Building Rails for Digital Resilience in West and Central Africa

Accra, June 22, 2023 – The Institute for Inclusive Digital Africa (IIDiA), will hold on Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, a virtual workshop on the state of digital public goods and infrastructure in West and Central Africa.

In the digital age, digital public infrastructures (DPIs) and digital public goods (BPNs) are accelerating, with greater security, economic interactions and financial transactions around the world. They offer potential that can bridge the digital divide. However, a large number of African populations, particularly in underserved areas, still face barriers, which slow down their access to digital financial technologies, and prevent them from taking full advantage of them.

Notwithstanding the will of West and Central African States to advance digital infrastructure, several challenges remain to be met to accelerate Africa’s progress, in particular West and Central Africa towards digital transformation.

The Institute for Inclusive Digital Africa (IIDiA) in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, explores avenues for co-construction of a regional strategy that will effectively address the needs of countries, Regional Institutions and the private sector in infrastructure and goods digital audiences in West and Central Africa.

What are the priorities and obstacles specific to each country, regional institution or private sector in this area? What mechanisms and tools to support the governance and digital transformation of countries and entities for the benefit of the most deprived populations?

Committed to promoting inclusive digital ecosystems that leave no one behind, IIDiA will hold, as part of this strategy, a multi-stakeholder virtual workshop, in consortium with governments, central banks, regional institutions, and the private sector. The objective is to identify all the gaps and priorities relating to the development of digital goods and infrastructures. The purpose of the approach is to create a synergy of actions, mobilizing the two regions (West and Central Africa) around a shared vision of setting up reliable and inclusive digital public infrastructure and digital public goods at a large scale.

The virtual workshop of July 12th 2023, will gather decision-makers and policy makers, and will spearhead a regional strategy that will raise the urgent issue of the lack of digital products and infrastructures in West and Central Africa.

Please note that participants willing to take part in this event shall receive an invitation by email a few days before the virtual workshop,

– Registration link to participate in the workshop: https://bit.ly/iidia

– The link to the webinar will be provided 72 hours before the session and reminded the day before.

– The recording of the webinar will be available for everyone who registered .

For more information, please write to: contact@iidia.org