The United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) and Google LLC (Google) have signed a landmark
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster and accelerate digital
transformation in Africa on the margins of the 2024 edition of the Africa
Business Forum.
The partnership is founded on the complementary expertise and strengths of both parties who wish to collaborate on activities to support ECA's mandate such as digital development in Africa in line with the African Union Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020=2030) and Google's Digital Sprinters Framework, and to leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the benefit of Africa's digital economy.
As a general framework for collaboration, the MoU will seek to further explore specific key areas of interest pertaining to digital skills development for Africa's young population, startup development, increasing financial inclusion, strengthening cybersecurity and online safety measures, and advancing AI policy research for policymakers on the continent.
ECA’s
Executive Secretary, Mr. Claver Gatete, acknowledged Google’s pivotal role in
improving Africa’s connectivity infrastructure, supporting Africa’s innovators
and entrepreneurs, and building digital capacity in emerging technologies
through skills development for researchers, students and educators.
"This partnership holds the potential to produce
significant and influential outcomes in tackling digital challenges and
narrowing the digital divide across the African continent," Mr. Gatete remarked.
Africa, with
the lowest internet penetration rate globally, sees 63% of its population
without internet access. The ECA is committed to closing digital divides by
promoting infrastructure development and affordability, sound regulatory
environment, and fostering digital skills.
To tap into
Africa's digital transformation potential to meet the Sustainable Development
Goals and Agenda 2063, it is crucial that the continent's youth—projected to
account for nearly half of the global youth population by 2030—are prepared for
a digital future and the 4th Industrial
Revolution.
Doron Avni,
Google's Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy, Emerging
Markets, said: “With advanced
technologies like AI, the most profound transformation is yet to come.
Collaboration will be essential if Africa is to realize this opportunity and
ensure no-one is left behind. We are excited to collaborate with the ECA to
work towards this shared objective.”
As part of
the Agreement, Google and ECA will endeavor to begin collaboration on the three
following areas:
First, Startup development: Google will endeavor to partner with
ECA to reach its target to enable 1M startups to generate USD 100B in revenue
by 2033. We will focus on tech startups solving for the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals in Africa by providing them with mentorship and
coaching from hundreds of Google employees.
Second, Computer Science Education: Second, Computer Science Education:
Starting in 2024, ECA, Camden Trust and Google will endeavor to upskill over
5000 young African students and 200 teachers on computer science and robotics
to support their participation in the World Robot Olympiad global competition
and increase Africa’s representation. The organizations aim to operate in more
than 10 countries, including Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya,
Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa, South Sudan,
Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
And third area of collaboration is
Cybersecurity:
ECA and Google will endeavor to collaborate to foster a resilient culture of
digital security within the region. We will do this through dialogues with
public officials, training workshops and the sharing of best practices.
Additionally, the partnership seeks to conduct collaborative research on
Cybersecurity and its connection to achieving the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye