Italy-Africa Digital Partnership under the Mattei Plan

By 2050, Africa’s population is expected to reach approximately 2.5 billion. By the end of the 21st century, the continent will account for 40.6 per cent of the world’s working age population, underscoring an urgent need to create at least twenty million new jobs annually. These demographic shifts present both opportunities and challenges for Italy-Africa cooperation under the Mattei Plan, particularly in the digital sector, as the technological and digital transformation has the potential to drive innovation, spur economic growth, empower rural communities, foster continental integration and accelerate progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, Africa’s digital transformation has sparked concern over asymmetric power structures. With majority of digital infrastructure, platforms and services originating either in China, Europe or north America, questions around technological dependency, lack of transparency, data sovereignty and the risks of perpetuating “digital colonialism” have come to the fore. By enhancing digital governance frameworks and investing in targeted capacity-building initiatives, the Italy-Africa digital partnership under Mattei Plan can serve as a catalyst for strengthening African agency.

Paper produced in the framework of the project “Development and Digitalisation in Africa: Italy’s Cooperation Policy and Synergy with EU Plans”.