The Gambia superiority in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in terms of enabling environment, usage and impact in West Africa region has been confirmed. World Economic Forum (WEF) in its 2014 Global Information Technology Report (GITR) of nations’ Networked Readiness Index (NRI) ranked The Gambia ahead of Senegal, Nigeria and Sierra Leone with 3.9 score while Senegal, Nigeria and Sierra Leone have 3.6, 3.5 and 3.6 respectively for the availability of right ecosystem in ICT sector. In the usage sub-index, The Gambia scored 3.4 points while Senegal and Nigeria were tied with 3.2 points. With varied social and economic impacts of ICTs on the users, The Gambia scored 3.4 placing her onwards of Sierra Leone and Liberia who have 2.6 points, and Nigeria and Senegal with 3.2 and 3.3 respectively.
The report positioned The Gambia at 107 with 3.4 scores out of 148 countries surveyed edging Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria and Liberia. The latest ranking however showed that the country drops on the index with 9 points against 2013 ranking which placed her at 98th. Despite leading Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria and Liberia, the report indicates that The Gambia is still among worst nations in the world that fall in ICTs readiness with 1.0-3.3 value.
According to the forum, the friendliness of a country’s market and regulatory framework in supporting high levels of ICT uptake, the degree of preparedness to make good use of an affordable ICT infrastructure, individuals business and government efforts to increase their capacity to use ICTs as well as their actual use in day-to-day activities are measured.
In his foreword, chairman and chief executive officer, Cissco System, Mr John Chambers said NRI provides policymakers, business leaders, and concerned citizens with valuable insights into current market conditions and the state of connectivity across the world, and helps to identify where more can be done to accelerate positive impact of ICTs on the world.
The report stated that severe weaknesses persist in sub-Saharan Africa’s business and innovation ecosystems, which result in very low positive economic and social impacts.
“Addressing these weaknesses, not only by developing a more solid ICT infrastructure but also by improving the framework conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship will be crucial to avoid the emergence of a new digital divide that will be evident in a disparity of the economic and social impacts associated with what has been called the digital revolution,” the report emphasized.
Comments
Post a Comment