Africa's Digital Roadmap to 2035: Implementing WSIS+20 Outcomes, Advancing Agenda 2063 and Accelerating Inclusive Digital Transformation

H.E. Ms. Lerato Mataboge emphasised that the current moment is critical for Africa's digital trajectory, and that decisions made now will shape the continent's long-term future. She framed the session as an opportunity to move from vision to action by converting WSIS Plus 20 commitments into concrete outcomes.

She stated that 'the path that we will choose right now will have a lasting impact on our future' , and highlighted that Africa is 'transitioning from vision to action where digital and emerging technologies are central enablers to Africa's inclusive growth and prosperity' .

H.E. Ms. Lerato Mataboge argued that strengthening Africa's voice in global digital governance requires more than just citizen-level capacity building; it must also equip technical experts and diplomats with the tools to represent African interests effectively. She noted that most capacity building efforts are currently directed at the general public rather than those negotiating on Africa's behalf.

She noted that 'we need to reinforce coordination, both at technical, policy, and diplomatic levels' and that 'most of our capacity building is really focused on the citizenry, the schools, et cetera, but we do have to strengthen our technical and diplomats with the tools to speak up for us' .

H.E. Ms. Lerato Mataboge highlighted that the African Union Commission and the African Telecommunications Union collaborated to develop guidelines supporting Africa's negotiations in the WSIS Plus 20 process. She described this as an important step towards a formal digital and AI foreign policy for Africa.

She noted that 'the African Union Commission in collaboration with African Communications Union, ATU, we led consultations in the development of guidelines that supported Africa's member space negotiations' , and that 'we consider the outcomes and the guidelines as an important step towards developing a digital and AI foreign policy for Africa that will structure our engagements at the international level' .

Ms. Jeanette Morwane argued that the enduring relevance of WSIS is testament to its visionary nature, particularly given the rapid and complex technological changes that have occurred since its adoption. She emphasised that WSIS recognised ICTs as powerful drivers of socio-economic development and stressed the importance of an inclusive and people-centred approach.

She stated that 'the fact that WSIS remains so relevant today, more than 20 years after we agreed to this historic document it is testament that it's a visionary document' and that 'WSIS recognised the power of ICTs to drive socio-economic development and the importance of adopting inclusive people-centred and development-oriented approach' .

Ms. Cynthia Lesufi clarified the purpose of the session, distinguishing it from a retrospective exercise and framing it as a forward-looking dialogue focused on collective action. She called on participants to identify practical next steps for implementing WSIS Plus 20 outcomes across the continent.

She stated that 'this discussion today is not simply to reflect on where we have come from, but to identify where Africa should go next and how we can work together to implement versus plus 20 outcomes' .

The Rwanda Representative argued that aligning investments across multiple international and continental frameworks is essential for building a coherent and durable digital foundation for Africa. She emphasised that this alignment would ensure that Africa's digital infrastructure is both resilient today and adaptable for the future.

She stated that 'by aligning these investments with all of these different processes, whether it's WSIS, the Agenda 2033, or the Global Digital Compact, or even our national strategies, Africa can really build a digital foundation that is resilient today as well as adaptable for tomorrow' .

The Rwanda Representative described Rwanda's deliberate and early investment in digital infrastructure as a key lesson for the continent. She outlined how Rwanda's approach to connectivity, including redundant systems and public-private partnerships, has enabled broad population coverage and the subsequent rollout of advanced networks.

She noted that Rwanda 'rolled out a national fiber optic backbone connecting all districts and border points, engineered with redundant transmission and power systems' , and 'through a public-private partnership with Korea Telecom, we built a wholesale 4G network that covers about 99% of our population' . Rwanda also 'launched a 5G network, and we opened the market so multiple operators can deploy advanced networks through a technology-neutral basis' .

The Rwanda Representative argued that digital infrastructure investment must be paired with energy investment to be effective, and that Africa needs its own cloud and AI compute capacity to ensure that emerging technologies run on African infrastructure governed by African frameworks. She presented this as essential for the continent's long-term digital sovereignty.

