This component aims at supporting the GoG's continued efforts to build solid foundational building blocks for inclusive and safe digital transformation. Specifically, it aims to establish an enabling environment for the development of a vibrant and green broadband market, expand the reach and coverage of broadband networks in lagging areas, ensure safe and resilient digital services, and strengthen the digital transformation's institutional structure and capacity.

This component aims at establishing an agile and user-centric digital government model in Ghana. Activities financed will contribute to respond to the Covid-19 crisis by "Building back better" through investments that improve the front-end user experience of digital public services as well as the efficiency of back-end government systems. The activities are focused on building the next generation government infrastructure and delivering transactional and digital by design public services.

This component will strengthen the local digital entrepreneurship ecosystem and talent base. Activities financed will support better innovation ecosystem coordination, better service provision by Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs), expand access to early-stage financing, and promote advanced digital innovation capabilities. By strengthening the local digital entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, this component will contribute to COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery by supporting startups that can aid the development of data-driven digital products and services. Activities financed will leverage and complement the interventions proposed by also encouraging the use of new public dataset made available and public goods introduced, considering recommendations of the World Development Report (WDR) 2021 on Data for Better Lives. A strong local entrepreneurship ecosystem will also aide in developing locally relevant content and services that can help stimulate digital adoption and uptake of digital services. Furthermore, this component will support the agriculture sector as a pilot to unlock the digital transformation of key productive sectors. Each subcomponent aims to provide end-to-end support to set up a proof-of-concept of how other sectors can also leverage and reap the full benefit of digital solutions to drive more robust and inclusive sector growth and diversified economy. The component will also explore synergies and opportunities for cooperation with YouStart program that forms part of the GoG’s strategy to facilitate jobs creation in the country via skills and capacity development and access to funding for young entrepreneurs.

This component will provide support for the management and implementation of project-associated activities. It will finance activities related for recruitment of consultants in areas of project management, project coordination, fiduciary specialists (e.g., procurement, financial management), M&E, Environment and Social Safeguards (E&S), project communication, and citizen engagement. This component will also cover office equipment and independent audits and third-party verification agent to verify the achievements of the PBCs, and learning/training for key beneficiaries (e.g., the PCU and the Technical Committee) up to the official closing date of the project. Moreover, Special attention will be devoted to promoting equal participation of women in all decision-making bodies under the project and contributing to tackling barriers in recruitment, retention, and promotion. It is also anticipated that consultant’s Terms of References (ToR) will clearly stipulate knowledge transfer and hands on training to the MoCD staff.

In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, a Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) is added to the project structure to provide support to the Government to swiftly respond to an eligible crisis, including climate or natural disasters and public health emergencies. Including CERC at the preparation stage, albeit with zero funding, provides for flexibility for an agile response to an imminent or actual emergency (such as COVID-19) through quick disbursement of uncommitted balances from other components. The crisis response expenditures could cover, for instance, the facilitation of emergency payments to vulnerable groups of population using mobile money or ensuring business continuity of core government functions, when civil servants are required to continue home-based work. The CERC is not expected to finance civil engineering works that can induce risks and/or negative environmental and social impacts. However, CERC component is not added to finance any activities that include adverse environmental and social risks and impacts. The project aims to actively close gender gaps between women and men across various pillars of digital development and aligned with International Development Association-19 (IDA-19 theme, the WBG’s 2016–2023 Gender Strategy and the Digital Development Gender Strategy. Actions designed to close gender gaps between women and men in the digital economy are incorporated across various components of the project.