World Bank Technical Assessment Team visits Liberia’s Telecommunications Sector

The Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) recently convened with a delegation from the World Bank, who were on a technical assessment mission in Liberia. This visit, which took place on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, aimed to assess the telecommunications sector and the broader digital environment of Liberia in preparation for potential technical assistance 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 a keen interest in securing the World Bank’s support to drive digital reforms and advance Liberia’s digital transformation. The LTA specifically requested assistance for various initiatives, including a review of the Universal Access Fund’s governance and operations, updates to the regulatory framework, a nationwide ICT/telecom survey, capacity building, and improvements in internet governance.

This meeting is part of a series of upcoming engagements with the World Bank, all aimed at positioning Liberia to benefit from the proposed WARDIP-SOP2 project. The primary objective of this project is to support the establishment of a second sub-sea fiber cable, which would provide much-needed redundancy for Liberia’s sole international broadband capacity source, ACE, and support other crucial digital development priorities and initiatives.

Notably, preceding the meeting on September 12, 2023, the World Bank delegation conducted a workshop at Mamba Point Hotel. During this event, they presented 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, highlighting significant improvements in mobile and broadband connectivity, increased internet penetration, and exponential growth in internet service usage since the release of the World Bank’s report.