Report on the Implementation and Follow Up of the World ...



Please find below a contribution from Rwanda, Vice-Chair of Region D (Africa).Council Working Group on WSIS and SDG35th meeting – Geneva, 6-7 February 2020Document CWG-WSIS&SDG-35/13-E6 February 2020English onlyNote by the ChairmanWSIS Implementation in AFRICA 2020-561975152400Report on the Implementation and Follow Up of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Africa 2020 & Information and Communication Technologies for Achieving Sustainable Development GoalsThe report is prepared by Rwanda as vice chair of ITU CWG-WSIS&SDG, 2020Version 1.00Report on the Implementation and Follow Up of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Africa 2020 & Information and Communication Technologies for Achieving Sustainable Development GoalsThe report is prepared by Rwanda as vice chair of ITU CWG-WSIS&SDG, 2020Version 1.0INTRODUCTION At the end of 2018, out of the 750 million people that remain outside of mobile broadband coverage, 40 per cent (300 million) live in Sub Saharan Africa. Less than 25 per cent of the population of Africa use the Internet. Deploying infrastructure for rural coverage is largely an economic challenge. Moreover even where there is mobile coverage the usage gap is greater than the coverage gap which indicates the importance of other factors other than coverage that remain a barrier for people in adopting mobile internet, particularly with regard to affordability, literacy and digital skills. Africa’s youthful population structure is an enormous opportunity in this digital era and hence the need for Africa to make digitally enabled socio-economic development a high priority.Digital Transformation is a driving force for innovative, inclusive and sustainable growth. From innovations such as for mobile money platforms to large-scale business process outsourcing developments, digitalization is creating jobs, addressing poverty, reducing inequality, facilitating the delivery of goods and services, and contributing to the achievement of African Union’s Agenda 2063 and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030. African Union in partnership with UNECA are developing Digital Transformation strategy. Moreover, the liberalization of the ICT market and the introduction of private operators have paved the way for the development of ICT on the African continent. Africa will always need new ICT infrastructure to meet a major challenge, which is the migration to an information society and digital economy. A very large part of these investments will be carried out, as is the case today, by the private sector. The report also gathered the information from different sources including NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa Development), The World Bank, UNECA, UNCTAD, ITU, Smart Africa etc. The reports highlighted some ICT initiatives undertaken by different countries to implement WSIS action lines and SDGs agenda. The report has been prepared by Rwanda as the Vice chair of ITU CWG-WSIS. This report highlights some of the initiatives with regard to WSIS implementation in Africa up to 2020 as they relate to the achievement of the SDGs. The report will be updated periodically in order to evaluate regularly the implementation of the WISIS action lines. Rwanda recommends all African countries to prepare their national WSIS implementation progress and report to ITU for compilation and analysis. The main objective is to share best practices of WSIS implementation in Africa.WSIS Action Lines and SDGsReview of the implementation of WSIS action lines in AfricaC1: The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for developmentThere have been efforts by several countries to align their national e-strategies in line with national development goals and SDGs. An example of e-strategies aligned to long- term SDGs targets are the followings.Mauritius’ Vision 2030 BlueprintThe Government of Mauritius has developed “Vision 2030 Blueprint”, which aims to provide the country with a high-income, sustainable and innovative economy. In line with the UN 2030 Agenda, the Government, through its Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation and Central Informatics Bureau, is developing “Digital Mauritius 2030 Strategy” and “Digital Government Strategy for 2018-2022”. These strategies, closely aligned with the “Vision 2030 Blueprint”, will address legal, regulatory, security, and institutional frameworks. The digital strategies are intended to address the gap between academia and industry, to ensure that the right skills are developed to meet the increasingly growing digital economy and the IT requirements of the future. The government aims to implement these strategies by strengthening the information and communication technologies sector by focusing on software development and big data analytics. Source: http:// The Government of Rwanda advocated ICT nation building in its “Vision 2020” long-term development plan. The National Information and Communication Infrastructure plans have been put in place with five years’ cycle towards Smart Rwanda: Vision 2020. The ICT strategic plan has been put in place and being implemented in three phases: Towards Smart Rwanda – Vision 2020. In the final, fourth phase (NICI-4: 2016-2020), the “Smart Rwanda Master Plan (SRMP) 2020” completed the previous phases. The Government of Rwanda has also recently adopted a new ICT sector strategic plan (ICT SSP 2018-2024), focussing on Government Digital Transformation and realization of its National Strategy for Transformation (NST-1) agenda 2024. This places ICTs at the heart of the transformation across all sectors.The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) under the leadership of the New Direction government has developed the country’s medium term national development plan for 2019 to 2023, which anchored on human development for improving people’s lives through Education. The plan is leveraging in the power of technology to promote inclusiveness growth and leapfrog the country development. The plan is anchored on the following pillars: Pillar 1: Leadership, Governance, Coordination and Partnership; Pillar 2: Digital Infrastructure and Access; Pillar 3: Human Capacity, Digital Skills and Knowledge; Pillar 4: Digital Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Emerging Technology; Pillar 5: Electronic Government (Digital Government) for Enhanced Public Service Delivery; Pillar 6: Information and Cyber Security.Mauritania developed the Guidance on the Information Society Act, Law on Electronic Transactions, Law on Personal Data, Law on Cryptology and Law on Cybercrime.For the 2016-2020 period, the Government of Guinea’s priority is to "make ICT a driving force for Guinea's economic and social development". To this end, the overall goal envisaged in 2020 is for ICTs to contribute 7% of GDP. To take account of these elements, it is proposed a development plan based on 3 pillars, 17 axes and 89 actions.Gambia developed the National Development Plan 2018-2021. The Overall Goal 3.6 is “Making the Gambia a Digital Nation and Creating a Modern Information Society”. The Sub-goal: harness the benefits of ICT in all sectors of the economy for equitable development. The Government of Ethiopia has made ICT development as strategic priority & put in place a 10-year (2030) private sector-led ICT development program. The government reorganized & redefined ICT institutions’ mandates, functions and including Human Resources Development. There are Ministry of Communication & Information (MCIT) – in charge of formulation & coordination of ICT4D policies and strategies; Ministry of Technology and Innovation (MTiN) – responsible for conducting R&D to develop & implement innovative apps based on requirement of govt agencies; and Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) for licensing and regulating operatorsUganda finalized Digital Uganda Vision Policy that strives to achieve the goals of universal inclusion, sustainable development, economic progress and poverty eradication through digital innovation combining initiatives across multiple sectors.Mali today has a legal and regulatory framework conducive to the establishment of an ICT market, strong, transparent and favorable to competition with texts, on the Information Society, protection of personal data, cryptology, electronic transactions and exchanges, cybercrime, and start-ups.The Government of Niger, through the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy has a very strong political commitment for the Development of the Information and Communication Technology Sector. This political will is marked by the improvement of the legal and regulatory framework, infrastructure development and innovative services. The goal is to expect the national ICT coverage rate to be 100% and that of mobile penetration to 70% in 2021. In 2019: Coverage rate is 92.19% and Mobile penetration rate is 45.54%.Egypt’s ICT 2030 Strategy - MCIT strives to achieve the digital economy through the use of ICT tools to provide prosperity, freedom and social equity for all. Its mission is to enable the development of a knowledge-based society and a strong digital economy relying on equitable and affordable access to knowledge; digital rights; and the development of a competitive, innovative national ICT industry. Vision 2030 is a national strategy by the Egyptian government that plans to achieve the goal of a creative and innovative society producing science, technology, innovation and knowledge to face challenges and meet national objectives. It also looks for technological transformation in the various stages of education, developing interactive content, providing training to raise the efficiency of teachers and administrators, and integrating Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) into the community, especially with modern technology and high-speed Internet access to schools.The e-Government strategy for Ethiopia has been designed, with a focus on facilitating effective delivery of government services to customers (residents, businesses and visitors). The strategy envisages implementation of 219 e-services comprising of 77 informational and 134 transactional services over a five-year period. The implementation is proposed to be done through twelve priority projects and service delivery would be through four channels (Portal, Call Centre, Mobile devices and Common service centers). The plan was approved in 2011 and all 219 e-services were slated to completion by 2015.Morocco - The main objective is to use e-governance projects to modernize Government Agencies and local Governments offering services for citizens and businesses. This brings into play ICTs in order to reconfigure the processes in depth, make them more effective and efficient, and fully geared towards serving citizens and businesses. There are currently 80+ operational e-services.The Information and Communication Technology Policy for Mozambique was approved by the Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 28/2000, on 12 December 2000. The Information and Communication Technology Policy Implementation Strategy was approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 June 2002. The e-Government Interoperability Framework for Mozambique was published by ICT Policy Implementation Technical Unit (UTICT) in October 2010. The Mozambique e-Government and Communications Infrastructure Project (MEGCIP) is an initiative funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Government of Mozambique during the last six years (2010-2016). The MEGCIP main objectives were: first to support the extension of geographical coverage of data communications networks and reduction of data communication services; second to promote the use of e-governance platforms, applications and services to improve the provision of public services and the participation of the citizen in the governance of the country.In Nigeria, the National e-Government Strategies (NeGST) project was designed to reduce the bureaucracy that attends to government businesses in the country through the introduction of e-Tax, e-Learning, e- Traffic, e-Procurement, e-Pricing, e-Mail, e-Tourism, e-Payment, e-Revenue, e-Legislation, e-Policing, e- Judiciary, e-Health, e-Agriculture, e-Services, e- Kiosk, e-Buka (e-Cafeteria) etc. Presently the NeGST has online presence at . Similarly, all the Federal ministries are online, and the country has commenced online payment for services in such areas as tax, company registration, online booking, e-Banking etc.Since the year 2012, when the Togolese Government adopted a proposition from the then Post and Telecommunications Ministry - now Post and Digital Economy Ministry - to modernize the public sector, the commitment to an efficient and more citizen-centered public administration has not changed. The e-Government project in Togo has been divided in two phases. The phase 1 was launched in March 2015 and consisted of connecting 500 administrative sites with fiber optics over a 1-year period. These administrative sites include Ministries, Government agencies, public and private institutions, hospitals and schools. Now the Togolese Government can boast of an online presence for almost all its ministries, institutions and government agencies. Other projects have subsequently been put in place to address the problems of access divide and to ensure citizens’ adoption of online services.The Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology of Angola prepared the ANGOLA ONLINE PROJECT, whose main goal is the social and digital inclusion of Angolan society by bringing ICT to the neediest communities. The project is framed within the executive guidelines set out in the National Development Plan 2013-2017, focusing on the integration of young people into working life by implementing programs, which foster the use of new information technologies for access to culture and entrepreneurshipSource: UNECA, 2019 & ITU, 2018 & EUC2: Information and Communication InfrastructureDespite more than 30 years of ICT implementation, African countries lag in ICT infrastructure and access, use and skills. While mobile penetration was estimated at 44 per cent in 2017, internet penetration averaged just 21 per cent with wide variation – from 90 per cent in Kenya to 3 per cent in Niger. Only 18 per cent of African households subscribed to Internet services in 2017. On the other hand, in Africa, high shares of subscribers (39 per cent) still had subscriptions at speeds below 2 Mbit/s in 2017, which is key challenge in facilitating digital services that require high speed. There have therefore, been several initiatives to increase access to underserved communities. Some selected initiatives include:CountryInitiativePurpose/beneficiaryTarget SDGs metBeninISOCEL SA launched Cotonou’s buggest Wi-Fi Network) ISOSPOT Delivers direct Internet connection to end users with Wi-Fi-enabled devicesPromoting sustainable industrialization, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all, the building of resilient infrastructure, the development of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities, as well as revitalization of the global partnership for sustainable development. Relevant to the advancement of SDG 9BotswanaBotswana Fibre Network (BOFINET) to provide wholesale broadband Wi-Fi hotspot in 32 public strategic areas in seven towns and cities in BotswanaBOFINET made available to retail Internet service providers on an open access principle to provide reliable and affordable Internet connectivity to consumers or end-users; aims to promote the .bw domain name and to connect super-fast broadband (1Mbps per user)Relevant to the advancement of SDG 9Cote d’IvoireLifi Labs project on High Speed Internet by light from renewable energy – project named LIFI LEDThe project allows access to high-speed Internet (3Gbps, 30 times faster than Wi-Fi) given the light from LED bulbs from renewable energiesThe project is a green technology (ecological) project and it promotes sustainable development because it uses visible light to transmit information, not the electromagnetic waves such as Wi-Fi. It supports the advancement of SDGs 1,3,4,7,10,13 and 17GhanaConnect the Unconnected Ghana rural network project by Huawei Technology Co. Ltd. 20 percent of the population (5.4 million) not yet covered by wireless networks. It aims to solve the coverage problem of the uncovered area of wireless signal Promotes the advancement of SDGs 4, 8, 9, 12 and 17.The Digital for Inclusion by the Investment Fund for Electronic Communications in partnership with Bluetown Co, Ltd, Zeepay Developers, UN Capital Development Fund and the National Board for Small Scale Industriesaims to create ‘Smart Rural Communities’ having three sub-components, namely, community-wide Wi-FI and (hotspots), a payment and cash transfer platform interoperable on all mobile networks for financial inclusion, and finally cloud services to host contentThe project supports SDGs 1,4,5,8,9 and 11GuineaDeployment of national backbone 4500 km of Fibre Optic built according to a two-level hierarchical model.Deployment of the Internet Exchange point and Its BackupA network of national level, consisting of two main rings and including all the chief towns of regions. A regional level network consisting of bridges to the 6 border states.Promotes the advancement of SDGs 4, 8, 9, 12 and 17.Burundi The backbone is 6000 Km long. The MAN is 2500 Km long.It has 6 gateways bordering the neighbouring countries.The network is redundant thus offering Service availability of 99.95%.Promotes the advancement of SDGs 4, 8,9, 12 and 17.MaliOperators implemented more than 6,000 km of optical fibre. The Government has completed more than 3,000 km of optical fibre.The broadband will allow the country to be connected in broadband with four of its seven neighbours, which are Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania and Senegal.Promotes the advancement of SDGs 4, 8. 9, 12 and 17.Angola The provision of public Wi-Fi areas enables anyone with a wireless or card device (PC, smartphone, tablet, etc.) to access and surf the Internet for a period of two hours per day in all such locationsIn the short term, it is expected to achieve 60 000 connected devices per month and some 15 to 30 access points per province.The project ties in with a number of SDGs, particularly 1.4 and 1.a, by seeking to ensure that Angolan society has access to basic services and by implementing programs and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions. It is also in line with SDGs 4 and 11 by working towards inclusive and equitable quality education, promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, and fostering inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.Source: UNECA, 2019The African space industry recorded another milestone as Egypt and Rwanda and launch their first and 8th satellites (NARSScube-1 and RWASat-1), respectively.NARSScube-1 is a single-unit CubeSat built by?Egypt’s National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS).?The satellite equipped with a miniature of 200-meter resolution camera will record images of the Earth and transmit them back to its operators while providing them with experience and demonstrating technologies ahead of future missions. It follows on from the identical?NARSScube-2, deployed from a US Cygnus spacecraft in August. This is in line with SDG 4,8,9, 12,13 and 17.RWASAT-1, which is Rwanda’s first satellite, carries a communication payload that will collect and forward data to remote monitoring stations on the ground. It was developed at the University of Tokyo by 15 Rwandan Engineers. It also carries two cameras for Earth Observation and will serve as a technology demonstrator. According to Rwandan officials, the satellite will aid agricultural and environmental monitoring. This is in line with SDG 2,4,8,9,12,13 and 17.The Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite-1, or ETRSS-1, was sent into space by a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in North China’s Shanxi province. Ethiopian and Chinese aerospace engineers built the 70kg satellite in China. The project involved 20 Ethiopian aerospace engineers, and 60 PhD and masters students. The satellite will provide all the necessary data on changes in climate and weather-related phenomena that would be utilised for the country’s key targets in agriculture, forestry as well as natural resources protection initiatives.In January 2020, Ethiopia will also break ground on a satellite manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing (MAIT) facility. A French company will build the facility with funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Ethiopia’s satellite facility will be the third of its kind on the continent, after those in Algeria and South Africa. Egypt and Nigeria also have plans to build similar facilities. Ethiopia’s MAIT facility will take 30 months to complete. It will position Ethiopia as East Africa’s space hub, while cutting the costs of using satellites from other countries. In East Africa, Ethiopia joins Kenya and Rwanda as countries with satellites in orbit. The continental space agency will be headquartered in Egypt, and will work to bring even more countries on board. “The ultimate goal is: How can we use this technology to solve our challenges, for example in infrastructure, agriculture, environment and disaster management. This is in line with SDG 4,8,9, 12, 13 and 17.Source: Space Africa Report, 2019 In respect of the reduction of the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world, submarine cables and the landing stations play an essential role. In fact, until 2010, Africa’s connectivity was essentially carried out on the West Coast through SAT3 cables and for the great majority of countries and players (Operators, ISP) through satellite stations. Since the end of 2012, Africa (excluding Araba Maghreb Union (UMA), Egypt and Djibouti which have had excellent connectivity for many years now) has more than 70 submarine stations operated by 8 different consortiums/investors (SAT3, ACE, GLO, EASSY, SEACOM, WACS, MainOne, TEAMS etc.). The full list is in annex I. This change in the situation is essentially the result of private initiatives and provides great perspectives on the development of internet use provided that the countries know how to benefit from this and recognize the necessity of continental integration in order to take into account more particularly the landlocked countries.The biggest news was the?launch of the South Atlantic Cable System?(SACS), which finally connects Africa directly with South America, offering alternative, lower-latency routes to the Americas. Terrestrial fibre investment too increased with fibre investment announcements from 25 African countries in 2018. Most notable was Liquid Telecom’s announcement of the “One Africa” fibre optic network. Through a combination of build-outs, acquisitions, and partnerships, Liquid Telecom now has fibre optic infrastructure that stretches all the way from Cape Town to Cairo. The speed at which Liquid Telecom has grown is remarkable and is clearly good news for intra-African internet traffic. They are by far the biggest regional fibre network operator on the continent.Unfortunately, massive investment in terrestrial fibre capacity has not been matched by significant drops in the cost of terrestrial access. In many countries on the continent, it still costs more to get data to a submarine cable landing point than it does to take it the rest of the way to the US or Europe.The arrival of global internet transit provider,?Hurricane Electric??