The benefits of public-private partnerships in the delivery of non-digital infrastructure and services have been well documented. However, for the digital sector, the joint-venture model of public-private partnerships could offer African governments a way to accelerate digital transformation with both the advantages provided by public ownership and the efficiency offered by the private sector. Well-structured joint ventures enable African governments to de-risk digital projects, attract qualified talent, build trust among stakeholders to accelerate uptake of the joint venture’s output and promote local ownership and participation. For this model to be successful, governments need to work on strengthening rule of law, take on the burden of first loss from the private sector, negotiate for the private partner to contribute to building local talent and create opportunities for local ownership by enabling local investment in the joint venture.
