In 2025, South Africa’s G20 Presidency put AI and tech issues high on the G20 agenda, focusing on linking technological changes with Africa’s development. It will reinforce South Africa’s role as one of the continental tech engines.
South Africa is a leader in the fintech sector in Africa. Innovations in mobile money, online banking, and financial services are prominent. According to a report published by Research and Markets, the country has been internationally recognised for having one of the most sophisticated financial sectors, generating approximately 40% of all fintech revenue in Africa.
South Africa has invested significantly in improving its digital infrastructure. The rollout of fibre-optic cables and the expansion of 4G LTE networks across urban and semi-urban areas have been pivotal. The government and private companies are pushing towards enhancing 5G technology, which promises to revolutionise various sectors through improved connectivity and speed.
South Africa has been taking steps towards developing a clear national AI strategy. The country has established the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa and is working on introducing a tailored national strategy and appropriate regulations to ensure the ethical use of AI.
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is advancing its digital transformation through the Plan National du Numérique Horizon 2025, launched in 2019. This strategy prioritizes infrastructure expansion, digital services, and improved governance. National fiber backbone projects, such as the Central African Backbone and 2Africa subsea cable landing, have expanded connectivity, while data centers like Raxio DRC1 and IXPs in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Goma support growing internet traffic. Despite these developments, internet penetration remains low—around 27%—and access is uneven between urban and rural areas.
Cybersecurity and data protection frameworks have begun to take shape. The 2023 Digital Code defines personal data rights, mandates breach notifications, and outlines rules for cross-border transfers, though enforcement mechanisms remain limited. A national cybersecurity agency and data protection authority are legally established but not yet operational. Internet shutdowns during political unrest and outdated surveillance laws continue to pose risks to digital rights and service continuity.
E-commerce, AI, and emerging technologies are gradually gaining traction. Mobile money is expanding, though cash dominates online transactions. Startups in agriculture, logistics, and climate resilience are integrating AI tools, and the DRC has partnered with international initiatives to strengthen its innovation ecosystem. Challenges remain in regulation, logistics, and digital literacy, but ongoing investments and global cooperation are positioning the DRC for steady digital growth.
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On the demand side, China remains the largest online retail market globally: ¥15.42 trillion in online retail sales in 2023. The country also houses one of the biggest public cloud and data-centre footprints in Asia, underpinned by the national ‘Eastern Data, Western Computing’ program: by mid-2024, authorities cited ¥43.5 billion (US$6.1 billion) invested in eight computing hubs, with industry reporting ~1.95 million racks installed.
China has moved early on AI governance in emerging technologies while scaling domestic services: regulators reported 346 generative-AI services on file by 31 March 2025. These digital capabilities ride on extensive backbone networks and international links, and policy continues to prioritise compute build-out, even as officials work to improve utilisation across data-centre capacity added in recent years.
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The Central African Republic (CAR) stands out globally for its early experimentation with cryptoassets. It is one of only a few countries worldwide to have made Bitcoin legal tender, through its 2022 cryptocurrency law, and it has gone further with a tokenisation law that allows land and natural resources to be represented on a national blockchain platform (Sango). In the regional context, this places CAR among the most aggressive regulators in formalising crypto transactions in law, even if practical uptake remains limited and the macro-economic risks are significant.
Within Central Africa, CAR has also moved quickly on the normative side of digital governance. In 2024, it adopted both a comprehensive personal data protection law and a cybersecurity/cybercrime law, establishing a dedicated data protection authority and a national cybersecurity agency. Combined with its 2018 electronic communications law and 2022 e-transactions law, this provides CAR with one of the more comprehensive digital legal frameworks among low-income, conflict-affected states in the region, although institutional capacity and enforcement are still in their early stages.
CAR still lags behind in basic connectivity, but for a landlocked, low-income country, it has built a surprisingly solid digital backbone. The Central African Backbone and national fibre network now link Bangui to regional submarine cables, supported by a national data centre and digital training centre. Alongside a new digital development agency and World Bank-backed reforms for public data management, this gives CAR a relatively well-structured core digital infrastructure, despite persistent gaps in last-mile access, electricity and affordability.
Belarus features a centrally managed digital infrastructure anchored by Beltelecom and the National Traffic Exchange, with the government controlling international peering via BY‑IX and backbone links to Russia, Europe, and neighbouring countries. Internet penetration is high—91.5% of the population was online in January 2025, with median fixed‑line speeds at ~75 Mbps and mobile speeds ~13 Mbps, supported by broad 4G coverage and ongoing plans for state‑run 5G rollout led by a unified operator.