(HE) into the Kenyan market may have a big impact. By operating a Point of Presence (PoP) in Nairobi, it allows service providers to buy international capacity (transit) from them directly without having to purchase both terrestrial and international transit. Undersea cable operators like Seacom have also operated PoPs in a number of major African cities for some time. What is unique about Hurricane Electric is that they do not own any undersea or terrestrial infrastructure in or around Africa. They are able to establish a Point of Presence by trading capacity on their international networks with African network operators. This allowed them to offer wholesale transit pricing at a significantly lower price than local operators. There is an expectation that this trend will grow to other major African cities in the future. This is in line SDGs 4, 8,9, 12 and 17. C3: Access to information and knowledgeA number of countries have been promoting access to information and knowledge through supporting infrastructure in academic institutions and public libraries and community public access points. Some examples of this include:CountryInitiativePurpose/beneficiaryTarget SDGs metAngolaAngola Network of Media Libraries (ReMA) programme which represent evolution of traditional libraries towards digital cultureIt seeks to address the information and education problems of Angolan society. It envisages implementing 25 fixed and 18 mobile Media libraries countrywide by 2017Aims to support SDGs in educational, gender and social sectors, mainly, SDGs 4,5,8,10 and 16)GhanaAction Voices by the Advocacy and Media Support Foundation in partnership with Making All Voices Count Foundation, La Nkwantanang Madina Muncipal Assembly and the Institute of Local Government StudiesIt aims to amplify citizens’ voices and to deepen citizen-government engagement. The project adopts innovative ICT platforms such toll-free, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, Short Message Service (SMS), interactive voice response and web platforms to echo citizens’ voices and promote responsive governance Enables women to gain a stronger voice to express their views on poor social services and have access to information on district budgets and project contracts emphasising SDG 5, to educate citizens on their rights and responsibilities in line with SDG 10 MauritiusDemocratising access to ICTs through cyberaravan, computer clubs and Wi-Fi of the Ministry of Tech, Comm and Innovation 270 computer clubs with three Net PCs/tablets and free Internet access. Some 1.3 million registrations including recurrent users. 369 locations equipped with Wi-Fi and 10Mbit/s connections through fibre opticsIt is consistent with SDGs 4 and 9.Mozambique Extending Service Delivery/Family Planning Initiative Evidence to Action Project of Dimagi, Inc. – has developed the project mCenas for youths aged 15 to 24 from September 2013 to June 2014It was implemented in Maputo and Inhambane provinces of Mozambique. The project used SMS to expand access to sexual and reproductive health information, and consequently improve sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy.SDGs 3 and 5Source: UNECA, 2019 & AFDLegal frameworks on access to information are an important aspect in enhancing access. To this end, the presence of or laws on citizens’ rights access it online is key to ensure this right. Out of 193 UN member States 133 countries or about 69 percent, have laws pertaining to citizens’ rights to access government information online. Of these 20 are in Africa, 32 in Americas, 33 in Asia, and 42 in Europe and 6 in Oceania. Therefore, as many as 34 African countries do not have government information or laws on citizens’ rights to access it online.Source: UNECA, 2019C4: Capacity buildingWhile many countries in Africa have made ICTs in education strategies over the last two decades and have since been integrating ICTs at different levels, some at all levels and some others starting primary schools and still others starting at secondary and tertiary education. However, Africa represents the lowest region in ITU’s ICTs skills indicators for all three skill categories, the highest being Europe. As long as country experience is concerned, Sierra Leone private sector established the Professional Institutions: Blue Crest provides professional certification on Software Engineering and Computer Engineering and A.I Professional provide professional Certifications on Cisco, Microsoft, etc. This is in line with SDG 4,8 and 9.In Angola, the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technologies launched the project Digital Literacy in Angola. This project fulfils the need for massive digital literacy of the population of Angola, the country that was immersed in a civil war that took more than 30 years. Since then, the Government of Angola has developed a wide literacy programme to teach the population how to read and write. The digital literacy in the present project is directed to the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate and analyse information using digital technologies, as well as the basic production of responsible and ethical content to publish. Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, understand language and be able to build communicative processes in digital environments in a responsible and ethical manner, therefore aiding the advancement of SDG 4. In Cameroon, the Health and Environment Program initiated the Materials education to pupils in Douala, Cameroon for December 2016 project, which aims to educate pupils on ICT and promote the concept and mechanisms for managing safe Internet practices and intellectual property concerns by training some 150 pupils of a primary school in Douala, Cameroon. This will enable the popularization of ICT tools within the framework of better information management using databases. Given its aim of strengthening pupils’ capacity, the project is associated with numerous SDGs relating to capacity building by dealing with such issues as poverty, healthy lives, gender equality, quality education for all, economic growth, etc. (SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 16 and 17). In Ghana, the Nasco Foundation – in partnership with Red Bull, Polytechnic University of Barcelona, Open Arms, Labdoo, Rotary, Nibus-Denmark, Ghana Education Service–Sawla, and the Sawla/Tuna/ Kalba District Assembly – developed the program ICT Literacy in Ghana. The use of ICT has been integrated into virtually every facet of commerce, education, governance and civic activity in developed countries, and has become a critical factor in creating wealth worldwide. A total of 11,241 students have passed through our ICT training programs in Introduction to ICT, intermediate and advanced courses, and 6 298 currently studying at the centres. This project serves the advancement of SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 13.In Mauritius, the National Computer Board – together with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research Commission of Education – launched the project Universal ICT Education Program. In today’s digital world, it is essential that each individual be conversant and proficient with IT tools. It is with this objective that the National Computer Board has joined with the Universal ICT Education Program to train a maximum number of individuals on the ICT course. The implementation model is particularly interesting, whereby resources of State Secondary Schools – which were idle after school hours, weekends and during vacations – have been put to use and enabled the training of more than 249 000 persons. This program is relevant to SDGs 1, 4 and 10, aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.Again in Mauritius, the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation has launched the ICT BPO capacity-building program, in partnership with the National Computer Board, National ICT Training Centre Ltd (ICT Academy), Industry Associations (OTAM, MITIA, CCIFM), State Informatics Ltd (SIL), Oracle, FRCI Knowledge 7, and Ceridian. This capacity-building program, which supports SDGs 4, 8 and 9, is being implemented to ensure the delivery of industry-relevant training in order to address the skills mismatch and lack of manpower and to train a maximum number of unemployed, with a view to supplying a pool of qualified human resources to drive the growth of the second wave of ICT BPO development in Mauritius. Training programs dispensed include mobile application development (MAD) and Oracle Java SE8 programming. A one-year scholarship in MAD was offered to 24 participants. Forthcoming training programs include IT career readiness training for fresh graduates, and courses in BPO Call Centre, Oracle, Java, Cisco and cloud technologies.In South Africa, the Siyafunda Community Technology Centre, in cooperation with Intel Corporation, developed the Siyafunda CTC project, which offers members of the public access to computers and the Internet. According to the organization, the facilities are focused on e-skills development for socio-economic development, and also look to promote health issues. Siyafunda lists 200 centres spread across Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West, Northern Cape and Free State, with more facilities expected in South Africa’s remaining provinces. Intel says the initiative will start in sub-Saharan Africa, where the company notes the access gap is the greatest, in line with SDGs 4, 5 and 10.In Zambia, Connecting Learning Institutions is a project running under the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF) of the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority. The Connecting Learning Institutions Project focuses on narrowing the digital divide by making ICTs available and accessible to schools throughout the country. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, 150 computer laboratories have been set up in 75 primary schools, 75 secondary schools and 50 tertiary institutions countrywide that meet the basic conditions for “ICT readiness”. The project’s goals coincide with most of the SDGs, as they have to do with combating poverty and inequality within the country, ensuring quality education and gender equality, promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and inclusive societies, and building resilient infrastructure (SDGs 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17).Source: ITU, 2018C5: Building confidence and security in the use of ICTsWith the advancement and increasing use of the cyberspace, there is a parallel increase in the rate of cybersecurity attacks which clearly shows how the cyberspace is being use, not only for benefit and empowerment of societies, but also to ‘degrade and enslave’. The legal frameworks are important measures for gov and other stakeholders to define basic response mechanisms to cyber-attacks.Source: UNECA, 2019African countries have been making strides to have cybersecurity legislation and regulations in place. However, only 69% have cybercriminal legislation and 70% have cybersecurity regulation and only 30% of the countries provide training in cybersecurity. Legislations alone will not be enough to ensure security of nation’s communication network, establishing strong security features and increasing resilience against network attacks involving access, modification or service denial are important requirements of successful deployment of digital economy. To this end, governments should put in place technical measures through establishment of CERT, CSIRT, etc.Twenty-five African countries have benefited from ITU-IMPACT assessments of their cyber threat preparedness and response capabilities (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Since 2010, four of them (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia) have set up CIRTs and four others (Burundi, C?te d’Ivoire, Ghana and Tanzania) are in the process of doing so, with ITU-IMPACT support.As far as country initiatives are concerned, Ethiopia passed new bill has been drafted and approved by Council of Ministers and passed to the parliament for ratification. Data and cybersecurity measures have also been instituted by the Information Networks Security Agency (INSA).Uganda completed the Data Privacy and Protection Law; An Act to protect the privacy of the individual and of personal data by regulating the collection and processing of personal information; to regulate the use or disclosure of personal information.C6: Enabling EnvironmentAccording to ITU Regulatory tracker, 142 countries allowed foreign players to invest in ICT in 2015, and in 63 per cent of countries worldwide, there were no regulatory restrictions on foreign ownership;According to World Bank (2018), over the last five years, the ICT sector received the least government support for private participation infrastructure (PPI) projects in low- and middle-income countries, when compared to PPI projects in other sectors. In 2008, only 27 per cent of countries had an open telecom sector enabling investment, innovation and access, compared with 62 per cent of countries having progressed to such an enabling regulatory environment in 2017. This shows the improvement in the regulatory and policy context of many ICT markets worldwide.Source: UNECA, 2019The Malian Authority in charge of regulating the ICT sector has decided to liberalize access to the USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) code. For this, two important decisions were adopted by the Regulatory Council, namely: a first decision determining the conditions and modalities of opening, access and operation of the USSD channel of the mobile networks and, a second decision setting the tariffs access to the USSD channel of the mobile networks of telecommunications operators. These measures will help promote competition and innovation in digital financial services on the market (SDGs 8 and 9).In Uganda, the German Society for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH) elaborated the Promotion of Mini-grids for Rural Electrification project to be implemented. 