SMART AFRICA AND CERTA FOUNDATION PARTNER TO EXPLORE INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO ADVANCE DIGITAL GOVERNANCE AND DATA SOVEREIGNTY
Kigali, March 16, 2025 – In line with the 2025 Africa AI Declaration's objective to leverage the potential of AI to drive innovation and competitiveness to advance Africa’s economies, industries, and societies, the Smart Africa Secretariat and Certa Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic collaboration framework for advancing digital governance, innovation policy, and regulatory capacity across Africa.
Smart Africa's continental mandate to drive digital transformation and the strategic role of the AI Council, under the leadership of the Smart Africa Steering Committee, is critical in shaping Africa’s position within the global AI economy. The MOU builds on Certa Foundation's work on innovative governance, including its foundational position paper on Data Embassies (2025) as a mechanism to address the continent's longstanding digital infrastructure deficit; its expertise in gender inclusivity, mentoring and advocacy; and its commitment to training and capacity development of African regulators, policymakers and justice actors.
Under this partnership, both organizations will deliver targeted technical support for policymakers, regulators, and public institutions while cultivating a new pipeline of youth policymakers across the continent. The collaboration will focus on policy interventions and research to inform high-level decision-making, with a mandate to build a robust, inclusive regulatory ecosystem by co-hosting strategic consultations with pan-African stakeholders and providing mentorship to innovators under the Smart Women and Girls in ICT initiative.
The partnership is committed to accelerating viable, scalable, and evidence-based proof-of-concept initiatives to deliver an enabling policy environment across the continent, drive a successful and sustainable digital economy, unlock Africa’s competitiveness on the global stage, and deliver on the promise of responsible and inclusive artificial intelligence.
Lacina Koné, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa, said: “Digital transformation cannot succeed without strong governance. Through this partnership with Certa Foundation, Smart Africa is strengthening Africa’s capacity to design policies and regulatory frameworks that will shape our digital future. From AI governance to innovations like data embassies, Africa must build the institutions and expertise needed to secure its digital sovereignty and compete in the global digital economy.”
Florida Kabasinga, Founder and Executive Director of Certa Foundation, added: "Our strategic partnership with Smart Africa is a huge step in the journey to digital sovereignty. The research we published on Data Embassies was a starting point on our roadmap. This joint-effort partnership is where that work becomes real. Africa does not need to wait for someone else to build its digital future."
This MOU marks the beginning of a longer-term collaboration aimed at building shared knowledge and developing innovative approaches to Africa's digital sovereignty challenges.
About Smart Africa
The Smart Africa Alliance is a bold commitment by African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent through ICTs and digital transformation. With 42 Member States and over 50 private-sector and development partners, Smart Africa’s vision is to create a single digital market for Africa that drives innovation, competitiveness, and inclusive growth.
For more information, contact:
E-mail: comms@smartafrica.org
Website: www.smartafrica.org
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