Unlocking data for African prosperity: Strategies to address risks and leverage opportunities

The Africa Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF) is a regional initiative that brings together various stakeholders to discuss and address internet-related issues in Africa. This year it took place in Abuja, Nigeria from September 19-21, 2023.

The Datasphere Initiative hosted a session in collaboration with the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), titled “Unlocking Data for African Prosperity: Strategies to Address Risks and Leverage Opportunities” on September 19.

Description of the session:

Safely enabling the free flow of data, both within and across national borders, is increasingly critical to driving inclusive economic growth and spurring both public and private sector innovation. This year both the G20 and G7 fora have highlighted the importance of harmonizing data to address transnational challenges such as pandemics and climate change. At the same time, there is growing recognition that foundational interoperable digital public infrastructure, including identity, payments, and secure data exchange, can boost economic participation and improve critical service delivery such as social protection payments–critical enablers of meeting the SDGs.

This roundtable identified opportunities and challenges to increasing data-sharing in Africa while safeguarding privacy and empowering people. Against the backdrop of different technical infrastructures and policy initiatives across the continent, speakers and workshop participants explored how sandboxes and other tools could facilitate experimentation and learning, and pilot new models for responsibly unlocking the value of data for all.

Speakers shared their experience with designing sandboxes and other tools/strategies for accelerating trusted data sharing in line with the African Union’s Data Policy Framework while emphasizing opportunities for increasing trust and accountability.