The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, alongside experts from its member states, convened in The Gambia on February 6 and 7, 2025. The forum aimed to analyze the United Nations' 2024 e-government survey's regional findings and to enhance understanding of a data governance model backed by Sustainable Goal 16 principles: accountability, effectiveness, and inclusiveness.
The ECOWAS Commission introduced its digital sector development strategy for 2024-2029. The strategy aims to "Position ICTs as an engine for economic growth and inclusion, by pursuing the efforts to build a single digital market for sustainable and shared prosperity in the ECOWAS region."
Experts examined trends, lessons learned, achievements, and areas for improvement regarding e-government within ECOWAS countries. Discussions included pillars, practices, challenges, cross-border data sharing, private and public sector data needs, and technical requirements for effective data governance.
Mr. Sédiko Douka, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation at ECOWAS highlighted the Community Strategic Framework's objective to advance inclusive and sustainable development from 2023-2027. He emphasized that "Digitalisation is therefore one of the cross-cutting issues identified as a key area by Vision 2050," crucial for strengthening socio-economic activities like e-commerce and e-health.
Douka called for commitment from digital ecosystem players and coordination between government agencies at national levels with regional cooperation. This includes developing essential digital infrastructures for e-government services.
Mr. Junho LEE spoke on behalf of Mr. Juwang Zhu from UNDESA’s Public Institutions and Digital Government Division. He reiterated their commitment to supporting ECOWAS in its digital governance journey. Lee acknowledged that transformation requires more than technology; it involves rethinking governance structures.
The forum facilitated knowledge exchange on topics such as digital identification systems, interoperability frameworks, artificial intelligence initiatives, national e-government platforms, and available online services. Participants focused on implementing frameworks guided by the United Nations e-Government Development Index (EGDI).
Key recommendations were developed during the forum to accelerate digital development in the ECOWAS region as part of an evolving regional e-government strategy.
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