News (1352)
In Africa, countries are accelerating the digitation of public services. Every sector is undergoing reforms to make the services accessible to everyone via, digital tools.
The Chadian Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) organized a workshop in Koundoul, South of Ndjamena last November 24-26. The workshop was organized to review the country’s judicial system and lay the foundations for its digitization.
For Louise Bourkou Ngaradoumri, Secretary of State for Justice and Human Rights, this project is of great importance to Chad. "Digital technologies appear like essential tools to serve justice as we are far from one another. By using digital tools, we can identify problems as soon as possible,” she said.
The workshop comes after an experience-sharing session organized by Chad last August, with representatives of the Morrocan and Rwandan judicial systems as participants.
The workshop and the experience-sharing session are both parts of the process initiated by the government a few years ago to digitize the justice system. The process is supported by the UNDP in the framework of its project to support the penal system and institutions). Last June, under that same project, the institution handed computers and office equipment to the Ministry of Justice to improve access to quality justice.
According to Justice Minister Mahamat Ahmat Alhabo, in the digital age, only those who keep up to date with the advances can find a place in the justice system. "Not adapting [to the advances] means self-exclusion because, in Chad, the justice system will be digitalized to rid it of its evils,” he said.
Samira Njoya
Cybercrime is gaining ground in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is presented as a region particularly vulnerable to the issue of online scams and large-scale cyberattacks on the rise. Nevertheless, industry players are moving to provide adequate responses.
Last week, the Ivorian parliament approved the draft law amending articles 17, 33, 58, 60, 62, and 66 of the law N° 2013-451 of January 19, 2013, on the fight against cybercrime.
According to Minister of Communications Amadou Coulibaly (Photo, center), who defended the draft law before the parliament, it was necessary to overhaul the rules punishing cybercrime in an environment where the number of such acts is ever-rising with the rise of social media.
Like its African peers, Côte d'Ivoire is confronted by the scourge of cybercrime. The most recurrent acts are sextortion, sexual harassment, identity, and payment fraud.
In 2011, the Ivorian government established a Platform for the Fight against Cybercrime (PLCC). In March 2019, it ratified the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which allowed it to benefit from international collaboration in its fight for greater effectiveness. About two years later, it adopted a new strategy to better secure its cyberspace and accelerate its digital transformation to become the African leader in cybersecurity
The amended articles increase the maximum sentences for cyber acts that violate human dignity, honor, and intellectual property rights as well as any illegal act carried out using ICT tools. For example, Article 17 consecrates a one to six years prison sentence and between 20 to 40 million fine for anyone who publishes or distributes child pornography.
Samira Njoya
The support is the result of the agreement signed by the Japanese embassy in Congo and local NGOs in March 2017. It is in line with the government’s ambition to ensure universal health coverage.
Last Friday, DR Congo launched a UNICEF-implemented digital health support project. The project, funded to the tune of US$2.5 million by Japan, aims to develop and deploy a digital vaccination record integrating a module to register births in the Kinshasa, Kongo-Central, Kasaï-Central, and Haut-Katanga provinces. The financial support is provided in the framework of an agreement signed by local NGOs and the Japanese embassy to DRC in March 2017.
According to DRC Minister of Public Health Jean-Jacques Mbungani, the project is of paramount importance because it will help improve the immunization and birth registration rates and also provide health staff and decision-makers with accurate and real-time information on immunization.
Over the past five years, DRC has improved its immunization rate to 85%, UNICEF says. However, the country still faces recurrent epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, polio, yellow fever, and meningitis. Also, the international organization informs that four out of 10 are registered in the civil registration database in the country; 38% of the children under 1 are registered against 40% for those under 5.
The digital health project aims to improve those figures and ensure broader health coverage by providing an efficient and reliable civil registration system and vital statistics.
Thanks to the digital record system, health personnel will be able to, among other things, monitor the status of birth registration and vaccinations of each child by recording this information in a national database. This system will allow for individualized follow-up and ensure that every child receives the necessary vaccines even if the latter is moved to a different region. "Ultimately, this will greatly improve the accuracy of administrative data to better estimate immunization coverage, including routine immunization and Covid-19," said Hiro Minami, Japan’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Samira Njoya
The country wants to position itself as the reference in digitization in West Africa and leverage ICTs for efficient socio-economic development.
Beninese Digital Minister Aurelie Adam Soulé Zoumarou (photo) recently defended her Ministry’s 2023 before the parliament. The projects included in the XOF31 billion (US$49.2 million) budget include high-impact digital projects and reforms that will benefit the whole country.
