VisionRI provided consulting services to conduct a feasibility study for the Digital Literacy and Skills Development in The Gambia. The primary goal of this consulting assignment was to conduct comprehensive stocktaking, assessment, and evaluation to achieve several objectives. These included establishing and strengthening the institutional and regulatory framework for digital literacy, leveraging the African Development Bank’s coding for employment program to empower a new generation of digitally proficient youth, and enhancing employability and access to quality jobs for youth and women by improving their digital skills.

The initiative aimed to foster the development of a new wave of entrepreneurs, potentially creating an additional 10,000 businesses and 500,000 jobs by 2031. It also sought to increase ICT-driven local content and female participation, develop digital programs tailored to the local market, and boost the efficiency and productivity of the national workforce.

The study was structured into several activity streams. The first stream involved a literature review focusing on digital literacy initiatives and the assessment of policy and regulatory frameworks. The second stream, empirical studies, and primary data collection, included Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to evaluate the digital literacy landscape.

The third stream involved analysis and recommendations, assessing digital skills development, preparing a list of necessary ADST courses, identifying ADST courses imparted both regionally and globally, and assessing gaps in the country's ADST offerings. This stream also examined the digital training landscape and its value chain, assessed the competence of tertiary institutions, and provided recommendations for the integration, improvement, and diffusion of digital literacy. It concluded with a cost assessment for rolling out digital literacy initiatives, followed by a validation workshop and final reporting.