By: Amara Collins

The digital economy is often framed as a success story. Platforms connect buyers and sellers across borders. Mobile wallets bring financial services to communities that once had none. Technology promises faster growth and broader opportunity.

But Mayada El-Zoghbi believes that story is incomplete.

In Power, Platforms & Participation, Mayada explores how the rise of digital platforms is reshaping economies and societies at a pace few people fully understand. Her work draws on decades spent studying financial inclusion and development across emerging markets.

What she sees is a system full of potential, but also one that quietly concentrates power and leaves many people outside the gates.

Her book asks a question that feels increasingly urgent.

Who actually benefits from the digital economy?

Why the Book Arrived Now

Mayada’s motivation for writing the book came from years of travel and field work.

In many developing economies, leaders are eager to accelerate growth. One of the most appealing strategies is to adopt the technologies that appear to have driven prosperity in wealthier countries.

It is an understandable instinct. If digital innovation helped power economic expansion in places like the United States, why not replicate the same path elsewhere?

But Mayada began to notice a troubling pattern.

The digital trajectory in developed economies has not distributed benefits as widely as many hoped. Instead, it has often coincided with widening income inequality, pressure on small businesses, and strains on democratic institutions.

For countries still building their digital infrastructure, this moment presents a choice.

They can replicate the current model or rethink how digital systems should function before the structure becomes locked in.

Mayada wrote the book to bring that conversation beyond technology circles. Decisions about digital infrastructure shape the lives of ordinary people, and she believes those decisions should involve more than engineers and executives.

Power in the Hands of Platforms

One word sits at the center of Mayada’s argument. Power.

Today that power is largely concentrated inside major technology companies.

Platforms shape how people shop, how businesses reach customers, how information circulates, and how financial services operate. Their algorithms quietly influence what people see, buy, and trust.

This influence creates a new kind of economic hierarchy.

Certain groups are particularly vulnerable to exclusion within these systems. Women often face barriers to digital access and financial tools. Rural communities may struggle with connectivity or digital literacy.

People who speak indigenous languages or lack formal education can also find themselves locked out of digital systems designed for very different users.

The exclusion is not always deliberate. Often it emerges from the way algorithms rely on existing data patterns, which may already reflect social inequalities.

Following the Money

Mayada’s background in inclusive finance shapes how she interprets the digital economy.

She often returns to a simple phrase. Follow the money.

Digital payments sit at the center of modern platform ecosystems. When money moves digitally, it creates a trail of data.

Those data trails tell companies how people spend, save, and transfer funds. Over time that information becomes a powerful asset.

With enough data, companies can estimate creditworthiness, tailor financial products, and expand services to customers who previously lacked access to formal finance.

For businesses, digital payments also unlock participation in online marketplaces. A small retailer that once served only local customers can reach buyers across a country or even across continents.

Digital payments, in other words, act as the engine of the digital economy.

They enable transactions, generate data, and open pathways to entirely new services.

Opportunity and Pressure for Small Businesses

Platforms often promise small businesses unprecedented reach.

Imagine a rural shop that once served a few thousand local customers. By joining an online marketplace, that same shop could theoretically sell to millions of people.

Platforms can help manage payments, logistics, inventory systems, and fulfillment networks. These services lower barriers that once kept small firms out of national or global markets.

Yet this expansion also brings new challenges.

Competition becomes far more intense. Instead of being the only store in a neighborhood, a business may suddenly compete with thousands of sellers offering nearly identical products.

Visibility becomes a struggle. Algorithms determine which sellers appear in search results and which remain hidden.

Fees can also grow over time. Platforms often begin with modest commissions to attract sellers, then gradually increase their share as the ecosystem becomes harder to leave.

Large platforms also possess vast datasets about what customers buy. That information can reveal profitable product categories, allowing the platform itself to launch competing items.

For smaller firms, the playing field can shift quickly.

When Digital Identity Disappears

The digital economy also intersects with deep social structures.

Mayada often describes a scenario common in many developing regions.

A woman in a rural community may share a phone with her husband rather than owning one herself. Social norms may discourage women from managing their own financial accounts or digital wallets.

From a technical perspective, the household still has access to digital tools.

But the data generated through those tools is tied to the husband’s identity.

If the woman later tries to apply for a digital loan to support a small business, lenders may see little evidence of her financial activity.

Her work and transactions exist, but the digital system does not recognize them.

This phenomenon illustrates what researchers often call algorithmic bias. Data driven systems rely on information patterns that may overlook entire groups of people.

Rethinking Regulation

Policymakers face a complicated task as digital platforms expand.

Traditional regulation focused heavily on price competition. Governments worried about monopolies raising prices for consumers.

But many digital services appear free.

The real currency is data.

Platforms collect enormous volumes of personal information and convert that information into advertising revenue, product development insights, and algorithmic targeting.

For regulators, this shifts the focus from price to data governance.

Questions about data ownership, consent, storage, and accountability are becoming central to economic policy.

Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation has become one of the most prominent attempts to address these issues, though it may not fit every country’s needs.

What matters most is recognizing that digital platforms increasingly function like public infrastructure.

And infrastructure requires oversight.

Designing for Real People

Mayada also urges technology companies to rethink how they design products.

Historically, many industries tested products using a model based on the average male user. Car safety testing, for example, relied heavily on crash test dummies built to male physical specifications.

The result was a higher injury risk for women in real world crashes.

Technology can fall into similar patterns.

Smartphones are often designed around hand sizes that may not be comfortable for many women. Software systems sometimes assume literacy levels or language skills that large populations do not possess.

Building inclusive systems requires companies to study the diversity of their customers rather than designing for a narrow profile.

In practical terms, that means thinking carefully about who uses a product today and who should be able to use it tomorrow.

The Policy Choices Ahead

Mayada does not believe a single reform can rebalance the digital economy.

But she points to an emerging idea that could reshape the landscape. Separate the infrastructure from the services built on top of it.

In some countries, public digital infrastructure already exists. Shared identity systems, payment networks, and verification platforms allow private companies to compete on services rather than controlling the underlying rails.

Where those systems do not exist, the dominance of large technology firms raises difficult questions about competition and accountability.

A Moment of Decision

The digital economy is no longer a niche sector.

It is becoming the backbone of how societies operate.

For Mayada, the central challenge is ensuring that this transformation benefits more than a narrow slice of the population.

Access alone is not enough. Participation must translate into meaningful opportunity.

That will require thoughtful policy, responsible corporate design, and greater awareness among the people who rely on digital systems every day.

The future of the digital economy is still being written.

And according to Mayada, the decisions made now will determine whether it becomes a force for shared prosperity or a structure that quietly deepens existing divides.

Take a moment to explore Power, Platforms & Participation by Mayada El-Zoghbi, a thoughtful look at how innovation and finance can create real impact. It’s a great read if you’re curious about how systems are evolving to better serve people.