According to the government official, the projects include the extension of connectivity to every region -including rural areas- to accelerate the digitization of the country’s administration. They also include the improvement of digital use and confidence and actions to make communes more attractive with digital transformation. Another project is the modernization of Benin’s media to make it more attractive.
The budget also plans for the development of new training curricula to enhance the training offered by the public school for digital professions as well as the development and promotion of artificial intelligence and data management applications useful to national programs and finally the continuation of the Smart Gouv project.
The 2023 budget is 23.57% higher than the XOF24.252 billion Minister Zoumarou presented before the parliament for 2022. According to the official, the 2023 budget is higher because the country needs to pursue and enhance some of the projects launched in 2022. Those projects include the digitization of public administration and the extensions of e-services in every sector.
Samira Njoya
The partnership aims to boost the development of the food and beverage sector in Egypt’s digital economy, in line with the country's Vision 2030.
Last Tuesday, restaurant management solution developer Foodics and fintech startup Paymob signed a partnership agreement to empower the food and beverage sector in Egypt.
The partnership aims to combine Foodics' restaurant management system (RMS) with Paymob's point-of-sale (POS) devices, creating a seamless end-to-end solution for restaurateurs and their customers.
"Tech enablement and the digital economy are critical factors for the acceleration of the F&B industry’s growth. By bringing Foodics and Paymob together, two regional technology powerhouses, this will serve to modernize the F&B sector in Egypt and advance the shift to cashless payments, fueling both growth and digital transformation,"said Belal Zahran (photo, left), Foodics country manager in Egypt.
In Egypt, the food and beverage industry is a key facet of the economy. The country’s 104 million population represents a huge domestic market but, it is also the largest market in the MENA region. According to the "Food & Beverage Market Size, Share, Growth Prospects and Opportunities 2020-2026" study, competition will likely intensify in the Egyptian food and beverage sector with emerging applications and an expanded product portfolio.
Through the partnership, the two regional tech powerhouses want to build the first wireless backend API integration for the Egyptian F&B sector. The collaboration will enable Foodics restaurants to accept all types of card payments using Paymob's point-of-sale devices. This will solve two major issues for restaurants, namely automating the reconciliation and payment processes to provide faster order processing and error-free, frictionless payment experiences.
Samira Njoya
On the sidelines of the 2022 Climate Change Conference (Cop27), Jean Michel Canto, Orange Middle East & Africa's Director of Sustainable Energy & Partnerships, gave an exclusive interview to We Are Tech. During the interview, he highlighted the French group’s climate commitment in Africa.
We Are Tech: Why is Orange taking part in the Cop27?
Jean Michel Canto: Several years ago, Orange made clear environmental and climate commitments. For a long time, we are committed to these issues, which are very important to us. We have already taken several actions in our markets to reduce our environmental impact. Through the Cop27, we want to support governments in reaching their ecological and energy transition goals. We want to work with governments to develop renewable energy, to develop ecosystems, and circular economies. At the Cop27, Orange Group, through the Director of the Environment, is reiterating its environmental commitments and its availability to support governments in their projects to their reduce carbon footprint. We are ready to work daily with countries to collectively achieve these commitments.
WAT: You keep mentioning support to countries. What does such support concretely entail?
JMC: One of the major challenges in achieving our environmental objectives and for countries to achieve theirs is access to renewable energy. The second axis is the whole ecosystem of the circular economy.
Presently, it's true that regulations don't allow us to do exactly what we would like to do, notably build and develop solar farms and directly use this renewable energy. But by working hand in hand with countries, we are confident that we will be able to change these regulations and attract the necessary investments in African countries to multiply the deployment of solar and wind farms wherever possible.
The circular economy is the recycling of telephones and telecom equipment that we use every day. For renewable energy, as an operator and private industry, we can attract the capital needed to develop renewable energy in Africa. In Africa, no factories are specializing in refurbishing telecom equipment and phones for new use. Our ambition is to work with governments so that such factories can be set up in Africa.
For the time being, telecom equipment and phones are sent to Asia and Europe to be refurbished. We are sure that the development of this type of activity on African soil will create jobs but will also contribute to the development of the circular economy and reduce raw material extraction, which is harmful to our planet.
WAT: Phones become electronic waste when they are no longer useful. This is obvious but how does Orange’s infrastructure harm the environment?
