Africa Europe

“This project is not just about technology; it is about the future success of our entire region. It represents a strategic move towards creating an interoperable regional digital market that will drive innovation, economic growth, and inclusive development. By fostering digital trade and integrating technology into key sectors such as e-commerce, data governance, and cybersecurity, we aim to transform lives across East Africa and create a competitive edge for our region in the global economy” she added.

Speaking during the event, Marc Stalmans, EU Head of Cooperation, highlighted the success of previous engagements and the EU’s ongoing commitment to supporting digital transformation in East Africa. "Today’s event follows last year’s EU-EAC Regional Conference on Digital Transformation, which launched our joint efforts toward an inclusive, human-centric digital transformation. The discussions led to a Digital Roadmap with key milestones, shaping the Safe Digital Boost for Africa initiative, a program we are proud to finance that will support digital economy activities" he said.

D4D Hub Deputy Coordinator for Africa, Hussein Jaffar, emphasized the role of the D4D Hub as a platform to identify synergies and support the co-creation of joint European initiatives based on extensive bilateral and multilateral cooperation experience between Africa, the EU and its Member States. “Coordinated and simultaneous action in key areas of digital transformation is crucial in a dynamic region with a fast growth in digitalisation,” he said.

The conference hosted deep dive sessions on e-Commerce & Payment, e-Governance, cybersecurity and national-regional inter-linkages. The sessions facilitated a co-design approach and brought out key recommendations in the areas for collaboration.

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SOURCE European External Action