The digital transformation of Africa and the flow of people and goods

In a period in which many African citizens and migrants are not fully aware of their digital rights and do not have the instruments to understand the complexity of data-driven technology, the top-down deployment of new technologies in the African migration policy cycle has caused concerns over the quality of existing regulatory and legal systems as well as worries about the risk of exacerbating persistent forms of marginalization. Against this backdrop, this chapter adopts an integrated approach to the study of the relationship between digital infrastructures and the movement of people, goods and services from, within and to Africa. First, it offers an overview of the digital transformation in Africa. Second, it studies the movement of people and goods. Based on the best available evidence and in line with key continental and regional policy documents, it identifies four policy priorities: strengthening the digital rights of African citizens; fostering cooperation between African countries on the issue of data protection; considering and recognizing that different degrees of digital literacy exacerbate existing hierarchies; and creating a social and cultural ecosystem for the digitalization of basic services.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Life on Land