JMC: Like every activity, industry, and company, we need electricity. So do the infrastructure through which we provide services to our subscribers. Using non-renewable energies such as diesel to guarantee the continuity of our services in certain areas with poor access to electricity accentuates the impact of our infrastructure on the environment. Put simply, it is through carbon emission. Renewable energy greatly reduces this carbon footprint. We are already working with our infrastructure and equipment suppliers to ensure that they have a strong commitment to limiting their impact on the environment right from the design stage.
Objectively, in Africa, the major factor contributing to our carbon emissions is the use of energy to power all our telecom towers, data centers, etc. This is why we are insisting on the use of renewable energy sources. That's why we put a lot of emphasis on working with countries or governments to develop renewable energy. A few years ago, we were using so many generators to power our telecom towers. But we are gradually deploying solar panels, which generate clean energy, to replace them.
Digital technologies are great tools. They enable videoconference and teleworking but telecom infrastructures are mostly needed for all that. With eco-responsible telecom infrastructures and equipment, we can greatly limit the impact we could have on the environment and the climate.
WAT: Orange has developed a program called "Net Zero Carbon 2040". What is it about?
JMC: Net Zero Carbon 2040 is Orange's strong commitment to the climate. It means that we are committed to strongly reducing our carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy. We are aware that there will still be an incompressible minor part of our carbon emissions. Not every activity can be fully clean. To compensate for these residual carbon emissions, we must commit ourselves to solutions that are called carbon sinks, i.e. solutions that will capture the CO2 that we will emit.
We have already launched major carbon sink projects in countries like Senegal, Cameroon, and Madagascar. We have made commitments to plant trees and protect the mangrove ecosystem. We have signed a partnership with experts in the field. Orange is specialized in the telecommunication industry. So, we rely on environmental experts for climate-related issues, including the protection and development of the mangrove, which is a great carbon sequester. We are committed to taking such actions in Africa and we believe that thanks to them, we can meet our net zero carbon goal by 2040.
We have a milestone for 2025. This milestone is that by that time, more than half of the energy used by the group must be generated by renewable sources. This is a big challenge. That's why we continue to power our sites with solar panels and do the same for our data centers, which are energy-intensive.
In Africa, we have more than 6,000 telecom sites equipped with solar panels. We will continue and accelerate this energy transition to the rest of our equipment. In countries such as Guinea, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Jordan, more than half of the energy consumed by the network comes from renewable energy sources that we produce ourselves. If possible, we would like to develop solar and wind farms, to inject this clean electricity into the electricity grid of the countries in which we operate and use this clean electricity on all our telecom towers. In addition to that, we have commitments to reduce our carbon footprint on what we call SCOPE 1 and 2, fuel and electricity namely. Orange as a group plans to reduce the use of such energy sources by 30%.
WAT: Orange works with telecom tower managers. How does the group reconcile this operational cost management with its environmental commitments?
JMC: We work with tower managers (towercos) in five countries. In the twelve other markets, we operate our own towers. When we operate our own towers, we call on experts to help us with this transition. We call these experts ESCOs. These energy experts from the telecom industry help us to modernize our energy production chains in our telecom towers, adding as much solar energy as possible, and adopting the right size for our current and future needs. In Africa, all three tower managers we work with have renewable energy commitments for 2030, 2040, and 2050.
WAT: In addition to reducing the environmental impact of its business activities and carrying out direct actions in favor of the climate, such as carbon sinks, how does Orange's investment in the environment integrate the well-being of the African population?
JMC: The impact on society is as important as the impact on the environment. Through all the direct climate activities, such as the protection of the mangrove, which meets our environmental objective, Orange also aims to develop the entire ecosystem around it to benefit populations. Training will therefore be organized and new jobs created as we know that the mangrove produces wood and by-products can therefore be produced and sold. We have included support in this very important project. We also are deploying Orange Digital Centers (ODC) everywhere in Africa. Through those infrastructures, we will raise awareness of environmental issues by organizing activities like coding competitions focusing on the environment for young people. Africans are awaiting those environmental projects because they will be the first parties affected by climate change. With the drought in some regions, fishing villages disappearing in Senegal, etc, those populations are beginning to feel the impacts of climate change.
WAT: Can we consider Orange Energie as one of the components of Orange's environmental action?
JMC: Yes, it is. Orange Energie allows access to solar kits, which are symbolic since by definition solar kits provide renewable energy for schools, professionals, etc. It is not limited to solar kit distribution, however. It also projects to build mini-grids, namely small solar farms that can supply one or two villages with no access to energy.
