Strengthening the Digital Partnership Between Africa and Europe

The policy brief examines the current state of digitalization in Africa and Europe, highlighting a significant digital divide where only 28.2% of Africans used the internet in 2019 compared to 82.5% of Europeans. It identifies key barriers including connectivity gaps, funding shortfalls, and fragmented regulatory frameworks. To strengthen the AU-EU partnership, the authors recommend prioritizing Digital4Development (D4D), establishing a digital single market in Africa via the AfCFTA, enhancing STEM education and digital skills, and collaborating on data sovereignty and digital taxation.

• There is a stark disparity in internet penetration between the two regions; as of 2019, only 28.2 per cent of Africans used the internet, while 82.5 per cent of Europeans did.
• Africa faces severe connectivity challenges, with 700 million people lacking internet access and approximately 300 million living more than 50 kilometers away from a fiber or cable broadband connection.
• The EU's digital competitiveness is hindered by a global market share that is lower than that of China or the US, leading to a need for increased innovation to reduce dependence on external technologies.
• The African Union's Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030) aims to create a digital single market by 2030 to achieve economies of scale and attract investment.
• The EU-AU Digital Economy Task Force (DETF), established in 2019, focuses on four primary pillars: digital infrastructure and broadband access, digital skills, digital entrepreneurship, and e-services such as e-health and e-government.
• Critical gaps in Africa's digital readiness include a lack of high-end programming skills for entrepreneurs and a lack of government capability to design necessary regulatory frameworks.
• The document recommends that the AU and EU collaborate on digital taxation, specifically exploring approaches based on a percentage of actual profit and providing financial incentives for SMEs and start-ups.

APA

Webmaster (2020). Strengthening the Digital Partnership Between Africa and Europe. African Center for Economic Transformation. https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/strengthening-the-digital-partnership-between-africa-and-europe/

Chicago

Webmaster. Strengthening the Digital Partnership Between Africa and Europe. African Center for Economic Transformation, 2020. https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/strengthening-the-digital-partnership-between-africa-and-europe/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Webmaster |title=Strengthening the Digital Partnership Between Africa and Europe |publisher=African Center for Economic Transformation |date=3 November 2020 |url=https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/strengthening-the-digital-partnership-between-africa-and-europe/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{webmaster2020strengthening, author = {Webmaster}, title = {{Strengthening the Digital Partnership Between Africa and Europe}}, institution = {African Center for Economic Transformation}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/strengthening-the-digital-partnership-between-africa-and-europe/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }