The ongoing Connected Africa Summit has drawn delegates from 24 countries, including technology leaders and policymakers from the United States and the UAE, highlighting the continent’s growing interest in cohesive digital transformation.
At the forefront of discussions was Kenya’s own digital steward, the ICT Authority (ICTA).
The board chair of ICT Authority Hon. Lily Ng’ok urged African nations to foster greater inter-ministerial collaboration, calling for policy frameworks that integrate diverse stakeholder input across sectors.
Speaking at the Connected Africa Summit, Stanley Kamanguya, the CEO of ICTA, provided crucial updates on the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration, a seven-point digital agenda agreed upon in 2023. Kamanguya noted that while progress has been made, “the real challenge lies in follow-through and turning resolutions into action.”
Kamanguya emphasized the need to address socio-economic challenges, not just by creating opportunities locally but also by enabling the export of digital talent globally.
To support this, ICTA is investing in tools and platforms to help innovators scale while working on forward-looking policies that promote the adoption of emerging technologies like AI.
Another major development is the push for cross-border data-sharing frameworks, which Kamanguya says will be critical to improving redundancy, data sovereignty, and cybersecurity across African nations.
He called for a unified approach to data residency and taxation laws to prevent fragmented policies from slowing down progress.
Digital Skilling and Duplication Concerns
Adding to the discussion, Techweez’s CEO Martin Gicheru spotlighted the fragmented nature of user experiences across government digital platforms, questioning whether there’s a unified strategy to ensure consistency, avoid duplication, and uphold minimum service levels.
In response, ICTA CEO Stanley Kamanguya acknowledged the challenge, pointing out that digital training programs across ministries often overlap, leading to duplication of efforts.
“We’ve made efforts, but there’s room to improve,” Kamanguya admitted. “For example, the Ministry of Youth’s Nyota program trains youth in specific sectors, then we come in again for digital skilling. There’s a clear need for coordination.”
He stressed that every form of training now requires a digital component, and ICTA is pushing for a harmonized approach across government.
Digital inclusivity at the core
A central theme of the summit is digital inclusivity, a key pillar of the Nairobi Declaration. ICTA and its partners have set a bold target: to increase internet connectivity across Africa by 20% in 2025.
This target becomes even more critical considering the disparity in connectivity across the continent.
While countries like Egypt and Morocco boast over 80% internet penetration, others such as Burundi and South Sudan still lag behind at under 15%.
To bridge this divide, a ministerial roundtable will explore alternative financing models to fund digital infrastructure at scale. There’s also a concerted push to upskill communities, ensuring that every citizen can access and benefit from digital tools.
Special focus has been placed on persons with disabilities, with initiatives to introduce assistive AI technologies that can help them integrate more fully into the digital economy.
The summit also features a special session on Women in Tech. This will tackle gender disparity in the ICT sector and unlock the potential of female-led innovation.
In addition, there will be sessions exploring the impact of AI across sectors, from agriculture to finance, with an emphasis on sustainable, inclusive innovation.