Once again, these are, by definition, renewable energies since they are solar fields that will be deployed. These are two examples that bring essential services to the populations, in addition to responding to strong environmental issues.
The environmental issue is a broad subject and Orange is fully committed because it is important for us and the development of the African continent.
Interview by Muriel Edjo
The Republic of Congo is gradually making its way toward the complete digitization of its public services. To accelerate the process and reach its goals by 2025, the government is multiplying partnerships with international companies specializing in digital issues.
Canadian company Casimir Network signed Tuesday (Nov.22) a memorandum of understanding to support Congo in its digital transformation.
The MoU was signed by the Congolese Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy, Léon Juste Ibombo (photo, left), and Jean Michel Casimir (photo, right), CEO of Casimir Network. It provides, among other things, the training of local talent on innovative technologies, the construction and operation of a data center that will host servers for blockchain services, the transfer of knowledge concerning the operation of the data center, and the development of cybersecurity and personal data protection programs. It also plans for support and research, and the development of the African Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence (Caria).
The memorandum aims to “help our partners create and operate the data center here in our country. Indeed, the country of a data center will allow our partners to support and assist us in the operationalization of Caria,” Minister Leon Juste Ibombo said.
Earlier this year, Congo launched an African Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence (Caria) which serves as a framework for in-depth research for students and other researchers on the continent. It is the result of cooperation between the Congolese government and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Caria supports other major digital projects underway in the framework of Congo’s digital development plan, "Congo Digital 2025.”
The agreement between Congo and Casimir Network is expected to take effect in early 2023. This week, a site visit will be organized to verify the location of the future data center. "We hope everything will be finalized and we will launch operations by September 2023," said Jean Michel Casimir.
He added that the data center will be based on blockchain technologies since they are going for an ecological solution. “Congo offers green energy generated by a hydroelectric dam. We were looking for stability and we found it here,” he indicated.
Samira Njoya
According to the WHO, counterfeit medicines cause nearly 100,000 deaths in Africa each year. Grinta wants to remove this scourge by offering medicine traceability and authentication solution.
Egyptian digital pharmacy platform Grinta, announced Monday (Nov. 21), a US$8 million raise to develop its tech platform and accelerate its growth in the local market. The funds, raised during a seed round, were secured from Raed Ventures (Saudi Arabia) and NClude, an Egyptian FinTech fund managed by Global Ventures (Dubai).
"As we plan to expand our footprint in the main pharma hubs on the continent, we will also enable Egyptian and regional pharma manufacturers to further penetrate the US$50 billion African market," said Grinta co-founder and CEO Mohamed Azab.
According to the company's statement, Egypt’s US$6.3 billion pharmaceutical market (Softgroup) is the largest and fastest-growing in Africa. It has three major distributors and more than 3,000 wholesalers targeting 60,000 fragmented retail pharmacies. Nevertheless, the market is also affected by the shortage of pharmaceutical products that usually hit African countries (nearly half of Africa's population (1.1 billion people) lacks regular access to the most essential medicines).
Since its inception in 2021, Grinta has been working to reduce the drug shortage in Egypt by modernizing the pharmaceutical supply chain and empowering independent pharmacies. Its end-to-end platform provides access to the full range of traceable pharmaceutical and medical products from multiple suppliers, in addition to order fulfillment, demand planning, and inventory financing.
Thanks to the funds secured, it wants to scale its full-stack technology platform, expand its team and accelerate its growth in the Egyptian market. Within a year and a half of operation, the company has aggressively expanded across seven governorates in Egypt, with over 14,000 pharmacies registered on its platform, more than 100,000 orders delivered, and more than 14,000 stock management units.
Samira Njoya
Like almost every country, DRC is digitalizing every sector, including its justice system. The identification system to be built will greatly facilitate law enforcement agencies’ works in the countries.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently awarded a US$70 million contract to Israeli company Pangea to develop and operate an automated, centralized biometric criminal identification system (ABIS) that will identify individuals based on their biometric traits and build criminal records.
The database, which will include the biometric data of identified law offenders, will be accessible by 150 police stations nationwide. It will also have fingerprint and handprint-based crime investigation capabilities.
“Digital government services are essential to the countries’ long-term growth, especially those with tremendous economic potential like Congo.[…] Today, we’re able to advance with such a strategic project in a remarkably short period and achieve major transformation with solutions that have proven themselves around the world,” explains Uzy Rozenthal, Pangea’s executive vice president.
