Africa has the lowest internet penetration rate with just 22% of its population currently connected. To remedy the situation, countries are implementing various projects. 

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the common Eastern and Southern market COMESA signed an agreement letter last Wednesday (July 13). According to a release published by COMESA, the agreement letter concerns a US$550,000 grant to be provided by AfDB to fund the feasibility studies of COMESA’s Africa Cloud Ecosystem (ACE) project. 

According to the release, the AfDB grant will “support the first phase; Market Analysis (Pre-investment study) which will assess the market for the ACE project and examine the bankability of the project including testing of the concept in the COMESA region.” 

For AfDB Zambia country manager, Dr. Raubil Durowoju, “the Africa Cloud Ecosystem project will be a first of its kind, laying the foundation to facilitate the African continent to undertake this shift in the key sectors of the economy: education, government, agriculture, and health through the provision of a reliable ecosystem of datacentres.” 

It aims to contribute to the installation of a state-of-the-art facility that will provide essential and sustainable ICT infrastructure services to the 21 COMESA member states and the African continent as a whole. 

It is also expected to facilitate regional integration by taking full advantage of technology and laying the foundation for a duty-free and quota-free zone “which goes beyond the data-only aspects.” Its development should also “increase the sustainability and viability of information and provide a pivotal way of transitioning Africa’s community into a digital economic community.”

“Besides significantly lowering the cost for hosting services, identified as the main reason  African businesses host their services overseas, the project will also remove barriers faced by African enterprises by promoting intra-regional trade and boosting innovation,” COMESA explains. 

Once launched, ACE will improve Africa’s positioning in the global ICT landscape. 

For COMESA secretary-general Chileshe Kapwepwe, once completed, the project will “enhance competitiveness by fostering regional connectivity and deepening continental integration.” 

Samira Njoya