The IT industry, especially the Hi‑Tech Park (HTP), is the primary driver of the digital economy. Under Decree No. 8 (2017), HTP companies enjoy tax incentives and are pioneering in blockchain, smart contracts, and AI. As of Q1 2025, HTP hosts ~1,000 resident firms employing ~59,000, with exports at $459 M (+7% y/y) and domestic IT sales topping Br 2 B (+24%). The ICT sector accounted for about 7.4% of GDP in 2021 but has eased to roughly 4–5% in recent years.
Digital governance is overseen by the Operations and Analysis Center (OAC) under presidential authority, which manages government cloud services (beCloud), cybersecurity, data peering, and DDoS protection. Though Belarus lacks a standalone digital law, recent decrees—such as No. 66 (2021) and No. 102 (2023)—expand e‑government, smart‑city deployment, and regulatory oversight. AI readiness and digital standards are also gaining traction, with Belarus integrating CIS-model AI law frameworks by 2040 .
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Comoros has adopted the ‘Comores Numérique 2028‘ strategy—first drafted in 2018 and adopted in 2019—to develop national digital infrastructure, public services, regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity, ICT-driven economic growth, and education. It aims to raise ICT’s share of GDP to 5 %, boost internet penetration from ~8 % in 2017 toward 54 %, and launch 14 e-government platforms with a budget of around 8 billion KMF ($17.5 million).
Digital infrastructure investments include a new Tier‑III national data centre operational since May 2025—built via an AfDB-funded project (~€9.5 million)—to host government and public services locally and support digital identity, interoperability, and e‑payments. Meanwhile, telecom operator Yas Comoros, supported by IFC (€13 million in 2019 and €25 million in 2025), is deploying 5G, fibre-to-home/office, and improved inter-island connectivity to meet rising demand.
These efforts are coordinated by ANADEN (National Digital Development Agency) and overseen by ANRTIC, with support from international partners (World Bank, ITU, AfDB, IFC). Despite progress in infrastructure and institutional setup, key challenges remain: extending services to rural areas, scaling e‑government platforms, strengthening cybersecurity and data protection, and nurturing digital skills. Future progress hinges on closing those gaps
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Despite modest overall rankings, Eswatini stands out regionally in several digital adoption metrics. Internet penetration reached about 57–58 percent of the population by early 2025. surpassing the African average of approximately 39 percent. Additionally, roughly 52 percent of the top 1,000 websites are locally served from in‑country caches or servers—exceeding the Internet Society’s 50 percent benchmark and significantly outperforming the regional average of 33 percent.
On the digital infrastructure and innovation front, Eswatini exhibits noteworthy strengths. It ranks second in Africa (after South Africa) in terms of internet speed, leading the region. According to the Network Readiness Index (NRI) 2023, the country ranks globally 6th for mobile apps development, 47th for firms with websites, and 49th for internet access in schools—highlighting leadership in these specific sub‑pillars.
Overall, Eswatini’s digital ecosystem reflects a mixed performance: while the country achieves above‑average results in areas such as internet usage, content localisation, speed, and digital education uptake, broader gaps remain, particularly in emerging technology investment, e‑participation, and international bandwidth infrastructure.
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Türkiye’s network footprint is unusually strong for a regional crossroads. Multiple Mediterranean/Black Sea cable landings feed dense metro interconnection, anchored by DE-CIX Istanbul, which positions the country as a bridge between Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. In October 2025, Türkiye concluded a nationwide 5G spectrum tender (700 MHz and 3.5 GHz), with commercial service scheduled to start on 1 April 2026, a timeline that aligns it with leading regional roll-outs.
Regarding services and payments, the state e-Devlet gateway centralises access to hundreds of public services and is operated by the Presidency’s Digital Transformation Office with Türksat, an integrated model common to top regional performers. Meanwhile, the central bank’s FAST rail provides 24/7 instant payments with funds available within seconds, underpinning modern checkout and P2P experiences across providers.
Governance and trust frameworks have tightened markedly. Türkiye is executing a National Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2028 and, in March 2025, enacted a Comprehensive Cybersecurity Law (No. 7545) that centralises responsibilities for critical-sector protection. Data flows are supported by updated KVKK rules, including a By-Law and Standard Contracts (July 2024) for cross-border transfers. The .tr namespace now runs on TRABİS, BTK’s real-time registry. These measures put Türkiye near the regional frontier on practical enablers: resilient interconnection, imminent 5G, instant payments, and a modernised security and data framework.
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