She recommended 'co-investing for in-grid and off-grid power for network sites, and also in shared African cloud and AI compute capacity' to ensure that 'next generation of services, including AI and other emerging technologies... can run on African infrastructure that are governed by African frameworks' .

The Rwanda Representative argued that while broadband coverage has expanded significantly across Africa, the more pressing challenge is now the usage gap — the fact that many people living under a broadband signal are still not online. She identified cost of devices, data, digital skills, and energy access as the primary barriers to meaningful connectivity.

She noted that 'broadband now accessible by 90% of our population, but we know that coverage is not the finish line' and that 'the real deficit that we have is now the usage gap' because 'most people who live under a broadband signal are still not online', driven by 'the cost of devices, the cost of data, digital skills, as well as energy access' .

The Rwanda Representative argued that financing strategies must shift from supply-side infrastructure investment to demand-side enablers such as affordable devices, local content, and digital skills. She warned that without addressing demand, network investments become stranded assets that fail to deliver development outcomes.

She recommended that 'blended financing and universal access funds should target affordable devices, local content, digital skills, because an unused network is obviously a stranded asset' .

The Nigeria Representative argued that massive skill and talent development is a prerequisite for digital transformation to deliver meaningful economic outcomes. He cited Nigeria's own programme as a concrete example of the scale of investment in human capital required.

He stated that 'in Nigeria, we're training 3 million technical talent' across '12 thematic areas ranging from cyber security, AI, UI development, project development' .

The Nigeria Representative argued that a supportive regulatory framework specifically designed for startups is essential for digital transformation to generate economic outcomes. He presented Nigeria's Startup Act as a model that gives startups preferential access to government contracts and incentives, enabling them to grow.

He described Nigeria's Startup Act as giving startups 'advantage as a startup' in accessing government contracts, and referenced Estonia as an example where 'a startup incorporated today start getting benefits or incentives from government even when they become billion dollar transactions entity' . He also mentioned the upcoming e-governance act in Nigeria as a further regulatory enabler .

The Nigeria Representative argued that shared infrastructure is a foundational requirement for digital transformation across Africa, and that no single country can achieve this alone. He highlighted Nigeria's investments in fibre, towers, and satellite as part of a broader continental approach to shared infrastructure.

He noted that Nigeria has 'invested heavily and we're investing heavily in fiber to cover 90,000' and is also 'going to towers and we're going also into satellite', emphasising the importance of 'shared infrastructure' as a continental approach .

The Kenya Representative argued that the WSIS Plus 20 review must place greater emphasis on inclusion, ensuring that digital transformation actively addresses the needs of marginalised populations. She stressed that the new chapter of WSIS implementation must be more inclusive and attentive to existing gaps.

She stated that 'WSIS is actually solely not about technology. It is about people' including 'the youth', 'women', 'PWDs', and 'rural and marginalized communities', and that 'as we now go into the stage of reviewing WISIS plus 20, we also must make sure that in fact in the new chapter that we are actually more inclusive' .

The Kenya Representative cited the provision of free Wi-Fi in open-air marketplaces as a practical intervention to bring women traders online and enable them to participate in digital commerce. She presented this as a concrete example of how targeted connectivity initiatives can address gender-based digital exclusion.

She described 'free Wi-Fi for especially women in the marketplaces in the open air places where they never access the internet but now they've got a free Wi-Fi to actually be able to connect and for example go to a Facebook market to market their wares' .

The Kenya Representative described Kenya's investment in extending fibre cable across the country and establishing digital hubs as part of a broader effort to ensure universal connectivity and digital skills development. She framed this as a key component of Kenya's strategy to include all citizens in the digital economy.

She noted that Kenya is 'expanding the digital superhighway on the creative economy' and 'extending the cable, the digital cable across the country to make sure that every part of the country is got access', while 'also adding digital hubs to train the youth in terms of digital skills and connectivity' .

