- A pioneering endeavor to measure and assess the digital economy maturity of countries worldwide, the DEN examines 50 countries to help stakeholders achieve sustainability, accessibility, and shared prosperity across borders through an evidence-based approach.
- The Navigator aligns with the DCO’s goal of becoming the premier knowledge and data platform on countries’ digital economies, fostering global cooperation and new policya agendas, and supporting the acceleration of digital economy growth everywhere.
New York, USA: The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), a global multilateral organization committed to enabling digital prosperity for all by accelerating the inclusive growth of the digital economy, has launched its inaugural Digital Economy Navigator (DEN) that enables countries including DCO Member State Kuwait to better navigate the paths to digital economy maturity, find opportunities for growth, benchmark progress, and bridge the gap in digital economy maturity. The DEN was unveiled at the SDG Digital 2024, held during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, from September 10 to September 27.
Drawing upon officially disseminated statistics, secondary data, and unique proprietary data from a DCO large survey, the DEN is a unifying framework that addresses digital economy maturity across 50 countries, including the DCO Member States. The framework provides a platform for nations, stakeholders, and decision-makers to harmonize efforts in advancing the global digital economy, enabling accessibility, sustainability, and shared prosperity across borders.
The Navigator evaluates the extent to which the factors contribute to economic prosperity, sustainability, and enhanced quality of life for people. This provides a common understanding for different stakeholder groups to work together in developing digital economy strategies to bridge gaps and allows for progress to be tracked over time.
Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General of the DCO, said: “The Digital Economy Navigator aims to enhance accessibility, sustainability, and economic prosperity, ensuring that countries are not just keeping pace but leading in the digital era. As the first global framework to comprehensively address digital economy maturity from a user-centric perspective, DEN plays a pivotal role in advancing the Digital Cooperation Organization’s mission of supporting evidence-based policies and impactful outcomes in the digital economy. By providing reliable and detailed data, insights into current trends and emerging technologies, and strategic foresight into future challenges, DEN equips countries to achieve higher levels of prosperity, inclusion, and sustainability. We at the DCO are committed to empowering stakeholders with the knowledge they need to navigate and thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape”.
The DEN holds relevance for policymakers, business executives, and other experts in aspects of the digital economy. Decision-makers are equipped with the research, data, and analysis necessary to cultivate a more inclusive digital economy and society, enhance digital innovation, spur job creation, accelerate GDP growth, amplify sustainability through digital technologies, and enhance overall wellbeing.
Uniquely among global tools, the DEN assesses the digital economy through the lens of three intersecting dimensions: Digital Enablers, Digital Business, and Digital Society. Within the three dimensions, 10 pillars synthesize and summarize key aspects of countries’ digital economy and use of digital technology application from 102 indicators gathered from respected secondary data sources, as well as primary data from a novel survey of more than 27,000 people across the 50 countries.
The DEN introduces a comprehensive maturity classification system with five categories based on pillars’ scores from 0 to 100, that can be used by stakeholders to better target and focus initiatives to drive digital advancement and innovation in their quest for sustainable and inclusive growth of their digital economy.
DCO Member State Kuwait is within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The DEN report shows that MENA is advanced in digital for work and training, with efforts to reduce gender gaps in digital access to opportunities and promoting positive impact of the gig economy. The region is also advanced in digital for health and education.
Audiences can access the DEN report, infographic, methodology, and data in Excel format by visiting the DEN online platform at den.dco.org. The report provides an in-depth analysis of digital economy maturity from multiple perspectives. Additionally, users have the option to download the report for offline access.
The DEN will continue to evolve over time to capture the rapidly changing nature of the digital economy. While DEN’s overall objective will remain in future editions, technologies and applications will evolve and be measured by how they contribute to the digital economy.
About the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)
The Digital Cooperation Organization is the world’s first standalone international intergovernmental organization focusing on the acceleration of the growth of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy. It is a global multilateral organization founded in November 2020 that aims to enable digital prosperity for all.
The DCO brings together the Ministries of Communications and Information Technology of its Member States, and is focused on empowering youth, women, and entrepreneurs, leveraging the accelerative power of the digital economy, and leapfrogging with innovation to drive economic growth and increase social prosperity.
The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) brings together ministries of communications and information technology in 16 countries: the Kingdom of Bahrain, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Djibouti, the Republic of The Gambia, the Republic of Ghana, the Hellenic Republic (Greece), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Sultanate of Oman, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Rwanda, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – collectively representing nearly $3.5 trillion in GDP and a market of nearly 800 million people, more than 70% of whom are under the age of 35.
Through cooperation and strategic dialogue, we drive the facilitation of mutually advantageous cross-border legislation. The DCO seeks to establish within its Member States the optimal infrastructure and policies for the rapid creation of inclusive and equitable digital economies within which all people, businesses, and societies can innovate and thrive. The DCO’s vision is to work towards a world in which every nation, business, and person has a fair opportunity to prosper in the digital economy.
In pursuit of the Member States’ common interests, the DCO works collaboratively with governments, the private sector, international organizations, NGOs, and civil society to enable more inclusive digital transformation and the growth of the digital economy.
The DCO’s key initiatives include programs to enhance cross-border data flows, promote market expansion for SMEs, empower digital entrepreneurs, and advance digital inclusion among women, and the youth, and other underrepresented populations.
More information about the DCO can be found at
www.DCO.org
www.linkedin.com/company/DCOrg
For media enquiries, please contact media@DCO.org
