African countries explore DPI partnerships at Estonia forum

Delegates from some African nations recently attended a digital public infrastructure (DPI) summit session in Estonia where they explored avenues for stronger digital cooperation with European and other international partners. The session was part of conversations during the 2026 Africa Business Forum, which took place on May 26 in the Estonian city of Tallinn.

The discussions reflect a broader trend of African governments seeking international partnerships to advance digital identity, interoperability and digital public infrastructure initiatives. Estonia is widely regarded as a global model for digital identity and digital government, and its approach has influenced digital transformation efforts in countries including Benin and Kenya. Last year, Côte d’Ivoire contracted Cybernetica to build an interoperability layer for its digital government agenda.

Discussions during the Europe–East Africa session on DPI provided the opportunity for attendees to share perspectives on current DPI development trends and how international cooperation can drive trade and digital innovation, according to Tech Review Africa.

The Tallinn exchanges focused on how vital partnerships can further shape the digital transformation ambitions of the countries involved in order to enable them to meet key national economic development targets.

Côte d’Ivoire, the country that hosted the ID4Africa 2026 Annual General Meeting last month, was among the nations in attendance. A delegation led by the Minister of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation, Djibril Ouattara, participated in the discussions.

Ouattara engaged with different stakeholders to establish cooperation for peer learning to support the West African country’s ongoing efforts to build digital infrastructure that streamlines the delivery of public and private sector services.

Speaking as he opened the forum, Ouattara dwelt on the importance of DPI, stating that its successful implementation depends not only on technology but on strategic partnerships and interconnected infrastructure.

The official also seized the moment to call for particular attention to the development of regional legal and governance frameworks, the same idea echoed by Sierra Leone’s ICT Minister Salima Mornoma Bah when she spoke at ID4Africa 2026.

For Ouattara, building such frameworks through concerted efforts among regional blocs such as the East African Community (EAC) or the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will boost socio-economic integration efforts and facilitate cross-border trade transactions, notably as the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) continues to gain traction.

Estonian authorities also lauded their collaboration with African partners and promised to strengthen the engagements for more win-win outcomes.

In the meantime, officials of Côte d’Ivoire’s identity and digital transformation agencies also shared their experience at the ID4Africa event in Abidjan, notably efforts the country is making to streamline birth registration in order to advance legal identity, as well as those to protect its critical digital infrastructure from cybercriminals.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Côte d’Ivoire  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  Estonia