The Egypt Representative argued that a truly integrated African digital roadmap requires moving away from siloed national approaches and towards coordinated regional regulation. She identified spectrum management, cross-border data flows, and cybersecurity as key areas requiring harmonisation through bodies such as the African Telecommunications Union and regional economic communities.

She stated that 'we must move past fragmented country-by-country strategies and focus on cross-border harmonization', working with 'regional telecommunication organization, like the African Telecommunication Union and the regional economic communities, to align national relations on spectrum management, cross-border data flows, cybersecurity' .

The Egypt Representative argued that digital policy harmonisation is not merely a technical exercise but a critical enabler of the African Continental Free Trade Area's ambitions. She framed harmonisation as the foundational condition for creating seamless continental digital markets.

She stated that 'harmonization is very important, and it can be the oxygen that the African Continental Free Trade Area... needs to build seamless continental digital markets' .

The Egypt Representative presented Egypt's Decent Life megaproject as a concrete model for addressing rural digital exclusion by repurposing existing infrastructure. She argued that such blueprints should be shared across African nations as replicable approaches to inclusive digital connectivity.

She described how Egypt's Decent Life megaproject has 'monetize... over 1,600 rural post offices into multi-channel digital and financial public infrastructure hubs' and suggested that 'these type of blueprints I think the African nations should share' .

The Egypt Representative argued that regional digital integration must go beyond policy alignment to include the development of interoperable technical systems, particularly digital identity and payment infrastructure. She presented these as essential for enabling African citizens and businesses to transact seamlessly across borders.

She called for investment in 'interconnected digital infrastructure digital public infrastructure such as interoperable payment systems and cross border digital identity verification so the American people can transact as seamlessly with a group of customers in Nairobi for example' .

The Egypt Representative argued that Africa must take an role in shaping global AI governance rather than accepting frameworks developed elsewhere. She emphasised that African AI frameworks must reflect the continent's linguistic diversity, protect data sovereignty, and create opportunities for African youth.

She stated that 'Africa wants a defining seat at the global' AI governance table and that Africa must 'jointly develop responsible, inclusive frameworks that reflect our African linguistic capacity, protect our data sovereignty, and build regional tech capacities so our youth can actively contribute to the global digital economy' .

The Uganda Representative argued that Africa's negotiating power is severely limited when individual states act alone, and that collective continental action is essential for securing better terms from global ICT providers. He presented Pan-Africanism as the strategic framework through which Africa can achieve meaningful outcomes for its citizens.

He argued that 'if we speak together as Africa, we can achieve more because we'll be negotiating for 1.5 billion people on the continent, not just speaking for the 20 million, the 40 million people in Uganda or in our respective countries' , and that bulk purchasing and negotiation of data supply to Africa through initiatives like Smart Africa could 'allow services, ICT services to be affordable to most of our people' .

The Uganda Representative argued that the scale of individual African states makes it impossible for them to hold large global technology platforms accountable, but that the African Union, representing 1.5 billion people, has the leverage to compel these platforms to respond to African concerns. He used the example of content moderation to illustrate this point.

He noted that 'if any of us individual states, we say Facebook, remove this app, because it is affecting our people, Facebook will ignore why you are talking about 20 million people. But if we call Facebook as African Union, in the interest of the 1.5 billion Africans, Facebook will listen' , drawing a parallel with how the EU exercises regulatory power over platforms .

The Uganda Representative argued that without digitising African data and addressing foundational barriers such as lack of electricity, the potential of AI and emerging technologies will remain inaccessible to most Africans. He stressed that digitisation must be accompanied by the removal of structural barriers that keep people in informal and paper-based operations.

He stated that 'without digitization, we cannot benefit from AI' and that 'if you tell somebody who cannot afford electricity, somebody who cannot afford to charge their phone, and you're telling them about all these digital transformative technologies, they will just look at you as a person dreaming' . He called for initiatives 'to ensure that African data is digitized by removing all those hurdles, for example, electricity' .

