Virtually all Caribbean countries have asserted their desire to become digital economies and to varying degrees, they have undertaken efforts to achieve it. However, it could be argued that the approach that is being employed is circuitous and inefficient, and there are far more effective ways to achieve the stated goal.
Unlike many of our articles that have as their impetus a single article or viewpoint, today’s article will be drawing on a broad range of observations. In examining this week’s news roundup of articles, although ICT and tech-related, focus on different areas including education, business, misinformation, ICT development and labour, to name a few.
From a country’s perspective, there has been a growing focus on realising a digital economy, and to some degree, there seems to be an appreciation for the fact that to fully realise a digital economy, all sectors and the populace at large would need to be aligned to achieve that goal. However, and across the Caribbean region, the conversations on the digital economy tend to be sector driven, such as regarding the educational reforms needed, the role that financial technology (fintech) should play, or the need for even agriculture in the region to become more digitalised.
As much as each sector or industry may have unique characteristics, strengths and deficiencies that would need to be addressed in order for it to contribute fully to a country’s digital economy, the current approach by many Caribbean countries seems disjointed and uncoordinated. There is thus likely to be a lot of wasted resources and effort, and ultimately, individual countries and the region as a whole, do not realise their optimal digital economies.
What is a digital economy?
Based on our podcast conversation, ICTP 197: Understanding the Caribbean digital economy, with Chelceé Brathwaite and Yacine Khelladi, properly defining what a digital economy is might not be as straightforward as it appears. The explanation provided by Deloitte highlights not only how broad the concept is, but also its inherent complexity:
The digital economy is the economic activity that results from billions of everyday online connections among people, businesses, devices, data, and processes. The backbone of the digital economy is hyperconnectivity which means growing interconnectedness of people, organisations, and machines that results from the Internet, mobile technology and the internet of things (IoT).
The digital economy is taking shape and undermining conventional notions about how businesses are structured; how firms interact; and how consumers obtain services, information, and goods.
At the core of the digital economy is the interconnectedness of everyone and everything, which is all underpinned by technology. However, technology is not just limited to hardware and software – devices and applications – intrinsically, we, humans, need to be able to engage with and leverage that technology and the world that is evolving. The question is, “Is the Caribbean region and its citizens up to that challenge?”
Beginning with the end in mind
Although it may not be possible to comprehensively define all of the features and attributes of a digital economy, it does not appear that we have given much thought to the topic, nor do we have an evolving concept or blueprint to guide our efforts. It could thus be argued that our efforts do not have a focus, and more importantly, although we might be working assiduously, we may have no idea when we have achieved important milestones or even the end goal.
To that end, the importance of a comprehensive plan or strategy cannot be over-emphasised. All sectors of society need to evolve, and perhaps more critically, they need to evolve to similar stages so that synergies can be leveraged and the seamless and interconnected foundation of a digital economy can be realised.
We thus ought to begin with the end in mind, and so be able to express a vision of what we would like our society based on a digital economy to look like. In turn, that vision should guide the policies, strategies, programmes, initiatives and tactics we implement to take us from when we currently are to where we would like to be.
Everything is connected
In summary, a siloed approach to conceptualising a country’s digital economy, and an implementation roadmap that is focused primarily on ‘quick wins’ and ‘low-hanging fruit’ will only get us so far. Employing a more holistic perspective and approach that seek to foster the interconnectedness of sectors, systems and processes is crucial in ensuring that our efforts have a meaningful and long-term impact. However, adopting that posture and having it drive implementation is easier said than done; but it is the effort that is needed for Caribbean countries, and the region as a whole, to realise their truest potential as digital economies in an increasingly competitive world.
Image credit: Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)