70 per cent of the population live outside the cities, and only 7 per cent of the rural population have access to electricity. The Mini-Grids project focuses on the development of framework conditions at the regulatory level and develops a tendering approach for the selection of a private-sector concessionaire for the implementation and operation of mini-grids. Productive use of electricity in the electrified villages is promoted to ensure affordability of electricity connections for households as well as rural economic development and access to ICTs (SDGs 7 and 8).Source: ITU, 2018 & EUICT applications E-governmentAccording to UNDESA’s e-government survey for 2018, Africa has the lowest e-government development index (EGDI) compared to other regions of the world. Europe with EGDI value of (0.7727) continues to lead with the highest EGDI, followed by the Americas (0.5898), Asia (0.5779), Oceania (0.4611) and finally Africa (0.3423).Average of the regional EGDI scores for countries in Africa and Oceania are significantly lower than the world average, comprising 0.3423 for Africa and 0.4611 for Oceania. As shown in the figure below, there are no countries in Africa in the Very High EGDI score category, whereas 8 African countries in the High EGDI categories while 33 African countries in the Middle EGDI category and 13 African countries in the Low EGDI score category.Therefore, only 4 countries out of 54 in Africa score higher than the world average of 0.55, whereas 14 countries, namely Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan have very low EGDI scores.The Africa region overall lags in e-government development compared to the rest of the world. While the share of African countries with improved EGDI scores expanded in 2018, the upward movement has mainly been from low to middle EGDI-level groups. The number of African countries within High-EGDI level group remains at the relatively modest count of six, including Ghana, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, South Africa, and Tunisia. Except Ghana, all other ?ve countries were in this group in 2016.From the regional perspective, European countries form a majority in Very High and High Online Service Index (OSI) level groups (36 per cent) followed by Asia (28 per cent), Americas (20 per cent), Africa (13 per cent) and Oceania (2 per cent). It is important to note the positive trends in advancement of online services in all regions. In Africa, for instance, 57 per cent of countries moved upwards and changed their position in OSI level standing. Most of them moved up from Low to Middle (Burundi, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone); six countries stepped up from Middle to High (Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles and Togo) and two countries rose from High to Very High (South Africa and Tunisia).Two countries - Benin and Burkina Faso recorded signi?cant progress by moving two steps up from Low to High OSI level grouping. Altogether, 16 countries in Europe, 13 in the Americas, 21 in Asia, and 4 in Oceania improved their standing in online services delivery.As far as country experience are concerned, In 2016, Burundi and African development Bank Implemented a Border Management System network with neighbouring countries: 3 borders connected (1 international Airport and 2 with Rwanda: borders connected.Uganda turned postal network into a one-stop center for Government services; This is intended to improve Public Service delivery by bringing services closer to the citizens and other users; and maximizing utilization of the widespread Government properties under management of Uganda Post Limited.In Mali, in accordance with a partnership approach, which closely associates the Government and the private sector, which is active today, the government implemented a digital identity that is a biometric passport, NINA (National Identification Number). There are crosscutting applications such as Government expenditure, management of State personnel, and portal for administrative procedures for citizens, elections, public contracts, taxes, customs, etc. There are also sectoral applications in government institutions such as police, health, and agriculture (SDGs 2,3,8 and 16).Rwanda has seen one of the most remarkable national transformations in recent times. Much of this transformation is due to its adoption of e-Government services, which has redefined the nature in which the government, citizens and businesses interact. Central to this transformation was the introduction of the Irembo Digital Platform for government services. The Irembo Digital Platform is a web portal which offers government services to Rwandan citizens via the Internet. The platform was launched in 2015 and allows Rwandans to access more than 85 government services online as of 2018 such as applying for a birth certificate, registering for a driver’s license and land title transfers. The service has been so successful that the government plans to add 100 more e-Government services over the next three years. The future is digital, and Irembo intends to continue its journey on this path, thereby also contributing to SDGs 8, 9, 11 and 16. The South African Department of Home Affairs and National Electoral Commission implemented its Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) in order to quickly and accurately be able to identify its citizens for immigration control, passport registration, election registration, pension payment verification and other services. As a result, there has been significantly less paperwork involved in these processes and less chance for error (SDG 13).Nigeria: Nigerian national ID is a microprocessor chip–based general multipurpose ID card, with 13 applications including ID verification, authentication, and payment technology to help promote financial inclusion. The chip stores an individual’s biometric information of 10 fingerprints and an iris scan. According to the World Bank report of 2017, 16 million of the total populations of 173.6 million were registered (i.e., 3.5 percent) and 418,000 national e-ID cards issued as of 2017 (SDGs 3, 8, 9, 10 and 13).Rwanda’s national ID system is one the most advanced and well-functioning in Africa. According to the World Bank, in 2017 over 95 % coverage among the eligible population has been achieved. Rwanda’s national ID is a secure card with a 2D bar code on the back but without a chip. While there is currently no biometric verification, service providers can access a secure online portal where they can verify identity and biographic data using a person’s national ID number. Rwanda is planning soon to introduce an optional multipurpose smart card, among other features enabling biometric verification and machine-readable features. The use of a highly developed system will allow identity to unlock programs of social protection, healthcare and mobile payments (SDGs 3, 8, 9, 10 and 13).Burkina Faso implemented an "Open Election is a project” that the Burkina Open Data Initiative (BODI) initiated with a view to supporting the presidential and legislative elections in Burkina Faso by facilitating the publication of election results in real time. It involved the development of a responsive web application (that fits any screen) and an app for Android smartphones. In partnership with CENI, the entity responsible for organizing elections, BODI worked to publish the results in a transparent manner through the Open Election application. The project has also helped to demonstrate the usefulness and importance of open data, especially in the African context, and relates to SDGs 11 and 17.The Ghana Open Data Initiative (GODI) is an initiative to make government data available to citizens in a reusable format. The objective of the project is to create a vibrant open data community through community and capacity building in regard to government, civil society and a developer community, to create applications that are user-friendly. The ultimate aim of this project is to achieve transparency, accountability and efficiency within government. Thus, the project’s goals meet several SDGs, by promoting economic development of the country and a peaceful society, ensuring public access to information, reducing corruption and promoting the rule of law at the national level (SDGs 8, 16, 16.3, 16.5 and 16.10)In Mauritius, the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation/Central Informatics Bureau launched the project Info-Highway. The principle objective of Info-Highway is not only to provide a secured and scalable platform offering e-services by the Government of Mauritius, but also a robust service platform to facilitate the consumption of published data among Government agencies and private entities to improve operation efficiency in public administration and business operations. Info-Highway therefore aims to fulfill the following main objectives: provide the Government of Mauritius with a single platform offering e-services that can be scalable; provide a robust service platform to facilitate the consumption of published data among government agencies and private entities to improve operation efficiency; improve the turnaround availability time of updated and useful data for government agencies and private institutions for their business needs, all in a secured environment; and establish links to other ministries/departments and institutions. This project advances SDGs 9 and 17.Also in Mauritius, the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation, in partnership with the Employment Division of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, has set up the e-Work Permit system (SDG 8). The e-Work Permit Portal will support interactions with companies and external agencies. Applications for work permits, permission in principle, renewal, cancellation, etc. as well as supporting documents in electronic format will be submitted online to the ministry through the e-payment gateway. The back-end consists of the software to process work permit, quota, recruitment license and certification of exemption applications. It also includes workflow software, document management software and printing services for the Work Permit Card. Again, in Mauritius, the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation, in partnership with the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare (MGECDFW), has created the Domestic Violence Information System (DOVIS), a web-based computerized system for the registration of reported cases of domestic violence which will be used as a tool to monitor, assess record and generate specific reports on such cases dealt by the Family Support Bureaux (FSBs) around the island, and as an improved record-keeping system for faster response to queries regarding domestic violence issues. By combating domestic violence, this scheme will significantly advance SDG 5.In Namibia, in an effort to improve service delivery and ensure the effective administration of business registration, the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), has developed a web-based integrated company registration system in Namibia. The new system is fully interconnected to the existing, Windhoek-based, registration system. Namibia is geographically a large country with a relatively small number of citizens. The new web-based solution brings public service to the people and enables much faster processing times to register businesses. It significantly reduces travel time and cost for citizens – which also help the