Smart Africa - Afrikan Heroes

ADF Partners Smart Africa Alliance to Launch $1.5 million Project to Enhance Digital Trade and e-Commerce Ecosystems in Africa

April 28, 2023

The African Development Fund and Smart Africa Alliance have jointly launched a $1.5 million project to streamline digital trade and e-commerce policies across 10 African countries. The Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-Border Trade Project (IDECT (https://apo-opa.info/3L9ZNqA)) will evaluate policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems of Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Republic of Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The project will see the implementation of regional training and capacity-building programs focusing on cross-border e-payment and e-commerce for governments, private sectors, and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). These programs are expected to reach 600 participants, with 60% being women and youth. Additionally, a certified gender-sensitive e-learning training program addressing the unique challenges faced by women in digital trade and e-commerce, will be developed and disseminated to 2,500 participants, of whom 60% will be women.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday, 25 April, a day ahead of the 2023 Transform Africa Summit which takes place in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 26-28 April. African Development Bank Director General for Southern Africa Region Leïla Mokaddem, described the IDECT as a pivotal step towards strengthening Africa’s digital trade and e-commerce landscape.

“This initiative will bolster the development of harmonized e-payment policies, capacity building, and gender-sensitive frameworks, ultimately fostering a digital trade ecosystem that generates employment opportunities across the continent,” she said.

Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, said: “The IDECT project demonstrates our commitment to fostering digital transformation and economic growth in Africa. By addressing policy gaps and promoting gender-sensitive training, we are laying the foundation for a thriving digital trade and e-commerce ecosystem.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

National Digital Academy Launches in Côte d’Ivoire

September 17, 2022

Smart Africa’s capacity-building arm, the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) continues to expand its footprint in Africa, with Côte d’Ivoire being the latest country to benefit from the digital skills development initiative. Launched in partnership with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the initiative will help nurture the country’s nascent digital sector through the provision of digital skills.

Speaking of the launch, Lacina Koné, the Director General and CEO of Smart Africa, commended the political will of governments across Africa to transform the digital landscape on the continent and emphasized Smart Africa’s support.

“There’s increasing recognition, among nations, of the role of digital technologies in transforming the socio-economic situation and the determination to adopt them is palpable. Through initiatives like SADA, the Smart Africa Alliance is committed to supporting national efforts to close the digital skills gap. We are pleased to bring SADA to life in Côte d’Ivoire, an important country of the alliance,” he explained.

Representing the German government, a key donor of the SADA initiative, Marton Köver, Chargé d’Affaires of the German Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire, underlined that “a fair and equitable legal framework is key to ensuring that as many Africans as possible benefit from digital transformation” – a step Côte d’Ivoire has now taken with SADA.

In addition to SADA, the Agile Regulation for Digital Transformation Program (AReg4DT) was also launched in collaboration with the World Bank and GIZ.

The World Bank Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea, and Togo. Coralie Gevers also stated, “capacity building and knowledge exchange among African countries is critical to support the implementation of the Africa Digital Transformation Strategy 2020-2030 and Côte d’Ivoire has an important role to play in sharing knowledge among peers and showing the benefits of applying agile regulation principles for vibrant, inclusive, sustainable and safe digital markets as demonstrated by the recent adoption of its National Digital Development Strategy 2025.”

The launch of SADA in Côte d’Ivoire heralds the implementation of various capacity-building programs on Big Data & IoT, training of teachers, executive trainings, advanced ICT trainings, among others. Moreover, Côte d’Ivoire is set to host the first cybersecurity Innovation Centers for youth. Currently, Côte d’Ivoire leads Smart Africa’s cybersecurity flagship.

In this respect, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Smart Africa Alliance and Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Communication, part of which is the provision, by SADA, of specific capacity-building interventions related to the country’s priorities in the ICT sector.

Speaking on the launch of SADA, the Ivorian Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Amadou Coulibaly, emphasized that “SADA-Côte d’Ivoire will be one of the key vehicles for the operationalization of the “awareness and training” projects of the 4th pillar of the National Digital Strategy to 2025, which has the specific objective to develop and promote digital skills”.

