Liberia's Digital Transformation: Collaborating with the World Bank

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, LTA, met with a World Bank Delegation visiting Liberia on a technical assessment mission of the telecommunications sector and the overall digital environment of Liberia. The meeting was in preparation for providing technical assistance for Liberia's Digital Transformation under the proposed West Africa Regional Digital Integration Project Series of Project 2 (WARDIP-SOP2).

During the meeting, Madam Edwina Crump Zackpah, Chairperson of the LTA, expressed interest in securing the World Bank's support to drive these reforms and advance Liberia's digital transformation. Recognizing the need for sector reforms, the LTA specifically requested support for reviewing Universal Access Fund governance and operations, updating the regulatory regime, conducting a nationwide ICT/telecom survey, capacity building, and internet governance, among other areas.

The meeting is one of the series of upcoming engagements with the World Bank aimed at getting Liberia to benefit from the proposed WARDIP-SOP2. The proposed project aims to support the landing of a second sub-sea fiber cable, providing much-needed redundancy for Liberia's only source of international broadband capacity – ACE and other digital development priorities and initiatives.

It can be recalled that preceding Wednesday's meeting, on September 12, 2023, the World Bank delegation hosted a workshop at Mamba Point Hotel. During this workshop, they presented the findings and recommendations from their 2020 Digital Economy Diagnostics Report on Liberia to key stakeholders. At the workshop, the LTA provided insights into the current state of the sector's digital infrastructure, emphasizing the remarkable improvements in mobile and broadband connectivity, increased internet penetration, and the exponential growth in the usage of internet services since the World Bank's report.