environment. The project thus relates to a number of SDGs by contributing to economic growth, reducing inequality, combating climate change, etc. (SDGs 8, 9, 10 and 13).In Nigeria, the National Digital Addressing System has been developed by the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) on behalf of the Government of Nigeria. The platform empowers NIPOST to provide an address for any location in Nigeria, and the postal sorting information to the address and direction to the address in a few seconds. Nigeria, like other emerging countries, has invested heavily in bridging the identity gap (SDGs 1, 6, 8, 11 and 16). NIPOST’s contribution to address this challenge is to ensure that every individual in Nigeria can have an ultra-precise address with ease. The project enables the Government to provide faster, cheaper and more efficient services (social benefits, financial services, emergency services, health care, education, political and legal rights, gender equality and migration) to every Nigerian, regardless of location and status. The platform creates an environment to drive ICT-based development outcomes in both the public and private sectors of the economy without infringing on individual privacy. The NIPOST national digital addressing system supports other international SDG initiatives, such as the World Bank’s Identification for Development program.Source: ITU, 2018 & UNECA & EU&UNDESAE-businessAccording to UNCTAD, the B2C (business 2 consumer) e-commerce market in Africa was worth about USD 5.7 billion in 2017, which represents to less than 0.5% of the continent’s GDP, far below the world average of over 4%. This is a growing area as figures and e-business platform initiatives have been developed in the last several years. This e-business platforms range from those with focus market like the one in Angola ‘Barb Look’ a web platform for barbershops and clients to choose which service they want, to a Burundi based East African Community (EAC) E-marketplace which is an East African online distribution centre which aims to connect small businesses and rural communities to local, regional and int’l markets online.More platforms from start-ups, etc. are coming up such as the one in Cote d’Ivoire, TaxiJet, first Ivoirian taxi booking platform; and the Made in Rwanda start-up to become an online market leader offering made-in-Rwanda products and services online, and Made-in-Africa soon.To further generalize the use of ICTs, the Tunisian government has initiated two major initiatives. It encouraged Tunisian companies to use ICTs to increase their productivity and created specialized research centers and technology parks to strengthen the existing synergy between educational institutions and the private sector. These measures led to the successful widespread use of ICTs as a development tool, improving national productivity and yielding the emergence of new high added value exportable goods (digital products).In Angola, the Higher Institute for Information and Communication Technologies initiated the web platform “Barb Look”, a business network for barbershops, turned to entrepreneurship and the growth of undertakings related to beauty as a barber shop. With this platform, barbers will be able to scale their businesses to the desired levels by providing their services and administering them using the “Barb Look” platform. Professionals who do not have an established physical enterprise can boost their business using the platform. People from all over Angola will be able to schedule appointments at the nearest barbershop, without leaving the house. This platform aims to promote communication and interchange between barbershops and clients with quick access to services to improve the well-being of citizens. Barbers will be able to concentrate on serving their clients, while people who want a haircut will be able to choose which service they want. In line with SDG 8 and 9.In Burundi, the East African Community (EAC) E-marketplace is an East African online distribution Centre project which aims to connect small businesses and rural communities to local, regional and international markets online, but also via the physical network of agents. The EAC E-marketplace project is an online one-stop shop for products, business and related services, including a cross-border payment gateway, a door-to-door supply network (logistic services) and a wide social network of agents assisting the registered suppliers to market and creating awareness of their products (with no need for infrastructure, know-how or additional investment) and buyers in buying goods or services (SDGs 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 17). The countrywide agents are Burundi Shop’s appropriate e-commerce style, designed to address many e-commerce challenges, such as Internet availability, know-how in using Internet and access to the supply chain being presently available only to large businesses, reducing risks and costs, and building e-commerce’s trust between seller and buyer. Internet availability will no longer be a key e-commerce issue, because agents will be connected with full access (24/7) to EAC E-marketplace platforms.In Mauritius, the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation/Central Informatics Bureau has launched the Mauritius e-Registry Project. The project was initiated by the Registrar General’s Department, which operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to implement an integrated system that allows clients to conduct business online with respect to registration of immovable property and movable property transactions (SDGs 9 and 17). The main objectives of the project were to reduce the time taken for registration of transactions and the number of visits to the Registrar-General’s Department, provide a better ambience to staff and customers, eliminate usage of paper, reduce complexity of registration processes and provide online services. The Registrar General Department is the winner of the 2014 edition of the Public Service Excellence Award.An integrated web-based e-Procurement System (e-PS) destined for the public sector will improve its procurement processes, enhance transparency and stimulate competition in Mauritius.In Nigeria, the Postal Service launched the Nipost Electronic Stamp. The age of disruptive technology, Internet and Mobile made it difficult for the paper stamp to thrive; hence, the Nigerian Postal Service, on behalf of the Government of Nigeria, has developed a one-of-a-kind electronic stamp called QuBit, which can meet the current days needs and denote challenges in business. With its new electronic stamp, more than 61 million Nigerians will be engaged, create over 113, 000 jobs directly and indirectly, and create a user-friendly experience with the Postal Service. The new Nipost electronic stamp (QuBit) is able to integrate seamlessly with any technology, without any disruption of the way business is done today. It supports Mobile, web, point-of-sale, IoT and visual technology, and it has the capability to scale to 1, 653, 241 stamps per second, making it 10 times more powerful than any data or transaction switch in the country. This project assists the advancement of SDGs 1, 2, 8, 9 and 17.In Rwanda, the start-up company Made in Rwanda launched its online portal Made in Rwanda Online. Madeinrwanda.online is a start-up company positioning itself to become the online market leader in offering made-in-Rwanda products and services online, and Made-in-Africa products and services soon. The company offers business-to-business and business-to-consumer solutions. It utilizes a consolidation approach in handling all made-in-Rwanda products that allows local merchants to instantly save bad sales, restore customer satisfaction and stimulate repeat sales, while offering consumers a convenient, centralized online location to buy their products. By creating a new service category and utilizing the first-mover advantage, Made in Rwanda online has positioned itself for rapid growth and gains a strong opportunity to raise entry barriers for cross-border trade among African countries. The company helps cooperatives and SMMEs, especially for women and youths, to sell their products worldwide, providing them information about international markets and hall supply chain management. Through the company’s platform, the population has the opportunity to participate in the country’s economic growth by consuming locally made products, which reduce the deficit between import and export, and increase job creation for the young generation (SDGs 1, 8, 10, 12 and 17). Through a fair-trade commerce, the company ensures sustainable consumption and production patterns by working directly with producers and manufacturers.Also in Rwanda, Tap & Go is a product of AC Group Ltd, which is a leading provider of interactive and intelligent public transportation solutions, issuing payment cards in support of a cashless economy, and seeking regional expansion with the aim of building a regional ICT hub. Cities in Africa are growing at a very fast rate, much faster than their means of transport. With AC Group, we are trying to exploit innovation to enable public transport to cope with the constantly evolving needs of urban transport without necessarily expending more resources, by digitizing payments on the bus, monitoring location and driver behavior to reduce accidents, and optimizing operations while at the same time reducing delays that inconvenience passengers and businesses. Implementations include using Tap&Go card for payment, a bus validator on the bus for validating payment, vehicle location, speed monitoring and fraud control. Today Tap&Go is being used in Kigali and Yaoundé, with over 670 000 users per day. The project is carried out in partnership with the World Economic Forum, the Government of Rwanda, Kigali Bus services, RFTC, Royal Express, the Government of Cameroon, STECY, , and Transform Africa, and relates to SDGs 8, 9, 11 and 17.Also in Rwanda, an effort to reduce corruption, improve transparency and efficiency, and minimize potential collusion among bidders, Rwanda has established electronic government procurement systems, known as “Umucyo” which means “Transparency” in the local language. Umucyo, a web-based e-Procurement system, was developed as part of a World Bank-funded Public-Sector Reform Program for Results. The system consists of an online portal with modules for advertisement, e-bidding and disposal, evaluation, contract management, inspection and acceptance, framework agreements, catalog and shopping mall, where suppliers can register and submit bids online. The system is open to all, including national and foreign bidders. During the registration process the system, automatically access the databases from the Rwanda Development Board to authenticate the registration status of bidders to make sure they are in good standing (SDGs 1,8,9, and 16).In Uganda, Bizcust is a mobile web-based application system for expanding the customer, market and transport accessibility base for both businessmen and farmers. Bizcust runs on all mobile devices and computers. The problem resides in the fact that farmers lack information on updated commodity prices offered by different agro-businessmen. Due to this, some businessmen exploit farmers by offering lower prices. Much as farmers have tried to search for better prices from different agro-companies, they have encountered difficulties in reaching them. This is because the agro-companies are far from the farmers and there is also a communication gap between them. Moreover, it is hard for both farmers and businessmen to access quick and affordable transportation. This project is therefore extremely useful, as it relates to poverty, food-security and gender-equality issues (SDGs 1, 2, 5).Mobile money has started to be used in many African domestic markets and several local e-commerce applications. This mobile payments system started in Kenya in 2007 now boasts 30 million users in 10 countries, with other competitors, such as MTN Money, Orange Money, and Airtel money also operating around the continent. In Kenya M-PESA makes domestic payments easy. Launched as a way to simply funds transfers between people, users soon began using it in new ways, viewing the application as a ubiquitous payment solution