Smart Africa leads regional effort to strengthen data governance in Francophone Africa

By:  Nana Appiah Acquaye

A high-level regional workshop on data governance has been held in Senegal, bringing together African policymakers, experts, and government representatives to strengthen institutional capacity and advance harmonised data governance frameworks across Francophone Africa.

The workshop, convened by Smart Africa in collaboration with UNESCO and the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Economy of Senegal, formed part of the SADA/WARDIP project aimed at supporting digital transformation and data-driven development across the continent.

Participants included representatives from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. The sessions combined technical discussions with practical exercises designed to deepen understanding of data governance frameworks and improve digital public policy formulation.

Key outcomes of the workshop included enhanced understanding of Africa’s shared vision for data governance, identification of international and continental best practices, and strengthened capacity among participants to develop inclusive and coordinated policy approaches. The programme also focused on fostering consensus around data-related reforms and promoting cross-border collaboration.

Organisers emphasised that data has become a strategic asset for innovation, economic growth, digital transformation, and national sovereignty. In this context, the initiative was positioned as a contribution to advancing harmonised and inclusive data governance in alignment with the African Union Data Policy Framework and the Pan-African Data Governance Blueprint developed by Smart Africa.

The workshop reinforced ongoing continental efforts to establish coherent regulatory and policy environments that can support Africa’s evolving digital economy while ensuring responsible and secure data use across member states.