The project will be carried out under a public-private partnership model. It is the result of a decision by the government of Congo to promote the digitization of government services in the country. It adds to the other projects underway in the country in the framework of the National Digital Plan - Horizon 2025.
The partner selected for the project -Pangea-has been providing digital transformation solutions to businesses since its inception in 2018. It is also experienced in the implementation of biometric and IT systems for government agencies in several countries around the world.
"Pangea continues to develop capabilities and innovations in our areas of expertise, including new products for eKYC and Smart Border Control. These capabilities will become unique products in the next few months and generate significant revenue in the next few years," said Rafi Kaminer (photo), CEO of Pangea.
Samira Njoya
In Africa, most countries are betting on digital technologies to boost their socio-economic development. In that context, in its Agenda 2063, the African Union has outlined a set of key programs and initiatives to accelerate economic development on the continent.
Last Thursday, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) signed a grant agreement for the implementation of the first phase of "Upstream", a project aimed at developing the African digital market.
The US$9.73 million grant from AfDB aims to support AUC in the implementation of digital projects that are expected to develop a single continental digital market. It also aims to support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa.
"The Covid-19 pandemic underscored the importance of digital technologies and the digital economy as a whole, and in that regard, Africa should think big when it comes to digital development, digital economy, and the grand opportunities for integration and economic growth," said Albert M. Muchanga (photo, right), AUC commissioner for economic development, trade, tourism, industry, and minerals.
Upstream is designed to address gaps identified in the African digital economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first phase, which will run from 2023 to 2026, has three main components namely digital enablers, digital trade, and e-commerce adoption as well as supporting actions. It will help strengthen the frameworks (strategic, policy, regulatory, and conceptual) and cross-cutting dimensions (gender, climate change, and resilience) that are essential for the establishment of a single continental digital market by 2030.
Ultimately, the project will contribute to the implementation of digital enablers (universal access to broadband infrastructure, sovereign African cloud, African digital marketplace, etc.), e-business, and digital promotion programs for medium, small and micro enterprises, and start-ups. It will also help create an ecosystem facilitating digital trust, skill development, and networking with African experts.
According to Abul B. Kamara (photo, left), the AfDB's deputy director general for the East African region, the project will also create employment opportunities for millions of young Africans, which is critical to the continent's stability and prosperity. It will also ensure the digital transformation of economies and provide new opportunities to increase intra-African trade and stimulate economic growth.
Samira Njoya
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Developing innovative solutions to boost the SME world is a major concern for African economies. Yet, accessing financing remains a headache for sector players.
On Tuesday, November 15, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced the launch of a new vehicle dedicated to supporting venture capital systems in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan. This $225 million fund will provide seed funding for startups that address development issues in areas such as climate, health, education, agriculture, e-commerce, etc. through technological innovations.
“Support for entrepreneurship and digital transformation is essential to economic growth, job creation, and resilience. It will help innovative tech companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan expand during a time of capital shortage and create scalable investment opportunities. We want to help develop homegrown innovative solutions that are not only relevant to emerging countries but to the rest of the world,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC's Managing Director.
The already difficult access to funding for startups in low-income countries has worsened with the global slowdown in venture capital investment, the Covid-19 pandemic, rising food and supply chain costs, rising interest rates, and currency devaluations. However, countries still have a huge potential for development. In Africa, for example, the digital economy could contribute up to $712 billion to the continent’s GDP by 2050, according to a report published on June 9 by the international network of high-impact entrepreneurs Endeavor.
The IFC sees in its new platform a way to boost nascent venture capital markets in regions that have shown early growth potential but face challenging global economic conditions. The international organization says it will make equity and quasi-equity investments in tech startups and help them grow into scalable companies capable of attracting traditional equity and debt financing. It will also use the platform to collaborate with other World Bank Group teams to build and support venture capital ecosystems through regulatory reforms, sector analysis, and other tools.
An additional $50 million will be provided by the International Development Association's Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility, which helps reduce the risk of investments in low-income countries.
Samira Njoya
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the need to develop strategies to ensure education continuity in times of crisis. In that regard, countries, and development partners are now implementing projects to bridge the digital divide and transform the education system.
Earlier today, November 15, during an event organized on the sidelines of COP27, UNESCO and HUAWEI presented their joint Technology-enabled Open Schools for All (Huawei TECH4ALL) program.
The program was presented by Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). During her presentation, she explained that it has become necessary to leverage technologies to change education models.
