By 2050 Africa’s digital economy could grow to $712 billion or 8.5% of the continent’s GDP.  Being a promising area, several African countries, including Côte d'Ivoire, have been taking steps to speed up their digital transformation.

Amadou Coulibaly, the Ivoirian Minister of Digital Economy, inked on June 28, two memoranda of understanding with Cybastion Institute of Technology, a US tech consortium. The Ivoirian sealed the deals during a trip to the US. They will support two major projects in his country, knowingly the establishment of an administrative city and the construction of a data center.

The MoUs will enable the physical regrouping of all Ivoirian public bodies involved in the digital economy. They will also help set up an emergency data center where all of Côte d’Ivoire’s administrative data will be transferred, thus contributing to national digital sovereignty.

Two events led to the signing. The first is a trip to Côte d’Ivoire by a delegation from the US chamber of commerce, in 2022. Next is the signing of an MoU between the Ivoirian Ministry of Digital Economy and Cybastion Institute of Technology on December 15, 2022, during the Africa-USA Summit. 

According to Thierry Wandji, CEO of Cybastion Institute of Technology, the new MoUs pave Côte d’Ivoire’s digital revolution. 

Côte d’Ivoire, it should be emphasized, is seeking a lot of funds to implement its digital infrastructure program. Last October, the West African country said it needed $3 billion (over CFA2,000 billion) for the project. 

Besides the recent MoUs, the two parties signed a framework contract to bolster cybersecurity support in Côte d'Ivoire.

Samira Njoya