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ITU Africa Region Initiatives 2023-2025

The ITU Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC) held in Kigali from 6 to 16 June approved a new set of Regional Initiatives for the period 2023-2025. The Regional Initiatives outlined in the Kigali Action Plan address specific needs for each major region of the world to advance and accelerate digital transformation.

AFR1: Supporting digital transformation to usher in a rapid transition to a digital economy while accelerating innovation in Africa

Objective:

To assist Member States in the Africa region in reaping the full benefits of digital transformation by addressing the existing policy and regulatory challenges and formulating strategies to encourage the development and use of digital technologies in various sectors of the economy and foster innovation.

Taking into consideration the enormous potential of digital technologies to contribute to accelerating countries' socio-economic development, and the Union's vital role to assist in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ITU is called upon to support Member States in the Africa region in building, developing and sustaining digitally based economies.

Expected results

Assistance in developing national digital transformation strategies focusing on enabling policies and regulations to enhance the use of digital technologies in the economy.
Assistance in developing action plans with digital key performance indicators encompassing the adoption of e-applications geared to sustainable development in various aspects of African economies and e-government services.
Assistance in conducting research on the current state of digitalization of industries in Africa, trends and needs, at the regional level.
Building partnerships within the ITU membership to encourage the exchange of best practices and knowledge-sharing in the implementation of digital transformation projects.
Assistance in adopting and implementing relevant standards that are targeted at addressing challenges of interoperability stemming from the disruptive and transformative spread of digital innovation.
Help in designing models and facilitating the financing of digital transformation of economies in Africa, and identification of partnership opportunities to establish sustainable innovation frameworks
Support in designing and implementing a comprehensive and inclusive long-term plan for human and institutional capacity building, as a fundamental pillar to transform the economy into a digitally oriented economy and to guarantee its effective functioning, that takes into consideration upskilling and reskilling of citizens on aspects related to emerging technologies.
Support in establishing centres of excellence and incubators to help nurture and develop innovative ideas and start-ups in Africa.
Development of Member States' capability to promote accessibility in order to improve the development of specialized skills to meet the ICT needs of persons with disabilities and thus enhance their use of digital applications.

AFR2: Implementation and expansion of broadband infrastructures, connectivity and emerging technologies

Objective

To promote the deployment of broadband infrastructures in order to help Member States in Africa ensure that no one is left behind and leverage the full benefits of high-speed and high-quality connectivity and the impact of emerging technologies

Expected results

Assistance in developing national and regional strategic plans, focusing on enabling policies and regulations addressing high-speed, high-quality broadband networks in the region.
Provision of support and sharing of best practices on national broadband strategies and strengthening capacity development; implementing and monitoring national broadband plans to use universal service funds effectively; and developing sustainable financial and operational business models, in order to provide affordable broadband access to unserved and underserved areas.
Development programmes for expanding connectivity to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and businesses in order to support jobs, business growth and economic development.
Development programmes for expanding connectivity to education- and health-related entities, SMEs and businesses and homes and communities in order to enable access to relevant digital content.
Provision of support that will enable the sharing of best practices on financing models as well as the identification of partnership opportunities to enhance high-speed, high-quality broadband.
Assistance in promoting the harmonization of subregional broadband plans so as to ensure equitable access to high-speed, high-quality broadband for all.
Assistance with human capacity development resources, through training programmes, workshops and suchlike, to exchange expertise and to provide persons with disabilities with the platform to participate in and benefit from the emergence of new broadband technologies.
Assistance in extending the regional and continental backbone initiatives to ensure the resilience of submarine cables.
Improved awareness of policy and regulatory frameworks relating to spectrum-management issues in line with ITU decisions, including radio-frequency planning, trading, refarming and sharing, along with spectrum-licensing frameworks for competition, obligations and pricing.
Development, implementation and review of policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, including for network infrastructure protection, construction codes, regulations and technical standards for fibre-to-the-home infrastructure, collaborative construction in civil works, next-generation universal service obligation, infrastructure sharing, and facilitation of right-of-way and site acquisition.
Undertaking the necessary feasibility studies and establishing roadmaps at the national and regional levels for the deployment of emerging technologies with high-speed connectivity, such as 5G-related technologies, as well as capacity building and ecosystem development to support 5G use.
Designing and execution of awareness-raising and measurement campaigns on exposure to electromagnetic fields and safety, as well as on the benefits of wireless technologies, backed up by science and medical recommendations.

AFR3: Building trust, safety and security in the use of telecommunications/information and communication technologies and protection of personal data

Objective

To assist Member States in developing and implementing policies, strategies, standards and mechanisms, as well as human capacity building, to enhance the secu- rity of information systems and networks, ensure the protection of data and people, including vulnerable groups such as children, and guarantee digital trust; to protect information and communication technology (ICT) and its applications.

Expected results

Assistance to Member States in improving their cybersecurity readiness status with respect to the pillars of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index and the goals of the Connect 2030 Agenda.
Support for Member States in assessing, adopting, developing and implementing a regulatory and legislative framework, at the national and regional levels, related to cybersecurity.
Development of a global framework for collaboration and awareness at the regional and subregional levels for nurturing a global culture of cybersecurity and to help consumers better understand and protect against risks.
Assistance in developing content for educating consumers on their rights and responsibilities related to data protection when performing electronic and physical transactions, as well as in the execution of campaigns to raise awareness of cyberthreats, cybersecurity measures and quality of service in the use of ICTs.
Encouraging the sharing of best practices and exchange of knowledge among Member States on the mechanisms to combat cybercrime and cyberthreats.
Support for Member States in establishing and developing national computer incident response teams, and strengthening cooperation mechanisms among them, at the regional and subregional levels.

AFR4: Fostering emerging technologies and innovation ecosystems

Objective

To foster an enabling digital innovation ecosystem that can navigate technological revolutions and the establishment of a sustainable environment conducive to the utilization of emerging technologies and the development of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and start-ups.

Expected results

Assistance in undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the human and institutional capacity and regulatory environment related to digital innovation, emerging technologies and SMMEs, at the national and regional levels.
Support for Member States in developing the necessary legislative and regulatory framework to encourage digital industries and innovation development and the establishment of SMMEs.
Assistance in designing and adopting national strategies and infrastructures, such as innovation and research labs, to usher in the utilization of emerging technologies in the different sectors of the economy.
Support in scaling up digital entrepreneurship and SMMEs through global partnerships focused on achieving national development priorities and in elaborating financing models to ensure the necessary investments for the continuous development and deployment of emerging technologies.
Design of a comprehensive human capacity building framework to upskill and reskill human resources using material related to emerging technologies and digital innovation.
Awareness-raising on the importance of protecting intellectual property and developing relevant regulatory frameworks

ITU Africa Region Initiatives 2023-2025

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