Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization
The author, Deemah AlYahya, is the founding Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization and a recognized advocate for innovation, inclusion, and digital empowerment across emerging economies. She works directly with heads of state, government ministers and digital economy leaders to promote the inclusive development of the digital economy, focusing on global initiatives with real-world impact.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, digital transformation is a key engine for economic growth, job creation, and social progress. However, achieving true digital transformation requires more than simply deploying new technologies; it demands strategic policymaking, evidence-based decision-making, and sustained investment in people, systems, and infrastructure. Recognizing this urgent need, the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) created the Digital Economy Navigator (DEN) — an innovative platform that currently covers 50 countries and contributes to building strong, inclusive, and future-ready digital economies.
The DEN offers a comprehensive, data-driven approach to policymaking. Through in-depth assessments, benchmarking against global standards, customized policy recommendations, and ongoing progress tracking, DEN provides policy makers across countries with the tools they need to shape the future of their economies. It allows countries to identify critical gaps, set clear priorities, and implement reforms that align digital growth with broader national development goals. More importantly, DEN ensures that digital transformation efforts deliver tangible social and economic benefits, particularly in job creation, entrepreneurship, and improved access to essential services.
Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all solution, DEN recognizes the unique starting points and ambitions of each country. It provides tailored support that acknowledges the diverse levels of digital readiness and different geographical and socio-economic contexts – across Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. The approach is both strategic and flexible, making it possible for governments to accelerate reforms and create real, lasting impact.
The real value of DEN can be seen through the results it has helped inform. In Rwanda, for example, an assessment using DEN showed strengths in e-government services but also highlighted gaps in SME digital adoption and digital skills training. In line with these insights, the Rwandan government launched national initiatives to boost digital literacy, particularly among youth and rural populations. New public-private partnerships expanded broadband infrastructure into underserved areas, and enhanced investment support for local tech startups led to the creation of new jobs within the technology sector, focusing on young Rwandans and women. These initiatives should help ensure that Rwanda’s digital growth was not only fast but also inclusive and focused on empowering new generations of entrepreneurs and innovators.
Saudi Arabia provides another practical example. As a founding member of DCO, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification objectives align with the work on the DEN digital economy development agenda. For example, Saudi Arabia expanded its programs to digitize small and medium-sized enterprises, equipping more than 20,000 small businesses with modern digital tools. Additionally, the country launched over 150 new e-government services, significantly increasing the efficiency of public service delivery and citizen engagement. There is also scope for DEN’s findings to help inform regulatory reforms that supported innovation in key sectors such as fintech, healthtech, and e-commerce, contributing to Saudi Arabia’s performance in digital competitiveness and the ease of doing business.
Consistent with the insights from the DEN, Pakistan rolled out national digital skills programs that have trained more than 100,000 young people in areas such as coding, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. Support for digital startups expanded, leading to a 30 per cent increase in tech-based entrepreneurship in less than two years. Infrastructure development, particularly in rural broadband connectivity, also gained new momentum, opening up economic opportunities for communities previously excluded from the digital economy. These outcomes are helping Pakistan unlock the economic potential of its youth and foster a more dynamic, innovation-driven economy.
In West Africa, Nigeria is working to strengthen its national digital economy strategy with a clear focus on capacity-building and investment attraction. This includes regulatory reforms to attract private investment into broadband expansion, while digital literacy programs have been taken up by children across rural communities, helping create a new generation of digitally empowered citizens. The startup ecosystem benefited as well, with the number of registered fintech companies doubling, positioning Nigeria as a leader in digital finance innovation across Africa.
Aligned with the findings in DEN, Bahrain is helping drive smart city initiatives and the growth of e-commerce. Jordan is putting in place strategies to scale digital education and healthcare services. Morocco has launched initiatives to supports SME digitization and rural broadband expansion. Djibouti is enhancing digital government services and administrative reforms, while Bangladesh is growing its digital exports and investing in workforce reskilling.
What sets DEN apart is that it acts not just as a diagnostic tool but as a catalyst for broader socio-economic development. By offering countries a structured, evidence-based framework for action, DEN is helping the growth of emerging industries such as fintech, agritech, and healthtech, while opening pathways for new jobs across sectors like education, logistics, and financial services. It ensures that women, youth, and regional and rural communities are included in the digital growth story, strengthening social cohesion and economic resilience. By embedding sustainability and inclusiveness into digital policy, DEN helps build economies that are more agile and innovative, as well as better prepared to navigate global economic shifts.
By offering countries a structured, evidence-based framework for action, DEN is helping the growth of emerging industries such as fintech, agritech, and healthtech, while opening pathways for new jobs across sectors like education, logistics, and financial services.
The DEN framework continues to evolve. As adoption grows among its members and partners, DEN will continue to develop, integrating sustainability benchmarks, focusing on emerging technologies such as AI, and encouraging more cross-border cooperation in areas like digital trade and cybersecurity. To help achieve this, the DEN will also explore and integrate increased engagements and partnerships with the private sector and academia, as well as other key stakeholders shaping the global digital economy.
In a world where the digital economy increasingly underpins national competitiveness, quality of life, and resilience, the work of the DCO and its Digital Economy Navigator has never been more critical. DEN offers countries a way to move beyond aspirations and toward real transformation — building digital economies that are connected, inclusive, and ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Through the Digital Economy Navigator, the DCO is not only imagining a more connected, prosperous future — it is helping nations build it, one policy, one reform, and one success story at a time.