in a country where access to banking is limited. The use of mobile money has grown exponentially making the African region the global leader in mobile money innovation, adoption, and usage. M-Pesa services are now offered in countries as diverse as Albania, D.R. Congo, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Romania, and Tanzania. While access to traditional banking services remains almost a mirage for most Africans, the near-universal availability of mobile phones has allowed millions to access mobile money services. Mobile money accounts now surpass bank accounts in the region and greater financial inclusion has benefited large swathes of the population that remain unbanked including the poor, the young, and women. This initiative assists the advancement of all SDGs.Source: UNECA, 2019, World Bank, 2017 & GSMA, 2019E-healthE-health is an area, which is increasingly growing taking advantage of the new and emerging technologies. In Senegal, JokkoSanté is a connected community pharmacy. Looking for unused medicines at home and enabling exchange them for points and save on your next prescription. This solution is a circular-economy model in which surplus medicines deposited in the community pharmacy are rewarded with points, which can subsequently be used to settle a new prescription. Jokko Sante is also a trustworthy mobile platform to manage Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) donations with real-time follow-up and greater impact (SDG 3).In Tunisia, there are also deserts in medical services and health care. In the centre of the country, some areas suffer from a chronic shortage of specialized physicians, such as cardiologists, radiologists, and obstetricians. To remedy the situation, Agence Fran?aise de Développement (AFD) has been supporting Tunisia since 2016, in the rollout of “tele-medicine” – a system aimed at addressing the problem of travelling long distances to access care (SDG 3).Cameroon has fewer incubators for more than 7,000 healthcare institutions. As a result, women lose their premature babies each year, often due to a lack of equipment. ?Cameroonian startup AUI Techno based in Yaoundé, aims to narrow that gap with a “smart” neonatal incubator. It includes a phototherapy system, sensors, and a video camera which allows physicians to track the health of the new born in real time via a mobile application. The specialist can also remotely adjust settings on the incubator and view the inventory of equipment available. In addition, there are plans for the data to be shared with researchers in the future, to continue to improve newborn care. Crucially, the incubator, developed entirely in Cameroon, promises to be less expensive than the equipment currently available. This should enable more healthcare institutions to purchase them, in Cameroon, throughout Africa, and beyond (SDG 3).In Kenya, where 93% of the population did not have access to health coverage until recently, patients can now subscribe to health insurance and pay for their care at a large network of hospitals using a very simple device: their mobile phone. It is all made possible by Kenyan start-up CarePay, and its platform M-Tiba. It is part of a wave of mobile payment solutions in Africa. This system allows Kenyans to pay for medical appointments by activating a code on their telephone (SDG 3).In southern Senegal has just a handful of gynaecologists to serve a population of more than 800,000. Women in rural villages are not able to visit them often. This is starting to change, however, thanks to the Cellal e Kisal program. ?This program has developed a “telemedicine briefcase”, equipped with ultrasound, which allows prenatal check-ups close to home. This smart briefcase is already available at multiple health centres, and midwives have been trained to use it. Pregnant women in villages can now schedule an ultrasound without travelling hundreds of kilometres. Any scans presenting abnormalities are immediately transmitted over the Internet via a 3G key to one of five participating gynaecologists, who then make a remote diagnosis (SDG 3). In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the MAESoft1 enterprise has developed the Virtual Lab project. Malaria eradication is back on the agenda of WHO. There exist many paths of fighting malaria. The Virtual Community of Healthcare Facilities enables users to transcend geopolitical barriers. The healthcare givers can use the proposed technological solution and benefit from a remote access expertise or supports to save people’s lives. In an attempt to contribute to malaria eradication, it developed an approach for malaria disease detection and identification using the digital microscopic image processing, “a Virtual Lab”. The quality of care and reducing the large number of deaths caused by infectious diseases such as malaria (SDG 3).MedNet Malawi constitutes Malawi’s first web-based professional networking portal for medical specialists in and outside the country. The portal has been developed on the basis of three objectives: 1) improve networking between Malawian and international experts; 2) build a medical expert pool for Malawi; and 3) enhance access to information on specialized medical care in Malawi. The initiative, which supports SDGs 3, 5, 8, 10 and 17, is undertaken in partnership with the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) and the European Union (Delegation to Malawi).In Nigeria, the Nardjes Bouchemal Company has initiated the Ubiquitous Mobile System for Telemonitoring Healthcare. Its goal is to recognize medical staff devices, with the ability to migrate from one device to another. The system is composed essentially of a Ubiquitous Mobile Agent, to assist the monitoring physician and device agents, embedded in each device. Its role is to collect and transmit the status device to the Ubiquitous Mobile Agent. There is also a Patient Agent to assist the patient, collect information from sensors and assure communication with the monitoring physician. This project is relevant to SDG 3, ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all.In Zimbabwe, Kudakwashe, in partnership with the Zimbabwe National Aids Council (NAC), has launched Fish-it, an innovative mobile phone-based social network application designed to assist young people, particularly in urban areas, through outreach, notifications, announcements, advertising, education, awareness and information dissemination to the most at-risk youths, on Sexually Transmittable Infections (STIs), drug abuse and unplanned pregnancies, and above all to effect behavioral change. This innovation is all the more important insofar as youth are severely affected by these problems that plague the developing world and which grow into broader problems and challenges, such as poverty and health concerns. The project advances SDG 3.Source: UNECA 2019, AFDE-employmentICTs are contributing in the creation of jobs and addressing employment challenges countries face particularly in Africa with the huge young population with less job opportunities at their disposalE-employment is also getting momentum with the increasing e-government development facilitating recruitment. Among others, the following example demonstrates the going trend in the area:In Mauritius, the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation/Central Informatics Bureau launched the national e-recruitment system. This system is in line with Government’s mission of achieving the Second Economic Miracle and Vision 2030 by embedding the use of technology in the day-to-day life of every Mauritian. The proposed e-Recruitment System will be an innovative breakthrough, as citizens will be able to apply for a post not only from a personal computer but also through their smartphones. The Public Service Commission and the Disciplined Forces Service Commission have modernized their recruitment system, whereby public service vacancies are being filled through online application. All job vacancies within the public service are being advertised online and candidates are required to submit their applications through the online system. The system provides an instant acknowledgement to candidates who apply online, and enables candidates to query the status of their application forms. The e-recruitment system automatically captures data and feeds them electronically to the system. The system will enable the electronic screening of data received from candidates and reports on the number of eligible and non-eligible candidates will be generated instantly. Candidates will be able to send only one application for a job and the system will recognize them by their identity card number. If there is ever a correction on candidates’ data, the candidate could update the same on a previous application, but within the prescribed delay. The development of this portal serves the advancement of SDGs 8, 9 and 17. In Nigeria, the Nigerian Postal Service initiated the project NIPOST Address Verification System, a technology platform that empowers individuals, organizations and government institutions to verify physical addresses and the identity of the occupants or business that reside at the address in a sustainable and commercially viable manner. One of the reasons 65 per cent of Nigerians are unbanked or underbanked is their lack of proof of address, even with a government-issued ID. NIPOST Address Verification System turns the address verification challenge on its head, to create a viable platform that can create hundreds of thousands of sustainable jobs (SDGs 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 16). Any qualified individual with a smartphone, Internet access and NIPOST Address Verification System agent app can join the community and have a paying job. This initiative contributes to the SDGs by creating a job role for the world we live in today, for every youth in Nigeria regardless of their gender, disabilities or tribe. NIPOST Address Verification System creates an insatiable demand for the supply of able and educated youths across the country to earn a living wage, while simultaneously doing collaborative work for the overall good of the country.In South Africa, The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has officially launched government’s e-Recruitment system, which enables job seekers to apply for positions in the public service through an online platform. A benefit for government departments is that the system allows them to advertise posts electronically and, therefore, reduces the cost of advertising in newspapers. The development of this portal serves the advancement of SDGs 8, 9 and 17. In Rwanda, the Job in Rwanda Ltd. developed an online recruitment portal. Its journey started in 2011 with the launch of the job portal , after observing how tricky it was to find information about jobs available in Rwanda. Back then, they decided to launch a website focused on “Connecting skills” in Rwanda and East Africa in general. Their main mission is to “facilitate the recruitment operations between employers and candidates. The development of this portal serves the advancement of SDGs 8, 9 and 17. Source: ITU, WSIS Stocktaking Africa (2018)E-environmentE-environment is closely linked to most of the SDGs including Goal 9 on resilient infrastructure, Goal 11 on cities and human settlement, Goal 13 on combating climate change, Goal 14 on conserving and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, Goal 15 on protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, managing forests, combating desertification and halting and reversing land degradation and halting biodiversity loss. It has received less emphasis though closely linked to SDGsTechnologies with smart applications, intelligent controls, sensors, those related to big data and analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), remote sensing, etc. are widely available and are being used to address the environment issues.In Kenya, the Hydrologistics Africa Company developed the project HydroIQ, the world’s first virtual water network operator, in line with SDGs 6, 9 and 11. We have developed HydroIQ, a smart metering device that is plugged into the existing water supply network, turning the traditional water system into a smart water grid. HydroIQ is installed at households to monitor consumption