Mr. John Omo argued that regional organisations like the ATU played a crucial role in enabling African countries to present a unified position during the original WSIS negotiations, and that this model should be maintained and strengthened. He emphasised that Africa's ability to go to Geneva as a bloc with common ideas was a significant achievement.

He noted that 'Africa was able to galvanize the support of stakeholders within Africa within the framework of regional organizations and get to Geneva, get to Tunis as a block... with fairly common ideas' , and that through regional blocs Africa has been able to maintain the WSIS architecture 'in terms of the way we operate' .

Mr. John Omo argued that a key challenge facing Africa is the fragmentation of regional organisations and the tendency for projects to be driven by partners' interests rather than African priorities. He called for a continental framework that pools resources, avoids duplication, and directs investment where it is most needed.

He described 'the challenge that the regional organizations are facing one of fragmentation that we don't seem to galvanize our resources' and the need to 'put through a continental framework that channels these resources into a common pool so that then we are able to avoid duplication... and we are able to put these resources where it must' . He also noted that projects are often 'brought to us with a partner's interests in mind' .

Mr. John Omo argued that Africa's development aspirations are shared across the continent, and that speaking with one voice is the most effective way to secure resources and influence at global forums. He warned against allowing external actors to define Africa's needs and priorities.

He stated that 'the more we can speak with one voice as Africa, because our development aspirations are the same... the more we'll be able to force and get to the table where this resources are debated... and be able to claim our space' , and cautioned against being 'kept too busy... like the mushroom farmer keep them in the dark and give them manure' .

Mr. John Omo used the ATU's intervention at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference as a concrete example of how collective African advocacy can secure strategic digital resources that would otherwise be lost. He argued that this success illustrates the importance of regional organisations in translating WSIS aspirations into tangible connectivity outcomes.

He recounted that '31 of our members have lost their satellite broadcasting resources largely to Europe' due to capacity constraints, but that by joining with Gulf states, the ATU 'were able to force the international community, and largely Europe, to say you cannot take these resources on account that Africa was unable to file their claims in good time' . As a result, 'Africa has the highest amount of spectrum worldwide for broadband connectivity on 4G and 5G' .

Speaker 1 argued that while the scale of investment required to close Africa's digital gap is enormous, the potential returns — particularly from AI — make the case for investment compelling. She framed this as a clear economic rationale for mobilising financing at scale.

She stated that 'it is estimated that we need over 100 billion USD every year to close Africa's digital technology gap' and that 'by 2030, it is estimated that AI alone can generate more than 1 trillion USD for the continent', concluding that 'it is clear that it makes sense to invest in digital technologies' .

Speaker 1 argued that investment in digital infrastructure must be understood broadly, encompassing both the digital public infrastructure that enables services and the supporting physical infrastructure such as energy and data centres. She identified fintech, digital IDs, energy, and broadband as priority investment areas.

She noted the need for investment in 'fintech, financial applications' and digital IDs, pointing out that 'more than 50% of African countries still don't have digital IDs' . She also highlighted the need for 'a huge investment in data centers and also in energy' , and noted that 'more than 50 percent' of Africans 'still don't have access to the Internet' .

Speaker 1 argued that capacity building for digital transformation must be comprehensive, reaching government officials, universities, and educational institutions at all levels. She also highlighted the potential for intra-African knowledge exchange as an underutilised resource.

She noted that 'we need capacity at all levels', including government officials being trained in AI by Google and other organisations , and that 'universities, we need to invest in research and development, secondary and tertiary education' . She also cited Egypt's offer of capacity building to other African countries as an example of intra-African exchange .

Speaker 1 argued that innovation funds represent an effective mechanism for supporting startup ecosystems and should be adopted more widely across Africa. She cited Algeria's experience as evidence that such funds can stimulate meaningful startup growth.

She noted that 'some countries like Algeria already have innovation funds' and that 'for the few years that we have innovation funds in Algeria, we are seeing a growth, serious growth in startups in those countries' .