“Aiming to leave no one behind in the digital world, enabling equity and quality in education is one of four focused domains in the Huawei TECH4ALL digital inclusion initiative,” said Catherine Du, head of the Huawei TECH4ALL program.
The program, which entered its implementation phase in Ghana, Egypt, and Ethiopia last year, aims to encourage the development of resilient education systems in times of profound global changes like the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from equipping schools, the program also includes digital training for teachers and learners as well as the development of online platforms -to enable hybrid learning- and digital courses.
In Egypt, the joint UNESCO-Huawei program aims to empower 950,000 teachers, principals, and supervisors to more effectively integrate ICT into their daily practice. Ultimately, in the country, 23 million basic education students are expected to benefit from an improved and more equitable digital learning experience.
TECH4ALL, which aligns with UNESCO’s flagship program Priority Africa, will ensure that Sub-Saharan African countries can leverage technology as an accelerator to achieve MDG 4 and as an equalizer for digital development opportunities. It will contribute to the achievement of the goals of "Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want," including sustained investments in universal early childhood development and basic education, and the elimination of gender disparities at all levels of education.
Samira Njoya
Africa wants to leverage digital technologies to accelerate its economic growth. For that purpose, countries are acting together for more efficiency.
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) will adopt a Regional Program for the Development of the Digital Economy (PRDEN). This is one of the decisions approved by the member countries’ Ministers of Digital Economy when they met in Cotonou, Benin, last Friday.
The XOF121 billion (US$190 million) program -deemed ambitious and innovative- aims to boost the digitalization of socioeconomic activities in the community.
"We started with pilot projects, extending resources to member countries under the program for the installation of digital boxes and the digitization of public services,” indicated Abosse Akue-Kpakpo, the WAEMU commission’s head of digital economy. He added that the commission has already funded the elaboration of a legislative and regulatory framework, which is being submitted to member countries for approval, to improve governance.
According to Abosse Akue-Kpakpo, in recent years, West Africa has made remarkable efforts for the development of its digital economy. In a video published earlier this year, the WAEMU informs that nearly 94% of the zone has a mobile cellular subscription and nearly 40% have access to the internet. More than 80 million mobile money accounts are active in the region, representing 63% of the population. The mobile money accounts carry out over 2.7 billion transactions for a cumulative annual value of XAF29 trillion+ (more than US$47 billion).
The PRDEN, through its four main axes, intends to strengthen digital governance, improve access to digital services, promote innovation and research and boost the digital services offering.
The program will run from 2023 to 2027, with the expectation that it would help digitize 120 public services in the WAEMU member countries. To raise the funds required for its implementation from financial partners, a roundtable will be organized in the second quarter of 2023.
At the end of the meeting held on November 11, 2022, the participating parties also approved the draft decision on the establishment of the Commission of Digital Regulators and the draft directive for the improvement of mass adoption of digital technologies.
Samira Njoya
Digital tools are currently considered essential technologies for Africa's post-Covid-19 recovery and even its future growth. However, unequal access to the internet may become a challenge to countries’ efforts.
Last Thursday, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced US$10 million in support as part of its cooperation with telecom infrastructure company the Bandwidth & Cloud Services Group (BCS Group).
The investment aims to bring transformed digital connectivity to more than 2.5 million people living in remote areas of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo through a fiber optic network built by BCS.
"The European Investment Bank is committed to accelerating digitalization across Africa and is pleased to strengthen our partnership with BCS to transform high-speed fibre optic networks in the DRC. Expansion of the fibre optic backbone will enable local communities to benefit from mobile broadband and hospitals and schools to be connected to the rest of the world,” said EIB Vice-president Thomas Östros.
According to the Global System Operators' Association (GSMA) report "The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2020, "DRC is one of the African countries that have the largest connectivity gap between urban and rural areas. Its demand for connectivity has grown significantly after the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging international companies to invest in the country. Liquid Technologies, Facebook, and CSquared have committed to building fiber optic networks in the country to improve access to affordable broadband internet.
The new BCS investment, supported by the EIB, will connect areas currently underserved by broadband telecommunications. The support will fund the construction of 1,200 kilometers of fiber out of the 20,000 kilometers planned by BCS in Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa over the next 3 years.
Several outcomes are expected at the end of the project. According to the EIB release, "better digitalization will unlock new opportunities for local entrepreneurs and support job creation, and direct telecom connections to 319 schools and 70 hospitals and health centers to improve education and public health."
Samira Njoya