in real time, and allow consumers to pay for only the water they consume on a pay-as-you-go basis using mobile money. This allows consumers to regulate and manage their water use, and receive alerts when water is running low. This means consumers will pay for what they consume and not the water that is lost. Not only is this efficient – more importantly, it is fair. HydroIQ allows water utilities to detect leaks in real time. This prevents the needless loss of water, and saves time and money for companies. With continuous data collection, utility companies become more efficient, cutting revenue losses by up to 90 per centIn Nigeria, the African Youth Movement, in partnership with Van Dijk Water Management B.V. Netherlands, initiated the programme Nigeria Water Information System. The water and sanitation sector in Africa, and particularly Nigeria, is in need of both extension and improvement. Between 60 and 70 per cent of the population is currently without either water or wastewater services, which translates to 40 million–55 million customers in Nigeria alone receiving such services – a greater number than anywhere else on the African continent. With a database created for tracking losses through leakages on pipe, extortion and corrupt practices, and illegal connectivity, we believe the situation can make a turnaround through a messaging app with a user-friendly interface in by which rural dwellers can simply send an SMS in case of broken pipes to the Bwari Area Council Territory. The thinking behind this concept is that such alerts, when put together in a large country such as Nigeria, can make an impact towards eliminating losses in the water sector and supporting the SDGs. This project serves the advancement of SDGs 1, 3, 9, 11, 13 and 14.Also in Nigeria, Lumos Global and MTN Nigeria have launched Lumos Mobile Electricity powered by MTN Nigeria, which tackles one of humanity's biggest challenges: providing affordable carbon-free energy to the more than 1 billion people who live in the dark. Since January 2016, Lumos Mobile Electricity has provided electricity to more than 150 000 Nigerians, in 30 000 homes, small businesses and schools. With Lumos home solar systems, customers living off-grid can power their homes for less than 50 cents a day. and with MTN's partnership, customers can pay easily with their mobile phones using existing airtime accounts. This project is instrumental in achieving SDGs 3, 7, 8 and 9.In 2017, Rwanda government unveiled a multi-million e-waste dismantling and recycling facility in Bugesera district, Eastern Province with the capacity to process more than 7,000 tons of electrical and electronic waste every year. The facility is the second of its kind in Africa and represents Rwanda’s strong commitment to green growth and sustainable development. With this facility, all old electronics will no longer be a problem for Rwandans. The recycling facility is expected to save the country from environmental hazards and create thousands of green jobs. Precious metals such as gold, copper, and silver, along with other electronic components, are being extracted, recycled and sold to be made into other valuable items. The Rwanda Green Fund supported e-waste investment has revolutionized how e-waste is managed in the country and will play an important role in Rwanda’s vision to become a regional technology hub. Once 30 collection centers are established in each district across the country, more than 1,000 people will be employed through the initiative.Through its Switch Africa Green project in Ghana, UN Environment, jointly with the Environmental Protection Agency and in partnership with Ghana National Cleaner Production Centre, implemented a project on electronic waste and developed the Ghana e-waste model that formed the basis for the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act (2016). This led to the Government of Ghana to prepare for the setup of an e-waste recycling plant at Agbogbloshie. E-Waste Management Program is directly linked to addressing six (6) of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They include Goal 3, i.e. ensuring healthy lives and promotion of well-being for all; Goal 6, i.e. ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; Goal 8, i.e. promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; Goal 11, i.e. making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; Goal 12, i.e. ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns; and Goal 14, i.e. conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources.Source: ITU, 2018, FONERWA, UN EnvironmentE-agricultureE-agriculture supports the implementation of almost all of the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda and AU Agenda 2063CountryE-agriculture appPurpose / beneficiarySDG targets metBotswanaNaledi Magowe m-agri initiative Gives farmers access to information, markets, low-cost communication and short-term finance.SDGs 1,2,6 and 8KenyaUjuziKilimo initiative of a Data Engine System for the African agri industryUjuziKilimo collects and analyses data to provide actionable insights that inform the agriculture industry. It has a patent-pending sensor device to collect real-time farm data and a platform to analyse millions of data points from sensors and satellites across the value chains to generate actionable insights for the farmers and the industry playersSDGs 2, 9, 12 and 13KenyaE-voucher systems: Eligible farmers are required to open a bank account with Equity Bank and deposit their 10 per cent contributions of the value of the e-voucher package for the first cropping season, after which they are issued customized ring-fenced debit cardsEquity Bank (Kenya) Ltd. set up and operationalized the e-voucher platform through which farmers were able to access e-voucher package inputs. The e-voucher beneficiaries accessed inputs through agro dealers who had been issued with point-of-sale devices by the bank for transactions. SDGs 1, 2, 12 and 17.Rwanda Ibaze Group’s Precision AgricultureThe monitoring and control of the real-time information collected from farms using different technologies of soil sensors; such as humidity, moisture, temperature sensors, etc. SDGs 2, 9, 12 and 13Guinea E-voucher (Distribution des Intrants Agricoles a travers les smartphones)SDGs 2, 9, 12 and 13ChadThe Association of Technicians in Information and Communication Technology created a program providing farmers with ICTs, to aid them in gaining information in their activities: Shaping the Future of Rural Development in Chad through New TechnologiesThe objective is to introduce agriculture to the new devices for the use of ICT, which will allow them to stay in their communities and develop the use of ICTs in agriculture; sensitize young people and train them on the challenges of rural and agricultural development in Chad through ICTs; and modernize the agricultural production system through ICTs to provide farmers with practical means for the progressive reduction of poverty and the digital divideSDGs 1 and 2Zambia the iDrone Services Limited developed a programme entitled Drones for Agriculture Youth Training Project, or IDrone4AgThe iDrone4Ag youth project will create green collar jobs and prevent youths from migrating to cities in the hunt for white collar jobsSDGs 2, 4 and 8Uganda Jaguza Livestock App, a mobile (Android, Windows, iOS) as well as SMS and USSD and web (both online and offline platform) enabled artificial intelligence and computer vision system (IoT).A unique algorithm combining data crowdsourcing and machine learning with predictive analytics in order to forecast diseases early enough to help rural farmers improve their productivity. Predictive analytics is applied to accurately predict diseases before they break out in communities. The system helps farmers access livestock marketsSDGs 1, 2, 3, 8 and 17Nigeria The Makvid Technology Services Ltd. launched the platform Nigeria Food Market PricesThis solution is focused on solving the lack of comprehensive food market prices data in Nigeria. Over the years, we have set up a network of trained food price data collectors in Nigeria. Our food prices data tool provides food market prices of over 100 food items in Nigeria, disaggregated by states, from January to November 2017SDGs 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 12.Source: UNECA, 2019 & ITU, 2018E-ScienceThe role of digital technologies in enhancing science and research worldwide and particularly in Africa is of paramount importance. There have been remarkable initiatives to realize Virtual Research and Education networks both at national and regional level including linking them to international such networks. This has greatly contributed in improving the academic and research capabilities of African universities.Senegal has an established National Policy for ICT and Policy for Science and Technology. ICT Initiatives are currently ongoing at national level in the areas of Research (Centre de Recherche et d'Essai Programme), e-Infrastructures (Grid Computing project, Brain Gain Initiative, Education and Research Network), and e-Education (Virtual University of Senegal). This is in line with SDG4 and SDG17.African Virtual University (AVU) had by 2015 trained “63,000 students across Africa and established the largest network of Open Distance and eLearning institutions with 53 institutions in over 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.” AVU is now slated to become part of the Pan African University, a postgraduate institution funded by the African Union (AU). Rebranded as the “Africa Virtual and E-University,” the institution is expected to provide ODL in virtually all African countries, and offer programs in English and French. This is in line with SDG4 and SDG17.AVU is just one of several online universities that have sprung up across Africa. Others include the University of Africa, Unicaf University, the Virtual University of Uganda and the Virtual University of Senegal, an institution that reportedly enrolled 20,000 students in 2017-18. Traditional universities are also rolling out online programs at an accelerated pace. Prominent distance education units at established universities include Wits Plus at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), the Distance Learning Centre of Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria), or Kenyatta University’s Digital School of Virtual and Open Learning (Kenya). This is in line with SDG4 and SDG17.Rwanda-based Kepler University, offers online degrees in partnership with Southern New Hampshire University in the United States. The small but fast-growing company Getsmarter, meanwhile, offers online certificate programs in collaboration with top international universities like Harvard. Digital learning is also increasing its presence in vocational education: The company Edacy combines MOOCs with short industrial apprenticeships. Distance learning in vocational education is explicitly promoted by the South African government. MOOCs (massive open online courses) are called “massive” and “open” because they typically do not have formal admission requirements and can be attended by thousands of students at the same time. While many of these courses were initially free of charge, they are now becoming increasingly monetized. Initially offered by private U.S. providers like Coursera or edX , they are now frequently licensed to higher education institutions, some of which have also begun to develop their own MOOCs. This is in line with SDG4 and SDG17.Source: ITU, 2018 & WESC8: Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local contentAfrica, as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and linguistically diverse continent, this action line is key in implementing the SDGs and AU agenda 2063 goals. Some examples include:CountryInitiative related to action line C8Purpose / beneficiarySDG targets metCameroonBridge Africa’s Connectivity is Productivity project To assist communities in Cameroon create and access online content and improve digital literacy thru face-to-face direct educational training; created platform and trained 5,000 people on use of the platform and the InternetSDG 1ZimbabweThe NatiV projectAn e-learning application for a low-cost Android tablet to enable children in rural Zimbabwe to learn to read using their own