Contents
Introduction
Africa’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2020–2030) places digital inclusion at the core of the continent’s development agenda. In parallel, India has evolved from a donor-recipient dynamic to a collaborative development partner rooted in mutual respect and shared growth. A new India-Africa digital compact, anchored in co-development and long-term institutional partnerships, offers a scalable model for digital transformation that is inclusive, adaptable, and sustainable.
Digital Compact: India’s Strengths and Africa’s Aspirations
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—Aadhaar, UPI, CoWIN, and DIKSHA—has demonstrated how open-source, population-scale digital platforms can transform governance, financial inclusion, and service delivery. This model is increasingly attractive to African nations that seek digital solutions without falling into dependency on proprietary or surveillance-oriented technologies.
Recent partnerships underscore this convergence:
- Togo’s MoU with IIIT-B for digital ID systems,
- Zambia’s Smart Zambia Initiative supported by India,
- Namibia and Ghana exploring UPI-like payment systems,
- The launch of IIT Madras’ Zanzibar campus offering advanced degrees in AI and Data Science.
These initiatives reflect Africa’s recognition of India’s approach as affordable, interoperable, and non-extractive, focused on empowerment over control.
Scalability and Localization: Core Pillars of the Compact
- Affordability and Open-Source Models: India’s DPI is offered as a digital public good, allowing African countries to adopt and modify systems like UPI and Aadhaar without incurring heavy licensing costs.
- Capacity-Building and Skilling: The Zanzibar campus is a strategic model of techno-educational diplomacy, offering human capital development aligned with African digital goals. India’s ITEC and e-ITEC programmes also continue to train thousands of African professionals in digital governance.
- State-Led Customization: India’s digital diplomacy promotes local ownership. African governments are encouraged to adapt Indian platforms based on their own legal, socio-cultural, and economic frameworks—ensuring contextual relevance.
- Sustainable Infrastructure: The compact must also account for the energy requirements of digital expansion, advocating for coordinated investments in renewable energy and grid upgrades to address Africa’s power deficits.
Challenges
Despite promise, significant barriers remain:
- High cost of devices and data,
- Rural-urban digital divide,
- Gender-based disparities in digital access,
- Energy constraints that impede infrastructure deployment.
India and African nations must work collaboratively on holistic solutions, including public-private partnerships, concessional financing, and knowledge-sharing to bridge these divides.
Implications for Bilateral Relations
- Strategic Partnership Beyond Aid: The digital compact redefines the India-Africa relationship—from transactional to transformational—based on shared sovereignty, not patronage.
- Counterbalance to China and the West: Unlike China’s infrastructure-heavy, debt-financed digital presence, India’s offer of open-source, people-centric technology presents a more sustainable and less extractive model.
- Soft Power and Global South Leadership: By championing digital inclusion through South-South cooperation, India bolsters its global image as a techno-developmental partner, strengthening its leadership in forums like the G20, BRICS, and AU-G20.
Conclusion
A new India-Africa digital compact has the potential to become a globally replicable model for inclusive digital transformation. Rooted in mutual trust, co-creation, and sustainable development, it can advance Africa’s digital aspirations while deepening strategic and people-to-people ties between the two regions. Such a compact is not just a tool for digital access—it is a blueprint for a just and empowered digital future.
