The World Bank, under the leadership of newly appointed Country Manager Georgia Wallen, has committed to bolstering Liberia's digital economy, signaling a significant step towards the advancement of the country's digital transformation initiatives. The announcement was made at the Liberia Country Diagnostic workshop on Tuesday.
Wallen highlighted the profound impact that digitalization can have on Liberia's development, emphasizing that digital technologies are revolutionizing the way people live, work, and interact. She pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this transformation, leading to increased technology adoption worldwide across various sectors including education, health, and finance.
In her remarks, Wallen stressed that in today's interconnected world, digitalization is not a luxury but a necessity for economic growth, social development, and global competitiveness. She noted that over the past decade, the digital economy has grown rapidly and now accounts for more than 15% of the global GDP.
The Liberian government has embarked on transitioning into a knowledge-based economy with enhanced social development for all. Minister of Post and Telecommunications Worlea-Saywah Dunah revealed that the government is working with stakeholders in the sector and development partners to develop a five-year national development digital transformation agenda to meet the best ICT standards.
Despite progress in digital connectivity over the past decade, internet usage in Liberia remains low with only 8% of Liberians reported using the internet in 2018 according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), well below the 22% average for Africa. The World Bank also noted that digital entrepreneurship is nascent in Liberia as the country continues to put in place key foundations for an enabling business environment.
In its recommendations, the World Bank called on the government to support rapid deployment of digital infrastructure through additional spectrum resources, flexibility in network traffic management and quality of service rules, classification of network equipment as essential infrastructure and rapid approval of network installations. It also advocated for special tariffs to support vulnerable consumers, and the reconsideration of regulatory practices of retail tariff regulation and use of regulatory fees for domestic revenue mobilization.
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