WACREN Facilitates Multi-Stakeholder Workshop for GAMREN

In a significant step towards advancing education and research capabilities in The Gambia, WACREN has facilitated a multi-stakeholder workshop to establish feasible pathways towards the formal establishment of the Research and Education Network of the Republic of The Gambia (GAMREN).

The two-day workshop, held in the Gambian capital, Banjul, brought together 40 representatives from across the country’s key sectors — higher education, telecommunications, the World Bank, and the research community — to discuss governance, sustainability, and the road ahead.

The Challenge GAMREN Will Address

Opening the workshop, the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST), Hon. Prof. Pierre Gomez, articulated the core challenge that GAMREN is designed to solve.

The Gambia’s education and research institutions have yet to fully integrate ICTs into collaborative research, teaching, learning, knowledge sharing, and innovation. The lack of efficient connectivity and institutional research collaboration has contributed to slow progress in national research outputs.

According to the Minister, establishing GAMREN will reverse this situation by providing these institutions with access to connectivity and resource sharing. GAMREN aligns with the Government of The Gambia’s development agenda, aiming to empower Gambians with enhanced academic and research opportunities while fostering innovation for socio-economic growth.

WACREN’s Full Support

The CEO of WACREN, Dr. Boubakar Barry, attended with a full WACREN delegation — a signal of the regional network’s commitment to supporting The Gambia’s digital transformation in research and education.

Dr. Barry and other WACREN officials presented on the structure, infrastructure, governance, services, and activities of the regional REN, with a specific emphasis on where GAMREN stands to benefit. The presentations covered WACREN’s connectivity services, eduroam deployment, identity federation through eduID.africa, cybersecurity capabilities, and capacity building programmes.

Learning from Ghana’s Experience

A highlight of the workshop was the participation of Lucas Chigabatia, CEO of GARNET (Ghana Academic and Research Network). Chigabatia shared the experience of GARNET’s establishment, its current operational status, and how it leverages WACREN’s services to enhance knowledge search, sharing, and use within Ghana’s academic community.

GARNET’s journey from inception to a functioning NREN provided a practical roadmap that GAMREN’s stakeholders could study and adapt to The Gambia’s unique context.

Governance and Financial Sustainability

Day 2 of the workshop was dedicated to in-depth discussion and brainstorming on two critical topics:

Governance framework — Participants explored the most suitable organisational and legal structure for GAMREN, examining models used by other NRENs in the WACREN region. Key considerations included board composition, the relationship between GAMREN and MoHERST, membership criteria, and decision-making processes.

Financial sustainability — The group addressed how GAMREN can develop a revenue model that supports long-term operations beyond initial donor funding. Topics included membership fee structures, service-based revenue, government subventions, and strategies for diversifying funding sources.

Technical Foundations Already in Place

The workshop confirmed that significant groundwork has already been laid:

• The University of The Gambia (UTG) will serve as the technical hub for GAMREN, connecting other educational and research institutions across the country
• A dedicated technical team has been established, with representation from key government ministries and institutions
• GAMREN has secured membership with WACREN through the University of The Gambia, formally linking the country to the regional and global research network community
• The World Bank is supporting the initiative, with coordination between the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy

Cross-Ministerial Support

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy (MoCDE) representative confirmed that with the Government’s establishment of the national ICT agency (GICTA), the stage is set for building the systems and infrastructure needed to support GAMREN. MoCDE pledged full support for the implementation process.

What Comes Next

At its core, GAMREN will offer high-speed and dependable network connectivity to academic and research institutions nationwide. This infrastructure will facilitate collaboration, resource sharing, and data-intensive research — ultimately boosting research outputs and educational quality across The Gambia.

The workshop marked the transition from concept to concrete planning, establishing the governance principles and implementation roadmap that will guide GAMREN’s development in the months and years ahead.