As a pan-African dynamic learning ecosystem, SADA aims to improve digital skills qualifications, and employability, and meet the emerging talent needs of African citizens. The national digital academy will support the uniquely identified digital skills priority needs at the national level. Furthermore, such national digital academies will soon be rolled out in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Smart Africa Alliance Gets $1.5 Million for Digital Trade and e-Commerce Across Africa

December 18, 2021

The African Development Bank Group has approved a $1.5 million grant to assess policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems in 10 countries in Africa. The funds, sourced from the African Development Fund, the Bank’s concessional window, will go to the Smart Africa Alliance, an alliance of 32 African countries, international organisations and global corporations with a vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030.

Nicholas Williams, the Bank’s Division Manager for ICT Operations, said: “This project is both timely and vital. For the continent to create a unified digital market by 2030, efforts should focus on harmonizing and building a cohesive policy environment for intra-continental trade. The Bank is delighted to partner with the Smart Africa Alliance to advance key policy objectives that will support broader digital development across Africa.”

The project will study the policy environment in 10 countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, The Republic of Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Smart Africa will consult public and private sector actors to develop an online training program that will directly benefit 600 stakeholders (comprising government officials, small and medium enterprises, private sector mobile network operators) and indirectly benefit another 2,500.

Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, said: “One of the critical challenges preventing the continent from preparing for Africa’s bold new future is the inability to conduct cross-border payments for goods and services due to a lack of solutions and crippling policies. Our partnership with the African Development Bank is crucial in creating an enabling environment to advance e-payments, and the digital economy is essential for Africa’s renaissance.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

CCovid19 / Digital Solutions For Governments: Smart Africa Launches A Call For Projects

April 2, 2020

As part of the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, Smart Africa has launched a call for projects to find suitable digital solutions to counter the virus. Since COVID-19 is highly contagious, Africa must seize the opportunity to take vigorous measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

In order to deal with this unique crisis, by its scale and its impact on society, through this call for projects, the Smart Africa Secretariat wishes to support digital health service projects which aim to improve and accelerate the response of African governments to the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

The project will therefore address the following issues:

• Assess individual risk and guide decision-making;

• Help African populations find nearby test sites;

• Provide reliable updates and alerts from public health authorities;

• Report on the status of the community;

• Track and report transmissions.

SELECTION PROCESS

The selection of innovative startups or SMEs solution (s) will be done in two (2) phases. The first phase consists of preselecting the entity according to the relevance of the project to fight against the coronavirus epidemic in the member countries of the Alliance, in accordance with an assessment of the concept note submitted and the reliability of the solution for a rapid large-scale implementation plan.

The shortlist will be presented to member states for their interest, requests and feedback on the implementation of the solution in their respective countries. The second phase consists of selecting one (1) to three (3) projects from the shortlist of shortlisted projects based on the experience of the team and proven ability to implement the project. In addition to the funding available for the implementation of the winning project, Smart Africa may also facilitate access to other sources of funding and investment for the shortlisted projects.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

A specific submission framework should be followed to facilitate the review and evaluation by the Smart Africa Secretariat of the responses received. A response to this call for projects must include the following sections in the order indicated:

a) A cover letter confirming the entity’s interest in responding to the call for projects;

b) A technical proposal containing:
– A concept note of the innovative solution (s);
– Technical specifications;
– The experience of the team;
– The work plan / timetable for implementation in the member countries of the Alliance;
– The experience / profiles of the project team;
– The implementation plan with budget and schedule.

c) Any other relevant documentation as an additional value proposition. 8.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

The complete electronic copies of the applications must be sent before April 2, 2020, at 5 p.m., by e-mail to covid19@smartafrica.org with an e-mail title marked as follows: “#TBD”: “Urgent call for projects: Solutions solutions for governments to fight the Cororanivus pandemic (COVID-19) in Africa.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com