Digital technology has become strategic infrastructure in Africa, shaping state capacity, business competitiveness, investment attractiveness, and service quality. Without reliable digital identities, interoperable payments, secure registries, and accessible services, technological transformation remains fragmented, even as artificial intelligence advances globally. The World Bank has set the goal of universal digital enablement by 2030, yet only 38% of Africans used the internet in 2024, underscoring the vast potential for growth dependent on infrastructure quality.
Italy’s Mattei Plan has introduced a new approach by placing digital technology at the center of its engagement with Africa, linking it to economic sovereignty, industrial growth, and institutional modernization. Through alignment with the European Global Gateway, initiatives such as the Blue Raman Cable and the AI Hub for Sustainable Development highlight Italy’s role as a driver of Europe’s digital projection in Africa. The Digital Flagship of the Mattei Plan, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNDP Rome Centre, is working with countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Senegal, and Ghana to co-create projects tailored to national priorities.
For the private sector, digital public infrastructure reduces risk, lowers transaction costs, and enables efficient operations. It facilitates payments, credit access, regulatory compliance, and market development. Where such infrastructure is absent, businesses face fragmentation and inefficiency. Human capital is equally critical, as African countries need skills to sustain digital transformation. Italy is contributing by mobilizing its industrial expertise, universities, research centers, and financial actors to support skills development and innovation ecosystems.
The Digital Flagship is more than a sectoral program; it is a partnership platform aligning Italy’s strategic interests with Africa’s development priorities. At the European level, it strengthens Italy’s role in shaping initiatives within the Global Gateway framework and enhances its visibility in the Team Europe approach. The UNDP Rome Centre plays a pivotal role by connecting Italian priorities with multilateral capacity and partner country needs, ensuring projects are bankable and implementable.
Ultimately, the initiative reflects Italy’s shift from isolated projects to building ecosystems, infrastructures, and value chains. Digital technology is both a tool and a multiplier, modernizing administrations, enabling services, and creating space for capital and innovation. By investing in Africa’s digital public infrastructure, Italy is helping define the markets, standards, and value chains of tomorrow, positioning itself as a key actor in the continent’s technological and economic transformation.
