Estonia supports twin transition in Africa through the Team Europe Digital and Green Innovation Action

Today, Team Europe partners are meeting in Tallinn to discuss the Digital and Green Innovation (DGI) Action, which aims to boost the development of Africa’s green technology sectors by supporting local entrepreneurs in scaling digital solutions. 

Estonia has joined the DGI Action along with Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to address the fact that digital technologies cause 3-4% of carbon dioxide emissions, use 7-9% of global electricity and generate increasing amounts of e-waste. Digitalisation must be done sustainably, especially in the regions most susceptible to climate change. 

Not only does the DGI Action work to address environmental issues, but it also supports one of the main goals of Estonian development cooperation in Africa—creating open and sustainable digital countries. Participation in the DGI Action allows Estonian companies to share their experience developing innovative digital solutions and work with African partners to develop digital skills and competencies. 

“Digital transformation and climate action must go hand in hand—especially in contexts where communities are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis,” said Christina Stansell, head of the Digital & Green Innovation Action Component at the German Development Agency (GIZ). “Through the Digital Green Innovation (DGI) Action, we create space for locally led innovations that don’t just respond to today’s challenges but actively shape a just, inclusive and sustainable future.” 

In addition to today’s reception, a panel will discuss Africa’s “twin transition” — the intersection of digital innovation and green solutions — on the main stage at Latitude 59 on Thursday. 

Dr Milou Derks, one of Thursday’s panellists and a research coordinator at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and Esther Mooiman, the Dutch coordinator for the Digital4Development (D4D) Hub, explained that across African countries, entrepreneurs are playing a crucial role in advancing the continent’s green and digital transformation. However, for the twin transition to truly take hold, it is not enough for individual businesses to grow. Innovations must scale, value chains must emerge or transform, and new practices must become mainstream. 

At the same time, digitalisation is necessary to achieve sustainable development, said Cyril Renault, the Digital Energy project leader at the French Development Agency (AFD): “Digitalisation is one of the main levers of the green transition and universal access to energy.” 

Estonia’s role in the DGI Action 

ESTDEV’s Africa programme to accelerate the digital and green transition and develop entrepreneurship brings together the needs of African partner countries and the experience of Estonian companies in developing digital green technology solutions. 

According to Taavet Tomberg, a Digital and Green Innovation project manager at ESTDEV, a wide network of Estonian experts is involved in ESTDEV’s activities. “We are bringing Estonian knowledge of digitalisation and green innovation directly to African partner countries and introducing the principles of the twin transition in Africa through Estonian digital competence,” said Tomberg. 

The activities will start with a meeting between Estonian partners and local stakeholders to identify the biggest challenges and possible solutions. An innovation competition and a business accelerator will then be organised to identify sustainable, inclusive solutions in line with digital and green innovation principles.  

Though Estonia and its project partners share their experience with sustainable digital solutions, the goal is to apply them in a way that works for the local context. As Maureen Leyen, the project lead for Digital and Green Innovation at the Innovation Hub of Belgium’s Agency for Development Cooperation (ENABEL), said, “When a simple app or digital tool is well adapted to a specific context, digital innovation has the potential to accelerate inclusive and sustainable development and empower people.” 

The second action line focuses on policymaking to create a supportive digital and green innovation environment. To this end, African partners will be brought together with European policymakers to exchange ideas on different policies, guidelines and best practices to effectively support the implementation of digital and green innovation through national and regional policy dialogues. The goal is to organise a high-level digital and green innovation summit with policymakers and global partners to build partnerships in the field of digital and green innovation. 

The third action line focuses on mobilising finance. To this end, meetings will be organised between innovators, start-ups and public and private investors to improve access to finance for further financing of these solutions. 

"For new digital solutions to survive and have a positive impact, it is not enough to have a good idea. Opportunities must be created to involve investors, create sustainability, and start the process of making the business environment more transparent and efficient by involving policymakers and institutions. The twin transition project is a good example of a comprehensive approach that supports the emergence of local businesses and job creation and contributes to achieving climate goals," said Katrin Winter, ESTDEV’s regional head for Africa. 

The Digital and Green Innovation Action is co-funded by the participating Team Europe partners (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Estonia) and the European Commission.