Stakeholders urge shift in digital public infrastructure trajectory
High-level policymakers, global and continental tech leaders have called for a decisive shift in Africa’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) trajectory transiting from being passive consumers of technology to primary architects
High-level policymakers, global and continental tech leaders have called for a decisive shift in Africa’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) trajectory transiting from being passive consumers of technology to primary architects of DPI and sovereign data solutions.
While reaffirming DPI as the foundational “rail” of Africa’s digital transformation, experts affirmed that the continent must now move beyond infrastructure toward the “train”, the intelligence.
“As Africa transitions into an intelligence-driven era, the focus must shift toward fostering local talent for data processing, computing, and AI model training to ensure AI solutions address regional needs,” experts at the 58th Session of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of Ministers, affirmed at the roundtable titled: “Empowering Africa’s Future: Advancing Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Centres and Sovereignty.”
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They agreed that digital independence is now a prerequisite for economic security and national resilience.
Representing the industry perspective, Mrs. Angela Wamola of global system for mobile communication association (GSMA) sought the urgent removal of duties on mobile devices and entry-level smartphones to ensure inclusive access to the digital economy.
Highlighting the urgency of this transition, Minister of Communications and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Mozambique, Américo Muchanga, remarked that DPI has become as vital to modern life as electricity. He emphasized that nations must now possess the strategic clarity to classify their data, deciding which assets remain on-premises or within sovereign clouds to ensure that African data remains under African control.
This sentiment was echoed by Deputy Minister, President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Tanzania, Pius Stephen Chaya, who highlighted that for such infrastructure to drive impact, a holistic and collaborative public-private partnership approach is required, anchored in robust cybersecurity and personal data protection laws to safeguard national sovereignty.
This shift toward self-reliance was stressed to be matched by a new era of “Mega Execution”, moving beyond policy conceptualization to tangible rollout. In Botswana, the government is utilizing its Universal Access and Service Fund, a one per cent levy on mobile service providers to connect the last mile of schools and villages. Vice President and Minister of Finance of the Republic of Botswana, Ndaba Gaolathe, noted that while the continent has historically excelled at policy planning, it has often faltered in implementation. He stressed the need to now strictly prioritize execution by dismantling every legislative bottleneck to ensure that technology projects deliver tangible benefits to citizens.
A central theme of the discussion was that artificial intelligence (AI) needs a home. CEO of Africa Data Centres, Cassava Technologies, Mr. Adil el Youssefi, emphasized the urgent need for “AI factories” to host and process African data locally, noting that the continent must increase its data center capacity tenfold to close the current gap, where Africa generates less than one per cent of global data despite representing nearly 20per cent of the world’s population. AI factories, supported by reliable and affordable energy, are essential to building Africa’s intelligence infrastructure.
To de-risk such large-scale investments and ensure sustainable returns, a call was made for governments to act as anchor clients to stimulate demand, while accelerating the digitization of public services to generate high-quality, fit-for-purpose data. The importance of developing national sovereign clouds and advancing regional integration through innovative models such as “data embassies.” was also stressed. These models enable countries to pool demand and resources, while ensuring that the economic value of Africa’s data is retained within the continent.
Special Envoy on Technology for the Republic of Kenya, Ambassador Philip Thigo, stated that the era of mimicry in African tech policy is over. He emphasized that “Africa must prioritize local data processing and auditable systems that reflect local languages and the continent’s realities”. This way the continent can move beyond foreign data exploitation and models that are deeply rooted in African socio-economic contexts. He said the world has entered an “age of intelligence”, requiring the development of digital public intelligence supported by local-language AI models. From an inclusion perspective, the discussion addressed the persistent usage gap, noting that nearly one billion Africans remain offline despite living within reach of a mobile signal.
The need to measure the economic impact of digital transformation was emphasized by the Executive Secretary of the ECA, Mr. Claver Gatete, who noted that if the impact of technology on GDP cannot be measured, it cannot be monetized. To secure this sovereign digital transition towards economic security, the dialogue identified a critical need to strengthen national statistical systems, asserting that well-funded statistics offices are vital for measuring the real impact of technology on gross domestic product (GDP), informing evidence-based policy, and ensuring national accountability.
The session concluded with a call to translate the African Union AI Strategy into actionable local frameworks that mandate dedicated funding for data governance. This investment is essential to mitigate the true cost of digital dependence and ensure that data and AI are utilized not merely as technologies but as the primary drivers of sovereign continental productivity.
