilling.
Data indicate that most of the pledges reported on (88%) adhere to at least one of the Coalition’s targets. Four of the top five targets are related to ADOPTION. Two new targets emerged as leading trends among pledgers in 2023, namely for 70% of connected individuals to possess basic digital skills, and 50% to have intermediate skills, by 2030.