Ghana, Gambia join DCO seeking to build tech-based economies

Ghana and Gambia, both of which were recently welcomed as new members of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), are now gearing up for tech-based economies where knowledge on 4IR is the new business capital.

As legacy economies continue to fall out of favor the world over, the two west African countries are ramping up efforts to build tech-based economies. Ghana and Gambia, with a combined population of 35 million do not want to be sidelined when most economies run by oil, manufacturing, and agriculture are shifting to digital economies. Now, they have joined Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Djibouti, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and Pakistan as members of DCO that aims to link Africa and Gulf countries in the realization of a common digital economy agenda. These 13 members collectively represent nearly $2 trillion in GDP and a market of nearly 600 million people.

Africa faces funding shortfalls in tech infrastructure, challenges in implementing data protection policies, and slow adoption of frontier tech skills, but hopes that partnerships supporting its digital economy agenda could unlock financing.

While the Gambian government continues to pursue the realization of a digital transformation agenda, even in the midst of economic turmoil, Ghana has experienced a digital technology growth by leaps and bounds, and now ranks among the leaders in sub-Saharan Africa in tech adoption.

Despite commanding a market of 1.4 billion people, African countries lack a common agenda for technology, with the African Union and regional organizations such as the ECOWAS, SADCC), and EAC all lacking clear strategies on how members can plug into the global digital economy.