NEW YORK, Sept. 24 — Minister of Information, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation Ms Nthati Moorosi has called for accelerated implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as Africa seeks to advance its digital economy and achieve the objectives of Agenda 2063.
Ms Moorosi was participating in a Ministerial and Partner Panel on “How to Leap Frog: Build more Capacity, Capital or Commitment?” during a session on DPI for Agenda 2063: Accelerating Africa’s Digital Economy, held in New York.
The session focused on how African countries can move from fragmented digital projects and isolated technology investments towards interoperable, population-scale digital systems.
According to the Minister’s briefing note, Africa’s digital future requires a shift from vision to implementation, with greater emphasis on institutional capacity and regional coordination.
Digital Public Infrastructure includes foundational systems such as digital identification, payments and data exchange, which can support economic transformation, improve service delivery, expand financial inclusion and promote regional integration.
Ms Moorosi is expected to emphasise three areas that should guide Africa’s digital transformation: reducing fragmentation, building trust in digital systems and developing digital infrastructure that supports Africa’s capacity in artificial intelligence.
She is expected to argue that African countries should avoid duplicating digital systems already developed elsewhere on the continent and instead invest in open standards, reusable digital public goods and regional interoperability.
On trust, the Minister is expected to highlight the importance of data privacy, cybersecurity, civil society accountability and alternative systems to ensure that vulnerable communities are not excluded from digital services.
She is also expected to stress the need for Africa to develop the capacity to use artificial intelligence to address local challenges rather than becoming only a consumer of technologies developed elsewhere.
The briefing note states that trusted digital identification, quality data and reliable public data exchange will be important in developing locally relevant artificial intelligence systems, including systems that can respond to African languages and local needs.
For Lesotho and other SADC countries, the briefing note identifies interoperable digital public infrastructure as important for areas such as cross-border trade, access to credit and climate information, social protection payments and opportunities for young innovators to participate in continental markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The discussions form part of efforts to advance Africa’s digital transformation under Agenda 2063, the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa and the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol.
The session also comes ahead of further continental engagements, including specialised technical committee meetings and preparations towards the Global DPI Summit.
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