News Desk
Just under 20 years ago, Kenya pioneered mobile money, setting a precedent for digital innovation across Africa. Since then, various African nations have carved out their own niches in the digital market—Morocco in gaming, Tunisia in artificial intelligence. Yet, the continent’s digital landscape remains uneven.
Many governments struggle with socio-economic challenges and limited resources, making it difficult to invest in digital infrastructure. Meanwhile, foreign powers like the United States and China are dominating the African tech market, with South Africa’s data center investments largely coming from American cloud, networking, and storage providers. While this boosts local economies and creates jobs, it also raises concerns about data sovereignty, as much of the data resides outside national borders.
Efforts are underway at both continental, national, and regional levels to shift Africa’s focus from being a digital consumer to a creator. However, critics argue that there is a lack of coordinated strategy to ensure Africa can truly take control of its digital future. Contributors include Mark Kaigwa, founder and CEO of Nendo, Juanita Clark of Digital Council Africa, Teki Akuetteh of Africa Digital Rights Hub, and Dr.
Seydina Moussa Ndiaye from the Université Numérique Cheikh Hamidou Kane.
Source: BBC
