Smart Africa partners to strengthen digital governance, innovation across Africa

Smart Africa has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwandan civil society organization Certa Foundation to collaborate on policy interventions and research whose outcomes can substantially shape how African governments formulate and implement digital governance and innovation policies.

According to a recent announcement, Smart Africa’s digital transformation mandate across the continent and Certa’s efforts on innovative governance approaches will be vital in helping governments to better tackle longstanding problems such as digital infrastructure paucity, exclusion, lack of training and capacity building, as well as mentoring.

Per the MoU, the partners will offer “targeted technical support for policymakers, regulators, and public institutions while cultivating a new pipeline of youth policymakers.”

Practically speaking, the two entities will, under the Smart Women and Girls in ICT program, organize joint consultations with key stakeholders and mentorship for innovators.

“Digital transformation cannot succeed without strong governance. Through this partnership with Certa Foundation, Smart Africa is strengthening Africa’s capacity to design policies and regulatory frameworks that will shape our digital future,” the Executive Director of Smart Africa, Lacina Koné, said after signing the MoU.

“From AI governance to innovations like data embassies, Africa must build the institutions and expertise needed to secure its digital sovereignty and compete in the global digital economy,” he stated.

Certa Foundation Founder and Executive Director, Florida Kabasinga, commented that the collaboration with Smart Africa will go a long way in supporting continental digital sovereignty efforts. “The research we published on Data Embassies was a starting point on our roadmap. This joint effort partnership is where that work becomes real. Africa does not need to wait for someone else to build its digital future.”

Smart Africa signed a number of digital transformation partnerships during the Transform Africa Summit last year as part of that mandate. It also used the event to unveil the Africa AI Council, with Rwandan President Paul Kagame as pioneer chairperson.

The organisation says this recent partnership with Certa Foundation will support Africa’s policy governance environment through proof-of-concept initiatives that aim to boost the digital economy and promote the safe, responsible and inclusive deployment of AI.

This comes at a time when there are concerns about the place of human rights in digital technology development and adoption in Africa and the world at large.

A recent paper published by AfricLaw delves into this issue, and argues that for digital public infrastructure development in Africa to be rights-respecting, it must be rooted in certain safeguards outlined in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) framework.

The paper notes that because DPI implementation in Africa is speeding up and given the enormous risks that come with it, the ACHPR, which is the continent’s normative human rights body, has a critical role to play.

Among other things, the writer advocates the need for the ACHPR to introduce guidelines on DPI governance, put in place mechanisms to monitor compliance with rights obligations, provide advisory opinions, and support civil society engagements in the interest of digital rights.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Certa Foundation  |  digital ID  |  digital inclusion  |  digital public infrastructure  |  digital sovereignty  |  Smart Africa