Smart Africa – alliance for a digital Africa

Smart Africa is an alliance of 30 African heads of state and government that aims to take advantage of the affordable access to broadband and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Africa to establish a knowledge economy. The goal of the alliance is to develop a digital single market on the African continent by 2030.

The manifesto of the Smart Africa alliance was endorsed by all 54 heads of government of the African Union in 2014. Smart Africa therefore represents the digital interests of around 750 million people. The patron of the Smart Africa initiative is Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda. The General Director, since 1 March 2019, is Lacina Koné, who has more than 25 years of professional experience in the telecommunications sector.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the cooperation with Smart Africa

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the cooperation with Smart Africa

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) maintains close ties with Smart Africa. The alliance is the Federal Republic’s most important political partner for ICT partnerships in Africa. In May 2019, the German Chancellor’s Personal Representative for Africa and the Representative for Africa in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Günter Nooke, together with Lacina Koné signed a joint declaration of intent that marked the starting point for closer cooperation with Smart Africa in the area of digitalisation.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Smart Africa alliance were able to reach agreement on seven fields of action with the aim of supporting digitalisation on the African continent.

On April 28, 2021, BMZ and Smart Africa reaffirmed their strategic partnership by signing a second declaration. The partners jointly recognize that information and communication technologies (ICT) have a transformative power and are an important driver for Africa’s socioeconomic development.