ICT news from The Gambia is not common and news of a three-day tech conference earlier in March caught our attention.

At the gathering, dubbed “African Growth Through Technology Summit,” stakeholders from industry and government discussed how information technology can strengthen The Gambia’s economy. By doing so, they hoped to encourage enterprising Gambians to get involved with technology and gain confidence as entrepreneurs.

Snippets of online coverage from the nation’s Daily Observer and The Point describe how The Republic of The Gambia proudly speaks of its advances in ICT.

Through infrastructure projects, the government is also eying ways to better connect the nation, especially businesses, with fibre optic access. Public-private partnerships are beginning to be utilized to this end. The deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure (MOCI) highlighted successful ICT projects like the ACE submarine cable which increased international bandwidth fourfold in the past two years. He also spoke about a national backbone project that will help realize Vision 2020 goals.

In addition, the Minister of Trade, Integration and Employment spoke of the nation’s advances in using ICT to bolster its stature:

• The Minister of Trade says ICT is an integral part of daily life for the people (mobile subscriptions are nearing 90% according to some sources but internet is limited)
• The government of Gambia allows healthy ICT competition (there are four mobile operators in the country with a fifth on the way).

It is gratifying to note that The Gambia has not been left out of this global bandwagon as the country also witnessed its own ICT revolution. Although much more remains possible, the humble strides registered have changed our daily routines in the way we consume information and use and conceive of technology.”

The event was organized by the Information Technology Association of The Gambia (ITAG) and InSIST Global Gambia with support from The Gambia government.