languages (including Shona), as well as to engage children with learning disabilitiesSDGs 4, 8 and 16Source: UNECA, 2019C9: MediaThe role of the media in the development of the information society in Africa is important as advancement in ICTs revolutionized the media sector as well as its role in raising the awareness of the implications of the digital age to all.CountryC9 – Media initiativesPurpose / beneficiarySDG targets metBurkina FasoMediaProd’s Agribusiness TV, a web TVAims to use videos as a promotion tool to build or restore agriculture’s positive image and make the sector more attractive to youth by showcasing success stories of young agricultural entrepreneurs and their innovation in Africa; produce over 50 videos with over 2 million viewsSDG 8TogoEnvi228NewsBlog Envi228News - a dynamic and interactive reporting platform that serves as a medium for education related to sustainable development, reporting of events, specific studies, and the organization of awareness campaigns through online press and social networks.Serve all SDGsSource: UNECA,2019C10 Ethical dimension of the Information SocietyThere is little happening with regard to this action line both in promoting the ethical dimensions of the information society as well as in promoting research in the area. In this regard, the UNECA has been undertaking research on artificial intelligence and the future of African economy considering ethical issues in the use of this and other emerging technologies as described in detail below.UNECA is preparing a report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the future of the African economy. The Report will explore the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence in the future of the African economy. The report will examine and assess the broad concepts of AI, the current status and challenges (socio-economic, cultural, technological and scientific, legal and ethics) in the development of AI in Africa. It also provides a set of recommendations for consideration by African policymakers and decision-makers for the development and democratization of AI solutions towards the achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and the AU Agenda 2063.Source: UNECA, 2019 C11. International and regional cooperation The IST–Africa Institute developed the program IST–Africa supporting International Research Collaboration for Socio-Economic Impact, a strategic collaboration with Ministries and National Councils responsible for innovation, science and technology research, policy implementation and adoption in 17 African Member States. IST-Africa facilitates and supports strategic engagement with Africa focused on International research, innovation and policy cooperation; knowledge sharing, capacity building and skills transfer between IST-Africa Partner Countries; collaborative open Innovation, ICT-enabled Entrepreneurship and ICT for Development.The African Union Commission developed the African Internet Exchange System Project, which aims to promote keeping intra-African Internet traffic local by providing capacity building and technical assistance to facilitate the establishment of Internet Exchange Points at country level, Regional Internet Exchange Points and Regional Internet Carriers in Africa. It also promotes the development of regional cross-border interconnection policy frameworks. As at September 2017 the number of AU Member States with IXPs has increased from eighteen to thirty-two (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, DR Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland. Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Following open tenders, grants were awarded to eight national IXPs to become regional IXPs - Kenya, Rwanda (East Africa), South Africa, Zimbabwe (Southern Africa), Congo, Gabon (Central Africa), Egypt (North Africa) and Nigeria (West Africa). This is in line with SDGs 8, 9 and 17.The East Africa Northern corridor comprised with Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and south Sudan implemented the One Network Area (ONA) roaming initiative in East Africa aims to promote regional integration by bringing down the high cost of mobile roaming. ONA is based on a set of regulatory interventions, specifically; Eliminating charges for receiving voice calls while roaming in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda if the call originates in one of these countries; a waiver of excise taxes and surcharges on incoming ONA voice traffic while establishing wholesale and retail price caps on outbound ONA traffic; and requiring mobile network operators (MNOs) to re-negotiate with their roaming partners to reduce wholesale tariffs. The impact of lower tariffs on individual roamers is significant. Cross-border voice traffic has grown rapidly since ONA implementation, tripling in both Kenya and Uganda with a nearly five-fold increase in Rwanda and a thirty-fold increase in South Sudan (SDGs 8, 9 and 17).The ONA can be extended across Africa if pre-requisites for extending it to additional countries are satisfied, including; a legal basis (treaty or regional agreement) that establishes institutions or a decision making mechanism to lead several countries in a common direction; Membership in a Regional Economic Community (REC) or similar alliance for cooperation in economic reform and development and as a shield against complaints that preferential regional tariffs violate the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services; and early, regular and intensive consultations with mobile operators and national regulators on details of the plan.Smart Africa is a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through affordable access to Broadband and usage of information and Communications Technologies. The smart Africa secretariat launched the One Africa Network followed a successful proof of concept that was implemented in the four countries of East Africa Community’s Northern Corridor: Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda (SDGs 16 and 17).For Africa to realize the vision of a digital single market, governments, the private sector and consumers need to do their part. The signing of the Single African Air?Transport Market, the Continental Free Trade Area and the Protocol on Free Movement of People, all within one year, has demonstrated unprecedented political will to unite the continent. The launch of the Cape-to-Cairo and Djibouti–Lagos terrestrial fiber network by Liquid Telecom is a proof that the vision of a digitally connected Africa is achievable, driven by private sector investment.The African Union is a political union of all 55 nations in Africa, which aims to promote integration of the continent while tackling social, economic, and political problems. The AU’s vision is to work toward “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena.” The AU has established various standards and work streams relevant to the Single Digital Market. AU Members adopted a Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection in 2014. To facilitate implementation of the Convention, ‘Privacy and Personal Data Protection Guidelines’ were recently published, detailing the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved in data protection.The AU is spearheading the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was signed into effect by 44 countries, in March 2018, at an AU summit in Kigali. AfCFTA will create a single continental market for goods and services, as well as a customs union facilitating free movement of capital and business. The initiative aims to boost intraregional trade, which currently accounts for no more than 15 percent of total trade in Africa. According to the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa“(UNECA), intra-African trade is likely to increase by 52.3 percent under the AfCFTA, due to the elimination of import duties. This figure is set to double upon further removal nontariff barriers. African Single Digital Market, under the AfCFTA, suggests that many of the economic benefits emerging from the creation of an SDM will be realized by leveraging technology-based solutions grounded in Cloud Computing Services (CCS). This is in line with SDGs 1,8,9,16 and 17.The African Council of Regulators (ARC) was established in 2017 and now meets on a quarterly basis. The ARC seeks to implement the “One Africa Network”—a roaming agreement that builds on the successful East Africa ONA. Moreover, the ARC is working on issues such as access to ICT for schools and has established working groups in telecommunications, Connectivity infrastructure development, Numbering, Cybersecurity and online privacy, ICT services and applications, Emerging technologies, Digital inclusion which are relevant to the Single Digital Market (SDM). This is in line with SDGs 4,5, 8,9,10,16 and 17.In addition to the regional bodies discussed earlier, a range of international organizations are working on initiatives that support the Single Digital Market Vision. As the Digital Roadmap is implemented, it will be important to work closely with these organizations to coordinate initiatives and avoid unnecessary duplication of effort. For example, establishment of an SDM is a pillar of the WEF’s Internet for All initiative in East Africa. Cooperation with the ITU on regulation, standards, and data collection is also needed. The Digital Roadmap also considers existing World Bank programs, many of which have objectives that overlap with the SDM Vision. Several such programs exist, including Identification for Development (ID4D) and the East Africa Regional Transport, Trade, and Development Facilitation Project. Source: ITU, 2018, UNECA, 2019 & Smart Africa & EAC’s Northern corridor Conclusion Despite the progress made in the last years, Africa still lags behind other regions in its access and use of digital infrastructures, digital technologies, and the Internet. The broadband infrastructure gap, the related to costs of services and devices, the lack of local content and low proficiency in digital skills are among the critical barriers. Migration to mobile broadband is gaining momentum in Africa but still millions of people do not have access to a mobile broadband service. On the side of fixed-broadband connection, Africa has the opportunity to advance quickly to high-speed fiber broadband because there are more submarine cables projects being implemented and private company’s terrestrial fiber backbone. The inter-dependent aspects must be addressed concurrently to close the digital divide, such as infrastructure, affordability, relevant ICT applications, local content, and skills development. Digitalization has policy implications across different areas and, thus, maximizing its benefits requires more coordinated policies, strategies and regulation across sectors and authorities at continental and regional level. To recognize the relevance of digitalization, African leaders adopted the “Agenda 2063” and there are other regional initiatives such as one network area (ONA). Since ICT is intertwined with the energy, transport, water sectors, just to name a few, deploying a digital infrastructure for Africa will bring a number of contributions to prosperity, characterizing the digital revolution as a new era of infrastructure contributing to the transformation of the African socio-economic asset toward the Africa digital economy.African Union Commission (AUC) and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are finalizing a digital transformation strategy for Africa, which will be presented at the AU Summit in February 2020 for consideration. The development of the strategy is aiming at enabling inclusive digital transformation in Africa and will help unlock the potential of the digital economy across the continent. The strategy will also close the internet access gap while providing a roadmap and an action plan for reaching universal, affordable, meaningful and inclusive connectivity in Africa by 2030. In order to implement the digital transformation strategy, African countries will be required to adhere to African Union convention on data protection and cybersecurity to ensure the security and trustworthiness in the digital space. ANNEX I: MAP OF SUBMARINE CABLES IN AFRICA Source: UNECA & ................
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