“Data isn’t just useful; it’s essential. Nowhere is this more true than in Africa, where governments face the monumental task of delivering services efficiently and equitably,” shares Prof. Eldrid Jordaan, CEO at Suppple, ahead of the Innovate Africa Symposium in Kigali, Rwanda, this week.
Governance, like healthcare, should be guided by accurate, timely information. Governments’ ability to deliver public goods and services (such as electricity, policing, waste removal, and schooling) is an exercise in resource allocation and logistical precision. Like a body, a community functions best when all parts get what they need to survive and thrive. Just as a doctor diagnoses a patient with the most relevant information at hand, service delivery needs to be based on real-time data.
However, in many cases, public services suffer from a lack of accurate data, outdated systems, and slow planning processes, leading to delays and inefficiencies that could have otherwise been avoided.
Data-informed decision-making for African citizens
“Thankfully, with advances in technology, our ability to make informed decisions is rapidly improving, and this is beginning to extend into public service delivery at all levels of governance. Governments can now harness big data to monitor real-time needs and allocate resources accordingly. South Africa’s recent publication of the National Data and Cloud Policy is a strong example of this shift, signalling the government’s intent to embrace up-to-date, data-informed decision-making across various sectors,” adds Jordaan.
“This move towards digitization has the potential to transform how African governments deliver services, but it also raises significant questions about who controls this critical data. Should foreign companies dominate the digital infrastructure of African nations, essentially holding veto power over the continent’s data? This question speaks to the growing need for data sovereignty – the control of data by African governments, ensuring that data remains in African hands. At the very least, this will help quelm very real fears of abuse by external players.”
Protecting data sovereignty in Africa
However, beyond fears of this overreach concerning our private data, there is very much a case to be made for localising data storage within our borders: in the hands of local governments instead. By partnering or collaborating with local experts, African governments can gain control of decentralised servers and cloud storage options to place African data under the control of trusted parties with no vested interest in the data beyond the fee that is paid for this service.
When African nations control their own data, they can unlock new opportunities for innovation, economic growth, and more effective governance. Data is a vital asset in today’s world, as valuable as any natural resource. By keeping control over that data, African countries can ensure they benefit from the enormous wealth of information produced within their borders.
“We must cultivate a vested interest in ensuring the safety and security of our data, and who it is entrusted with. Why? Because they are just as much the beneficiaries of the use of such data as they are vendors. A strategy that seeks to ensure our capacity to benefit from our own data capital locally is worth investigating without delay,” concludes Jordaan.
