Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries enjoy a remarkably small shadow economy. Their informal businesses account for 18% of GDP, below the world average (~28%), and close to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries (~15%). However, bringing shadow businesses into the formal economy is a priority. This Viewpoint shares recent initiatives and explores options for shrinking the shadow economy and expanding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by increasing economic and financial inclusion.

  Winds of change  In a rapidly changing, digitally enabled world where citizens have become used to services only a click away, governments continue to struggle to keep pace despite significant advancements in e-government or, as it is more commonly known today, digital government. In the future, digital government will be a key enabler not only for the way governments improve service delivery to citizens but also in the way core government functions evolve around four core themes [1]: