The nascent digital economy in Africa presents both opportunities for indigenous innovation and development as well as challenges that have the potential to worsen expected gains. This working paper gives an overview of the critical challenges and opportunities for developing sustainable data governance frameworks in the region. Geopolitical technology rivalry is enhancing African agency, which is defined as the ability of African actors to negotiate and bargain with external actors in a manner that benefits Africans. Evidence suggests that more needs to be done to include public input in African digital policy development processes by engaging with diverse stakeholders to ensure that data governance frameworks reflect a broad range of perspectives. Multi-stakeholder dialogues involving government, civil society, academia and the private sector are essential to shaping the future of data governance on the continent.
