About DCO
Achieving social
prosperity and growing
the digital economy
Enabling digital prosperity
Vision
A world where every country, business, and person has a fair opportunity to prosper in a cross-border and sustainable digital economy.
Mission
Achieving social prosperity and growth of the Digital Economy by unifying efforts to advance digital transformation and promote common interests.
Growing the digital economy
The DCO exists to narrow the digital divide, ensuring that everyone gets the chance to prosper in the digital economy. We understand that if entrepreneurs can’t expand easily across borders, if young people don’t have digital skills or if women are left out of the digital economy, we will all struggle.
We share knowledge and best practices with each other to establish within our member nations the optimal infrastructure, policies, legislation and education solutions for the rapid creation of inclusive and equitable digital economies within which all people, businesses and societies can innovate and thrive. We also seek to strengthen digital transformation agendas globally.
Enabling women and youth
The DCO champions the empowerment of youth, women and entrepreneurs by giving them the access, skills and support to benefit from the internet and digital technologies, as well as connect them with global opportunities.
Accelerating innovation
The founding members of DCO are countries with shared interests concerning the digital economy – interests that can only be realized through collaboration.
By bringing together nations that are closely aligned, we can accelerate coordination and cooperation in the digital economy, creating exciting opportunities. By working together, our founding members aim to ensure similar standards and regulations, enabling firms to expand rapidly.
Impact
The DCO exists to make a real difference in people’s lives. Everything we do, every initiative we launch, every policy we advocate for, every business we help to grow, should tangibly deliver real impact to real people.
Inclusivity
An undeniable digital divide exists between countries, and within countries, and we believe in bringing together diverse groups on both sides of the divide to help close the gap. Our organization’s structure is built on this value, and the policies and the initiatives that we promote have inclusivity at their core.
Ambition
We don’t believe in settling for the status quo. In a world that is being transformed by rapid technological advances, we must set ambitious targets and and strive to achieve them, to ensure that no country, person or business is locked out of the future digital economy.
Growing the digital economy
The DCO is dedicated to achieving social prosperity and the growth of the digital economy by unifying the efforts of our members to advance digital transformation and promote common interests.
The DCO is focused on empowering youth, women and entrepreneurs, leveraging the accelerative power of the digital economy and leapfrogging with innovation to drive economic growth and increase social prosperity. Through cooperation, dialogue and the creation of mutually advantageous cross-border legislation, we seek to establish within our member nations the optimal infrastructure and policies for the rapid creation of inclusive and equitable digital economies within which all people, businesses and societies can innovate and thrive.
The DCO’s key initiatives include programs to enhance cross-border data flows, promote market expansion for SMEs, empower digital entrepreneurs and advance digital inclusion among women and youth and other underrepresented populations.
The DCO’s key initiatives include programs to enhance cross-border data flows, promote market expansion for SMEs, empower digital entrepreneurs and advance digital inclusion among women and youth and other underrepresented populations.
The DCO’s permanent headquarters is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and its supreme authority is the Council, consisting of representatives designated by the Ministers of Communications and Information Technology (or equivalents heads and/or entities) of the DCO’s current Member States (15).
Chairmanship of the Council is periodic among the representatives of the members, with the Council determining the duration of each session. The Kingdom of Bahrain currently presides over the Council, with Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya serving a four-year term that began in 2020.