7th February 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in the spur of digitalization across the world. This was also apparent in Laos. In 2021, the Government of the Lao PDR has a vision for the digital economy to grow from 3% to 10% of GDP by 2040. As such, a 10-year Digital Economy Strategy (2021-2030) and a 5-year National Digital Economy Development plan (2021-2025) had been laid out to establish these goals.

The Government had been keen to tackle digitalization in various sectors to support the economy, society, and livelihood of the people prior to the pandemic. However, the lack of administrative transparency had proven to be one of the reasons for its slow growth in the private sector. It is also due to the high cost of internet, urban-rural divide, and the lack of regulatory architecture, Lao’s digitalization is lagging behind most of Southeast Asia.

To reinforce their roadmap for digital transformation, Lao’s Ministry of Technology and Communications (MTC) held an event, Lao Digital Week 2022, on 21 – 25 December 2022 in Vientiane, Laos. It was the first physical event organized by MTC after the pandemic. This event was visited by hundreds of participants from the Government, and also the public sector.

As a leader in ICT solutions since 1899, NEC took part as a platinum sponsor to promote our digital transformation technology, which supports the Digital Government Master Plan to a large extend. At the booth, NEC showcased the Future of Digital ID which complemented the event theme “Collaboration across Lao Digital Transformation”.

Related links