The Government of Guyana, with support from UNDP Guyana and UNDP’s Chief Digital Office, recently completed a Digital Readiness Assessment (DRA) to evaluate the country’s preparedness for digital transformation. The DRA provided a comprehensive analysis of Guyana’s digital landscape, assessing infrastructure, skills, policy frameworks, and cultural readiness. These insights are instrumental in guiding strategic investments and policy decisions to harness digital technologies for sustainable development and economic growth. The assessment also served as a platform to surface sector-specific challenges and explore tailored solutions for Guyana. It identified key strengths and gaps across six strategic pillars: Government, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Connectivity, Regulation, Economy, and People.
The findings of the DRA underscored the need for continued holistic and inclusive approach to digital transformation, engaging government institutions, the private sector, and civil society. More specifically, the DRA positioned Guyana in an overall Systematic stage of digital readiness (See Figure 1 below), showing the country has moved beyond basic adoption and experimentation with digital technologies. It notes that digitalisation is being integrated across sectors, policies, and governance structures with clear evidence for strategic coordination among them. Guyana has made significant strides in enhancing digital infrastructure, improving access to information and communication technologies, and strengthening legislative frameworks and regulations. Progress continues in the areas of digital literacy, provision of public e-services and comprehensive and integrated policy framework.
