IDCA participates at UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing and Development (FFD4) Seville, Spain

SEVILLE, SPAIN – July 2nd, 2025. International Data Center Authority (IDCA) has reported that as a key contributor to the United Nation’s World Investment Report 2025 developed by the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), IDCA was invited to attend the 4th International Conference on Financing and Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain.

Aside from numerous meetings with heads of state, ministers and delegation from around the world, IDCA Chairman Mehdi Paryavi took the stage and spoke on “Bridging the financing and investment gap for digital infrastructure to empower global digital economies”. This week's 4th International Conference on Financing and Development (FFD4) draw the world’s attention and thousands of delegates from around the globe participated to discuss global financing and investments.

The FFD conferences are held only once every 10 years, and attract hundreds of world leaders and top business executives from around the globe. This year's event was opened by the King of Spain Felipe VI followed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and United Nations Secretary-General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres. The Presidents and prime ministers of more than 70 nations were in attendance.

“It was our pleasure to be invited and hosted with such warm welcome by the amazing team of UNCAD at the United Nation 4th Financing for Development Conference which occurs every decade,” stated Mehdi Paryavi. “Following to our close collaboration with the UN on the recently released World Investment Report 2025, on the back of IDCA’s Global Digital Economy Report 2025 and Global Artificial Intelligence Report 2025, it was intrinsically valuable for our presence and in-depth conversations with global leaders and policymakers, to be at the front seat of this unwrapping development.”

According to IDCA the world's digital infrastructure is growing at exponential rates. Data and AI centers are projected to grow from today's capacity of 55GW to 300GW by 20230, with the total buildout of accompanying digital infrastructure and services to elevate the world's Digital Economy from its current 16 percent of the global economy to as much as 30 percent of it.

Key Investment, Digital Economy, and AI Reports
IDCA had published two key reports in 2025 prior to the FFD4 conference that address the issues concerning the world's Digital Economy and current AI development era. The reports illustrate the wide gaps in development levels of the world's Digital Economies and address technological, financial, and economic solutions and paths for each of the world's nations. IDCA and UNCTAD recently worked together to integrate some of IDCA's findings into UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2025, which was released prior to the FFD4 conference.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan noted that 80 percent of$1.5 trillion in foreign direct investment (FDI) for Digital Economy initiatives in developing nations flow to only 10 nations. Furthermore, overall FDI actually fell 11 percent over the past year, Grynspan said, with particular drops in commitments to renewable energy, water and sanitation, and agrifood systems.

IDCA predicts that there is a need for almost $1 trillion in investment throughout the developing world for new, sustainable energy resources, to enable real progress in developing Digital Economies, as well as more than 100 million new, related jobs. Another $1 trillion will be required to build the data and AI centers needed to bring substantial development to Digital Economies.

“At the moment, more than 40 percent of all data centers are located in the US, and the world's top 40 data center nations control 98 percent of data capacity,” Paryavi noted. “The enormous need for sustainable energy, digital hubs, AI data centers, and new AI-related training and jobs and to serve these new economies is a profound, top-priority global issue.”

IDCA Global Report on AI
IDCA's most recent report, the Global Report on AI, features focused sections on processing requirements and the leading chips being deployed today; the spectrum of AI across GenAI, Agentic AI, and AGI; the approach of quantum computing and its implications for AI; AI sovereignty, responsibility, and ethics; the readiness of nations for AI; and how AI centers and hubs can be uniquely fitted to nations of all sizes.

“As with IDCA's Digital Economy report, the Global Report on AI delivers a precise, proportionate analysis that strategic nation builders and investors need to implement positive measures for the future of their nations,” according to Roger Strukhoff, Chief Research Officer of IDCA. “Sustainability represents table stakes in this analysis, and when integrated with informed decisions and AI-driven strategies, will create prosperity for nations and their people.”

The IDCA Global AI Report is available at no fee to nations, companies, and Digital Economy experts and professionals. It serves as a change-agent and reference point as it builds upon the foundations of ongoing IDCA research into Digital Economies.Requests for the report can be sent via International Data Center Authority (IDCA)'s LinkedIn page, or by email at research@idc-a.org.

About IDCA
International Data Center Authority (IDCA) is a global, non-partisan think tank operating in over 40 countries with its international headquarter offices in Washington DC.The firm works with governments, enterprises, partners, affiliates and other organizations to create Digital Economies through the standardization, governance, and policy, as well as use of modern digital infrastructure, empowered human capital, and research-based roadmaps and implementations. More on IDCA: www.idc-a.org.

About FFD4
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) provides a unique opportunity to reform financing at all levels, including to support reform of the international financial architecture and addressing financing challenges preventing the urgently needed investment push for the SDGs. The International Conferences on Financing for Development are the only space where leaders from all governments, along with international and regional organizations, financial and trade institutions, businesses, civil society and the UN System unite at the highest levels, fostering stronger international cooperation.

About UNCTAD
As an organization within the United Nations Secretariat, UNCTAD supports developing countries to access the benefits of a globalized economy more fairly and effectively. UNCTAD helps equip them to deal with the potential drawbacks of greater economic integration, by providing analysis, facilitate consensus-building, and technical assistance. This helps nations use trade, investment, finance, and technology as vehicles for inclusive and sustainable development.