Skip to content
Accessibility

Data Governance in Africa

  • SDG8
icon_Digital Transformation

Cybersecurity and e-governance

4-4/2-2024
Timeframe 31.01.2024-30.06.2026 Aktiivne
Target group Entrepreneurs in Africa
Budget 895 000 EUR
Funders
  • Euroopa Komisjon
  • ESTDEV
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Partners

The Data Governance in Africa Initiative supports the African Union (AU) and its Member States in creating human-centric, development-focused data policies at all levels, aiming to harmonize regulations, enable cross-border data flows, and promote investment in secure and sustainable data infrastructure to support a single digital market in Africa. The initiative started implementation in 2023 with an investment of €60 million from the European Union, Germany, Finland, Belgium, France, and Estonia. It is jointly implemented by Enabel, Digital Africa, GIZ, ESTDEV, Expertise France and HAUS.

Project objectives

With the Data Governance in Africa initiative, the EU and its Member States provide support to the African Union and its Regional Economic Communities and Member States to leverage the potential of the data economy while avoiding the misuse of data and potential fragmentation of data markets.

Working together as members of Team Europe, the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) and GIZ, the German development cooperation agency, have signed a grant agreement to support the development of a fair and inclusive data economy and society in sub-Saharan Africa as part of the EU Global Gateway Strategy in collaboration with the African Union. 

The Data Governance in Africa Initiative has been made possible by financial support from the European Union and five EU Member States (Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, and Germany) as part of the EU Global Gateway Strategy. It will be implemented by Digital Africa, Enabel, ESTDEV, HAUS, Expertise France and GIZ.

Actions and results

In the framework of this initiative, ESTDEV aims to scale up the creation and use of data-driven digital social innovations (DSI) and ensure they meet the needs of disadvantaged groups at the grassroots level by enhancing the capabilities of local innovators and increasing their access to funding opportunities for development and growth. For this, a joint call for proposals for data-driven startups and SMEs has been organised with HAUS, the Finnish Institute of Public Management.

The proposed activities will directly contribute to the Team Europe Initiative for the D4D Digital Economy and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Contacts