The World Bank is partnering with Smart Africa, to scale up
the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) initiative from a national to a
regional focus as part of the Western Africa Regional Digital Integration
Program (WARDIP), in a bid to advance regional integration of digital markets
through a USD 20 million grant for 5 years.
This scale-up will leverage the existing SADA
implementation and AReg4DT program to establish a new generation of
policymakers and regulators across Africa, who are individually knowledgeable
on how to harness the potential of green and inclusive digital transformation
through new approaches to policy and regulation, and who collectively contribute
to the establishment of a Single Digital Market in Africa.
With this aim, the scale-up will reach 30,000 unique policymakers and decision-makers from
all countries in Africa, with a targeted participation
level of females at 40%.
Given the World Bank’s commitment to digital transformation
in Africa, the grant will significantly contribute to regional integration and
rapid adoption of the Single Digital Market for Africa.
Launched by the Smart Africa Alliance from a seed money of
about thirty thousand US dollars which saw the first implementation of an
online training for policy and decision makers in August 2020, the Smart Africa
Digital Academy (SADA) has made significant strides in advancing digital skills
and fostering a dynamic learning ecosystem across Africa with initial grant
support from Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the German
Federal Ministry for Corporation and Development and Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (BMZ /GIZ).
SADA aims to bridge the digital skills gap in African
countries, improving employability and meeting the emerging talent needs of
African citizens. Since its inception, SADA has trained over 7000 beneficiaries
across 35 countries in Africa on various digital transformation
topics.
Commenting on the partnership with the World Bank, the CEO of
Smart Africa, Mr. Lacina Koné highlighted “At
the heart of the digital transformation lies the need to bridge the digital
skills gap of our continent’s future and present workforce. Today, I am pleased
to announce that SADA, our capacity building vehicle, is geared to reach a new
milestone thanks to our key development partner, The World Bank”.
“DTfA/ WARDIP is a
crucial step toward an interconnected, innovative, and inclusive future for
West Africa. Beyond shaping a digital landscape, it aims to foster regional
integration through collaboration and strategic investments”, said Boutheina Guermazi, World Bank
Director for Regional Integration for Africa and the Middle East. “It will break down barriers, cultivate a
dynamic digital ecosystem, and empower local communities and businesses to
thrive in the digital age”.
As the implementation progresses, SADA will focus on
competency-based skills training that allows a pipeline of talents to be
created for the job market in Africa and beyond. Additionally, the COVID-19
pandemic, advocated the need to mainstream ICT and digital into Africa’s
educational system, and this will be achieved through the training portfolio
for teachers and children, which focuses on Science Technology Engineering Arts
and Mathematics.
SADA acknowledges the need for a tiered approach to digital
skilling in Africa and has five main target groups with a multifaceted approach
of interventions to these target groups, namely: Policy and Decision Makers,
Youth and Entrepreneurs, Teachers and Students, Digital Experts and the General
public. It federates existing initiatives and leverages on the convening power
of the Smart Africa Alliance to implement solutions that are co-created with
the countries and in collaboration with prominent international and private
sector organizations, including the World Bank, ITU, BMZ, GIZ, IEEE, GSMA,
USTTI and major tech companies.