About Us

About Africa's Digital Economy

Forum (ADEF)

If you want to learn more about us, you’re in the right place. Read to learn what we do and how we do it.

Africa is gradually making its transition to technology-enabled economies. In the last two decades, the continent has witnessed a rash of investments, policies and regulations targeting to improve the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure environment. The results have been a mix of blessings and disappointments. But Africa marches on.

Steady flow of investments helped by improving policy and regulatory environments have helped to upscale the ICT sector into a digital boom. There is a conscious drive in governments to lay the foundations for a vibrant digital economy driven by millions of the continents young innovative youths

By consensual estimate, Africa’s digital economy will hover over $300 billion by 2025. Increasing digitalization of the economy is creating expansive opportunities across sectors with greater potential for more inclusive growth development.

Africa is at the verge of new unfettered opportunities leveraging technology and innovation – fully capitalizing on the expected boom in the digital economy.

There are inherent opportunities for digital economy in such common policy drive as the Continental Free Trade Area and the World Bank-supported African Union’s ‘moonshot’ project (designed to ensure high-speed connectivity across the entire continent).

To fully tap into these opportunities, the Africa Digital Economy Forum (ADEF) believes the continent must rework its policy and regulatory frameworks to provide the required sustainable environment for new ICT investment that will enhance connectivity, create innovative enterprises, provide digital skills, and generally improve the lives of over 1.5 billion Africans.

ADEF will engage and collaborate with stakeholders which includes governments, private sector, academics, national and international bodies, etc, to promote frameworks to maximize the potential dividends of a thriving digital economy beneficial to all Africans.

OUR OBJECTIVES

To work for the development of Africa’s digital economy
To create a synergy between the African tech, government & policy makers and other stakeholders to provide connectivity infrastructures necessary for digital economy
To expand the window for engagements between industry stakeholders in order to advance the benefits of digital economy to all citizens
To encourage development and promotion of innovations, e-commerce and the startup ecosystem
To encourage investment in creating digital identity, data privacy, and identity related projects as part of expanding opportunities in digital economy
To assist in the process of promoting affordable data, underprivileged children, young people, adults and families
To endorse the human rights and in particular the rights of the children and young people as well as the rights of underprivileged groups and communities
To encourage and popularised voluntary work in respect of promoting digital economy across the continent

Mission

ADEF is fully committed to the expansion of connectivity, access to affordable data, promotion of innovation and full digitization of African nations’ economies as the basis for development.