ECOWAS: Energy and Digital Infrastructure as a Factor of Regional Integration and Development

The article analyzes one of the most important objectives of ECOWAS development strategy “Vision 2050”, which provides for the intensification of energy and digital infrastructure creation, its operation efficiency growth and the quality of services improvement. The implementation of this aim will contribute to the transformation of the subregion into a fully integrated and interconnected economic zone over the next three decades. The authors consider the current problems of these economic spheres related to the need to expand their financing and coordinate management at the subregional level and to the construction of complex infrastructure facilities due to a significant increase in electricity consumption and the penetration of digitalization process into such sectors of the economy as finance, education, public administration.Important components of the strategy are the creation of a single energy market and participation in Pan-African Communication System Project. Cape Verde is seen as a digital platform, a regional technology hub bringing together the countries of the Community. It is planned to use a submarine fiber optic cable for connecting Cape Verde to Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and to the EllaLink cable system between Brazil and Portugal. The training system WebLab is deployed to support education for ICT development.

ECOWAS, Vision 2050, West African Power Pool, single power grid, Cape Verde, telecommunication, submarine fiber optic cable, the Internet