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The WSIS+20 Review in 2025 offers African nations a critical opportunity to influence global digital governance and address their unique developmental needs. This report analyses Africa’s digital landscape, highlighting progress in connectivity and innovation alongside persistent challenges such as the digital divide, infrastructure funding gaps of $3 billion annually, fragmented policies, and skills deficits. Drawing comparative insights from India and China, it contrasts India’s government-led Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) model—exemplified by Aadhaar and UPI, which has enabled mass financial inclusion and de-risked private investment—with China’s state-directed approach, fostering tech giants like BAT, but risking market concentration and regulatory tensions.
Key findings underscore Africa’s high debt burden (nearly half of nations exceeding 60% debt-to-GDP), constraining digital ambitions, while innovation remains concentrated in the “Big Four” markets (Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa).
Recommendations advocate a hybrid “Africa-centric” strategy: strengthening interoperable DPI using open-source technologies, fostering Public-Private Partnerships, harmonising policies via the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol, linking debt relief to digital investments, and promoting inclusive skills programs. By uniting in the WSIS+20 process, Africa can shift from passive recipient to empowered shaper of an equitable, sovereign digital future.
