Development of a Policy Brief and Guidelines for the Data Policy Framework

The Project at A Glance

Africa is poised to grasp great benefit from digitalisation, with several business models fuelled by wealth of data that is being generated by citizens, government entities and industries.

International Economics Consulting Ltd (IEC)’s CEO developed a policy brief containing guidelines to facilitate the responsible, secure, and equitable use of data in trade agreements and negotiations of the AfCFTA Protocols on E-Commerce and Digital Trade.

The project was implemented within the GFA under the GIZ DataCipation programme with a financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

What We Found

The importance of data as a strategic asset is becoming more widely acknowledged. The value of data markets in Africa is estimated to reach over USD 3 billion by 2025, growing by over 12% between 2019 and 2025 (Koigi, 2020). The sector received investments of USD 2.6 billion in 2021 (Research and Markets, 2022). Data has been increasingly contributing to digital and technological transformations by fuelling new business models.

The Africa Data Policy Framework, approved on February 5, 2022, sets out common vision, principles, strategic priorities and key recommendations to guide AU Member States in developing their national data systems and capabilities to effectively derive value from data. It is anticipated that data will also be a crucial factor of the AfCTA Protocol on E-Commerce and Digital Trade which is under development.

Our Strategy and Impact

To facilitate the responsible, secure, and fair use of data in trade agreements, our team developed a policy brief in support of the AU Commission. This document emphasised the data-related factors that should be considered during the AfCFTA’s second phase of discussions regarding digital goods and services.

Our Team mapped existing guidelines that have shown to be helpful to support and guide the responsible and equitable use of data relevant to trade agreements, including the AfCFTA protocols on E-Commerce and Digital Trade. The completed guidelines were presented to the AU Member States during a workshop in order to provide more understanding on approach to integrating provisions on data and cross border data flows in the digital trade protocols to enable transnational online activities.

Our Core Solutions

International Economics Consulting provides advice and solutions on some of the latest emerging trends in e-commerce and digital trade such as paperless trading, e-payments, online consumer protection and data protection. We assist governments and businesses worldwide in creating an enabling environment for e-commerce and digital trade, to maximise economic growth and development.