Estonia is a valued development cooperation partner in Africa

ESTDEV has successfully contributed to the implementation of Estonia's regional strategy for Africa and to the achievement of the development cooperation objectives set out in the strategy, which in turn help to strengthen mutually beneficial economic relations and support global sustainable development. ESTDEV is also a valued partner in Team Europe initiatives to implement the EU's digital and green agenda.

Africa's budget accounts for nearly 17% of the total ESTDEV budget for 2024. The amount for the four African partner countries - Kenya, Botswana, Namibia and Uganda - is almost €4.2 million this year, of which around €1.2 million comes from Estonia and the rest is external financing, largely through the European Commission and Team Europe initiatives.

According to Katrin Winter the first half of 2024 has been successful. ”The synergy of our entire team, both here in Estonia and with our team in Kenya, has gotten better and better. In any case, the reputation of ESTDEV and Estonia, especially in the areas of digital and green transformation, education and entrepreneurship, has grown both in Kenya as well as in our other priority countries and in Africa more broadly,” as Winter summed it up.

The largest project call for proposals to date

Speaking with Winter, we were able to take a look at the factors behind ESTDEV’s successful work in Africa. This year’s call for proposals to finance projects in Kenya, Namibia, Botswana and Uganda was designed to be more specific and result in projects that address the development goals of our partner countries. "We wanted to start from the point where Estonia is already operating in Africa and where the attention of the European Commission and other donors is," explained Winter.

It was very good that we were able to design this round together with partners and that the projects can last up to two years. This way, we can keep our projects and those of our Estonian partners going in the same direction." Katrin Winter

The call for proposals was designed to seek projects that would focus on innovative twin (digital and green) transition implementation, systemic changes in the education system, the development of digital skills, and a sustainable and systematic digital transition achieved through cooperation between the private and public sectors.

Although it was only the second time that ESTDEV has held such a round, it was quite successful — a total of 28 applications were received, and total funding was almost 3 times higher than last year.

"I see that ESTDEV's role as a coordinator of the Africa programme is also starting to develop more clearly — we know what our Estonian partners are doing, we know what our European partners are doing, and we can work to unite these efforts," said Winter.

ESTDEV’s project management unit in Kenya

ESTDEV’s closest cooperation is currently with Kenya. The presence of local project managers and coordinators, who help to implement ESTDEV’s activities in Kenya within the framework of international projects, has added momentum this year. The first team members joined last summer, and this spring, a fourth team member was added. This type of project management unit was only possible in partnership with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to implement an international project to promote digitalisation in Kenya and create an open and cohesive digital society.

"We are happy that we have been able to improve the coordination between the Estonian and Kenyan teams, and we can see how our presence there is increasing the interest in cooperation with Estonia," added Winter.

In March, ESTDEV hosted a high-level delegation from Kenya, which included representatives from various ministries, who were able to observe how Estonia’s digital state functions. "We are working on a national digitalisation project there as part of Team Europe, so it was very rewarding when the parties involved could see for themselves the value Estonia brings to the table. They saw firsthand what we mean when we talk about a digital country, what is X-Road, and why we always say that all parties must be involved in the digitalisation process," said Winter.

At the same time, Estonia brought people together. Deans of Kenyan universities participating in the teacher education project received a scholarship to acquire a micro-degree in educational innovation at Tallinn University. During that time, they spent two weeks in Estonia. "During the micro-degree program, they also got to know Ukrainians, with whom they continued to cooperate after. It's good to see how new partnerships emerged from this one venture," said Winter.

In addition, 20 IT students from Kenya were studying at Tallinn University, completing internships as part of the talent partnership project Digital Explorers 2. Three of the students were accepted into Tallinn University's master's programme, and two secured a job for the summer. "Even though the environment may have been a bit unfamiliar to them at first, in the end, their whole four-month programme here was really awesome. We heard only good feedback from our partners about their work and motivation. They also did voluntary work, for example, in organising Latitude59. I hope they will continue this in Kenya as well," Winter added. "It's great that we were able to harmonise so many of our projects and activities this spring and bring people together here in Estonia.”

ESTDEV’s reputation as a reliable partner

President Karis’s visit to Botswana helped introduce Estonia as a cooperation partner and opened some doors, but ESTDEV’s constant presence in our partner countries is just as important.

"Implementation of large projects requires a long-term presence and network development. Our Kenyan team is very well-connected and proactive. Thanks to them, several other donors have also approached us because they see that we are present in the country and that we really stand behind the work we do," said Winter. “Our team members there understand the local context, who to talk to, who to ask and maybe who not to talk to at all.”

We have consistently marketed Estonia in the development cooperation world so that others would take note of our presence. According to Winter, this has created a solid ground to stand on and launch development cooperation projects: "Our image is good. Often, they even wonder how there can be so few of us on the team because we are able to achieve so much. Topics in the digital field are talked about a lot, but we can show that we ourselves have created our own digital world. Likewise, in education and entrepreneurship. These are our strengths and where we can share our experiences to show that things work for us and that it is really possible.”

Thoughtful, targeted projects

Implementing projects with other European partners is extremely important." Katrin Winter

To use Estonia's small size to our advantage, we need to think carefully when selecting the what, where and how of project implementation. "Our strong experience in the digital field is also extremely valuable here. In order to achieve the greatest possible impact with rather small resources, we have often focused on the government level," said Winter.

The focus is mainly on digitalisation, education and entrepreneurship, areas where the change created at the national level is more likely to be long-lasting and far-reaching.

The advantage of sharing Estonia’s experience also lies in the fact that we are working with bespoke solutions rather than off-the-rack. "Many others operate in our partner countries, including, for example, large companies such as Google, Microsoft, etc. But through the exchange of experience and know-how, we can together create exactly the kind of solutions that our partners think will be suitable for them," said Winter.

This is how ESTDEV brings Estonian knowledge to international joint initiatives, such as the various Team Europe initiatives. "First of all, since we are one Europe and we already operate in the same countries, it would be shortsighted not to cooperate. Secondly, by joining larger initiatives, we have the opportunity to amplify our ideas and implement our development cooperation goals," said Winter.

"ESTDEV has spent a couple of years building networks in the African partner countries, learning about the context and creating a programme that matches the needs of these countries with Estonian knowledge and experience. This year we can start to talk about some of the results we have achieved in cooperation with Estonian and Team Europe partners. We have reached the point where we are not looking for our place, but have proven ourselves as a reliable and expert partner in the fields of digital transformation, education and entrepreneurship. Increasingly, our expertise is being sought in larger and more impactful ventures, both by African and European partners," Winter concluded.