ECA, Google ink agreement to accelerate digital transformation in Africa

Addis Ababa, February 19, 2024 (FBC) – The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Google LLC, the American search engine company, have stroke an agreement that will see the two institutions foster and accelerate Digital Transformation in Africa, ECA confirmed today.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of Africa Business Forum 2024, which opened today at the ECA Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The agreement was signed by Claver Gatete, the ECA Executive Secretary, and Doron Avni, Google’s VP Government Affairs & Public Policy.

This is milestone is said to be in line with the African Union Digital transformation Strategy for Africa and Google‘s Digital Sprinters Framework.

Note that the 2024 edition of the Africa Business Forum is being held under the theme “Boosting Africa’s transformation through education, science, technology, and innovation”.

The goal of the Forum is to promote an ongoing dialogue between the private and the public sectors in Africa to accelerate collective efforts towards realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union.

Furthermore, the 2024 edition of the Forum is expected to help build a positive momentum for partnerships with private sector to accelerate investment in education, science, technology, and innovation, as a means to boosting the continent’s transformation. The recommendations emanating from this Forum will also form part of Africa’s voice that will be fed into preparatory considerations of the UN Secretary General’s Summit of the Future scheduled to take place in September 2024. The Summit of the Future will bring world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.