Preparing the Ground for the West Africa Internet Governance Forum: A review of Internet public policy interests and processes in selected countries in the region

The report examines the state of ICT and Internet policy in West Africa, highlighting the transition from state-led telecommunications to private-sector-driven growth. It details a survey conducted across seven West African countries and Kenya, which reveals overwhelming support for national multi-stakeholder Internet governance forums (IGFs). The findings emphasize that while mobile penetration has grown rapidly, significant gaps remain in broadband access, digital literacy, and regional interconnectivity. The document argues for a holistic policy approach that integrates Internet governance with sustainable development goals, including environmental stewardship and e-governance, while advocating for a shift from top-down government control to inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue.

• There is overwhelming support among surveyed stakeholders for the creation of national multi-stakeholder Internet governance forums (IGFs) to discuss policy, with 91% of respondents favoring such a mechanism.
• While mobile phone penetration has increased significantly across Africa, reaching 41 per cent by 2010, fixed broadband subscription rates have remained largely stagnant at 0.1 per cent between 2005 and 2010.
• The most critical priorities for Internet policy in West Africa are access, security, privacy, and the prevention of abuse/misuse, though intellectual property rights and critical Internet resources are of less immediate concern.
• There is a strong consensus that the responsibility for the domestic evolution of the Internet should be shared among government, the private sector, technical developers, and users, although 29% believe it should be the government's sole responsibility.
• Stakeholders expressed high concern regarding the environmental impact of ICTs, specifically citing e-waste, the extraction of raw materials, and carbon emissions from equipment.
• West African countries face significant infrastructure challenges, including a lack of regional Internet backbones and a shortage of domestic Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), with only Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Nigeria possessing them.
• Privatization and liberalization of telecommunications in West Africa have yielded mixed results; Senegal is cited as a success due to the privatization of Sonatel, whereas processes in Nigeria and Ghana were hampered by political interference and poor regulatory legitimacy.
• Regional efforts to harmonize policy are led by ECOWAS and WATRA, with ECOWAS passing acts on cybercrime and personal data protection in 2008 to address legal voids.

APA

Akoh, B., Egede-Nissen, B., MacLean, D., & Creech, H. (2011). Preparing the Ground for the West Africa Internet Governance Forum: A review of Internet public policy interests and processes in selected countries in the region. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/preparing_the_ground_west_africa_internet_gov.pdf

Chicago

Akoh, Ben, Bjørnar Egede-Nissen, Don MacLean, and Heather Creech. Preparing the Ground for the West Africa Internet Governance Forum: A review of Internet public policy interests and processes in selected countries in the region. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/preparing_the_ground_west_africa_internet_gov.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Akoh |first1=Ben |last2=Egede-Nissen |first2=Bjørnar |last3=MacLean |first3=Don |last4=Creech |first4=Heather |title=Preparing the Ground for the West Africa Internet Governance Forum: A review of Internet public policy interests and processes in selected countries in the region |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/preparing_the_ground_west_africa_internet_gov.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{akoh2011preparing, author = {Akoh, Ben and Egede-Nissen, Bjørnar and MacLean, Don and Creech, Heather}, title = {{Preparing the Ground for the West Africa Internet Governance Forum: A review of Internet public policy interests and processes in selected countries in the region}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/preparing_the_ground_west_africa_internet_gov.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }