Digital Literacy in the Informal Economy of Ghana

Life-long Learning and Extending Working Lives of Older Persons in Post-Covid-19 Era

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11297098
AutoresOteng Samuel Ampadu (0000-0001-8211-5976, Lingnan University, autor correspondente), Esmeranda Manful (0000-0002-6346-289X, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Padmore Adusei Amoah (0000-0002-8730-5805), Jacob Oppong Nkansah (0000-0002-2280-6828)
Ano2024
Volume39
Fascículo4
Páginas375-395
Data de publicação2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0169-3816 • E-ISSN: 1573-0719
EditoraSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10823-024-09514-9
PMID39158836
OpenAlexW4401709513
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas47

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the growing importance of digital technologies for economic resilience, especially for vulnerable groups like older workers in the informal sector. However, barriers to access and digital literacy create challenges alongside potential opportunities, particularly in less developed countries such as Ghana. Using older adults over 50 years engaged in informal work in Kumasi’s Central Business District in Ghana as a case, this paper explores older informal workers’ use of digital technologies in Ghana during the pandemic. Findings suggest that older informal workers relied heavily on their mobile phones as the only critical technological tool to sustain their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the findings also reveal critical gaps in skills, training, and support, alongside resourcefulness in leveraging digital tools for business continuity. Key policy implications include expanding mobile-centric digital literacy programs, addressing infrastructure divides, and integrating capacity building into social protection. The paper contributes insights on strengthening lifelong learning and extending the working lives of older persons in the informal sector in the post-COVID era

Business · Digital Literacy · Economic growth · Economics · Informal learning · Informal sector · Lifelong learning · Literacy · Pandemic · Pedagogy · Political science · Psychological resilience · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Engineering · Medicine · Psychology · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Technology Use by Older Adults