Accelerating Africa’s Digital Transformation Through Connectivity

The project aimed to foster meaningful digital connectivity and access with a focus on youth and women in the African region, in particular in Ethiopia. To ensure synergies and coordination, the project "Accelerating Africa's Digital Transformation Through Connectivity" leveraged previous related ITU projects in the region.

The first component of the project focused on the development of the Partner2Connect Platform financed by Microsoft. This contribution was instrumental to set up the platform, which continues operating today after 4 years, with over 1,000 pledges received for a value of over 70 billion USD. The contribution from Microsoft was complemented with additional funds of 100,000 USD from the ITU ICT Development Fund (ICT-DF) that aimed to support the development and implementation of priority areas identified in Ethiopia, including digital capacity and related initiatives.

The project fostered meaningful digital connectivity and access in the African region, with a focus on youth and women in Ethiopia, in partnership with Microsoft. The first component of the project was instrumental in developing the Partner2Connect (P2C) Platform, which continues to operate after four years with over 1,000 pledges received for a value exceeding USD 70 billion. The P2C action framework and online pledging platform were launched in March 2022, and a self-reporting form for monitoring pledge implementation was launched in October 2022. The P2C Digital Coalition engaged stakeholders through multiple events, including an Annual Meeting, Digital Coalition meetings, a Digital Development Roundtable during WTDC-22 in Kigali, and Web Dialogues on key themes.

The project established the physical I-CoDI Regional Hub in the ITU Regional Office in Addis Ababa, providing a common working space with suitable furniture, power and Internet connectivity, and resources for physical meetings, discussions, and brainstorming sessions. The Partner2Connect Digital Coalition Annual Report 2022 was produced, recognizing 263 pledgers from 115 countries and 552 pledges worth approximately USD 29.74 billion, with 99 pledgers reporting progress on implementation.

In Ethiopia, the project delivered a digital capacity for all stakeholder engagement workshop in collaboration with the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and conducted four stakeholder engagement sessions within the framework of the National Digital Capacity Coalition. Initial areas of collaboration identified included strengthening digital education and advancing digital financial inclusion. In collaboration with the ITU Standardization Bureau and the UNCDF Country Office, two webinars on Digital Financial Services (DFS) security were delivered, and a survey and workshop on DFS security were conducted with key stakeholders including the National Bank of Ethiopia and Mobile Network Operators.

Capacity building was delivered to the Judicial sector in Ethiopia, with training content developed based on six priority areas identified through consultations with the Ministry of Justice: Emerging Technologies and Platforms, Data Protection, Digital Contracting, Electronic Signatures, Cybercrime, and Electronic Evidence. A training manual was developed and translated into Amharic for increased outreach and adoption.

The project implemented 83 per cent of the funds, with a remaining balance of USD 107,228 (USD 75,885 from the ICT-DF and USD 31,343 from the Microsoft voluntary contribution). Challenges in implementing activities in Ethiopia, including delays in receiving feedback from the Ministry of Innovation and Technology regarding the lau nch of the National Digital Capacity Coalition, contributed to the lower expenditure level. The planned training programme for youth was not carried out due to time constraints at the end of the project.