This is an historic year for African leadership. With South Africa at the helm of the G20, momentum around the African Union Data Policy Framework, and the announcement of Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory, the continent has a unique opportunity to shape global digital policy and data governance.
But turning this vision into reality will require effective collaboration and knowledge-sharing. The Africa Data Leadership Initiative is a platform designed to facilitate just that.
The newest cohort features representatives from civil society, private sector innovators, and government ministries across four countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, and Somalia. In its first meeting, the group delved deep into the topic of regional and national data governance frameworks in Africa – the progress made thus far, promising opportunities, and remaining challenges.
To kick off the discussion, we heard from two expert speakers:
- Thelma Quaye, Director of Digital Infrastructure, Skills and Empowerment at the Smart Africa Secretariat., which aims to strengthen Africa’s position in the global digital economy.
- Dr. Patricia Boshe, Research & Publications Head at Africa Digital Rights Hub, a not-for-profit “think and action tank” that promotes Pan-African research and capacity building on digital rights.
The session had two components: First, our two speakers set the scene, discussing the most recent efforts to harmonize digital policies across Africa. Then, participants broke into breakout rooms to discuss practical components, challenges, and opportunities to implementing continental policies in-country.
Recent developments in data governance open the door for a digital economy that is uniquely African and globally competitive.
The harmonization of data governance and legal frameworks promises the ability to create an African Single Digital Market – a seamless and secure digital space where people, businesses, and governments can exchange and innovate. A single digital market across Africa has the potential to create massive economic opportunity, lifting people out of poverty and strengthening the African position on the global stage.
The discussion centered around opportunities for Africa to lead and bring Africa’s unique cultural, political, and economic perspectives to conversations around innovation, sovereignty, and inclusivity in the digital realm:
Africa is uniquely positioned to harness culture as a foundation for trust and inclusion. Among countries with varying levels of digital maturity, the general public also has varying levels of trust in these systems and the institutions that run them. African cultural staples like Ubuntu (Community) can be a guiding force for building trustworthy and inclusive digital systems. In the realm of data governance, an African framework might emphasize support for collective benefits over individualized profits. With its vast diversity of languages and traditions, an African approach to bridging traditional knowledge systems and modern technology could be a unique offering to global cooperation efforts.
Africa is uniquely positioned to overcome the gender divide in digital. Given its long history of women leaders across government, gender equity is a key priority for many digital initiatives across the continent. Many African governments and regional bodies like the African Union are prioritizing gender equality and digital transformation simultaneously – tackling challenges that are specific to women, like lack of access to connected devices or lack of representation in technical fields. This alignment creates a strong policy foundation for bridging the gender divide. And with the advancement of AI solutions, data integrity – that is, data without bias – is more important than ever.
Africa is uniquely positioned to balance sovereignty and collaboration. Achieving cross-border data flows requires careful balance of regulatory harmonization and localized, context-specific policies. Legal interoperability is just as important as technical interoperability – and coordination will require careful management. Currently, the African Union’s role and ability to enforce terms has yet to be well-defined. The creation of a pan-African digital governance body would be an important step to help monitor progress, coordinate policy development and dispute resolution, and ensure equitable participation. A unified African position and approach to cross-border data governance could, in turn, amplify African voices in global forums like the UN and the ITU.
Africa is uniquely positioned to capitalize on data as a driver of growth. Data is a strategic asset that brings economic value to citizens. And as such, Africa can and should shift from being a consumer to a producer of data. Monetizing non-personal data, such as data from Agricultre – one of Africa’s strongest industries – could help to capitalize on the value of data while maintaining privacy protections. With the proper data governance frameworks in place, data-based business models across a variety of sectors could help to localize the benefits of the data economy.
Participants agreed that data governance is a key area where they all had the opportunity to define the African path – one that respects culture and empowers people. As one participant posed the question, “How can we ensure data governance works for the journalist in Ghana, and just as well for the tech innovator in Rwanda, and just as well for the farmer in Kenya?”
What will it take for national policymakers to domesticate regional and continental frameworks?
Participants divided into break-out rooms to discuss the current state of data governance policies in their respective countries and discuss the challenges they still face. In each country, progress in data privacy standards and protections has been encouraging. From Ghana’s Data Protection Act (2012), to Rwanda’s Data Revolution Policy (2017), policy frameworks are in place to protect individual privacy while ensuring data collection, access, and use for evidence-based decision-making across government.
There was overall consensus among the four countries that implementation remains challenging. Key challenges highlighted include:
- Low digital literacy is a compounding issue with less usage leading to less data. Similarly, low digital literacy among users of digital services leaves them more susceptible to scams, fraud, and cybersecurity risks.
- The digital divide persists. Many rural areas remain without internet connectivity or access to connected devices.
- Awareness remains a challenge. Most people do not keep data governance or digitalization issues top-of-mind. In one specific example, a government official mentioned that while most companies process data in some way or another, many are not aware of the certifications they need to be compliant. And while the laws may be in place requiring such certifications, there is a lack of enforcement to ensure compliance.
- Full African ownership of solutions has not yet been achieved. Many existing national data projects are supported by international development bodies and multilateral institutions – most of which are not African. The group acknowledged that this raises questions about data sovereignty – who owns and benefits from the data?
The first session of the cohort made clear that there is significant energy behind the idea of an African Digital Single Market. The potential benefits for people and communities across Africa are promising – if the data ecosystem can overcome key challenges and capitalize on opportunities.
ADLI will keep driving the conversations that shape data governance across Africa.
After the first session exploring the opportunities for Africa to play a central role in global data governance, the next session will explore the foundational digital infrastructure necessary to achieve cross-border data flows.
We will continue to share key insights from the peer learning sessions each week. Follow along on LinkedIn to stay up to speed.
