The United Nations Development Programme is launching the Africa Accelerator for Digital Public Infrastructure, a new initiative designed to help African countries build sovereign, scalable and inclusive digital public infrastructure. The initiative is being introduced during UN Open Source Week 2026 and will be presented alongside a policy paper on how digital public infrastructure can support inclusive growth and prosperity across Africa.
The Africa Accelerator for Digital Public Infrastructure will provide countries with technical expertise, institutional strengthening, policy support and investment facilitation. Its goal is to help governments move beyond fragmented pilot projects and develop digital systems that can support high-value public and private sector services at scale.
The initiative comes at a time when many countries are exploring digital public infrastructure as a foundation for better service delivery, regional integration and economic development. In Africa, governments are increasingly looking for systems that are open, modular and locally controlled instead of relying on proprietary platforms that may create high costs, vendor lock-in and limited national ownership.
Open-source digital public infrastructure is seen as an important pathway for countries with limited resources to build secure and adaptable digital ecosystems. Systems based on open standards can allow governments to own, modify and expand their infrastructure locally while sharing resources and avoiding repeated investments in similar technologies.
The UNDP initiative will also support digital sovereignty by helping countries keep critical data and systems under national control. This approach is expected to improve security, strengthen economic resilience and give governments greater flexibility in managing digital transformation.
The launch event, titled Advancing Digital Public Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth in Africa, will take place on June 26 during UN Open Source Week. Discussions will focus on the role of digital public infrastructure in expanding inclusive growth, improving public service delivery and supporting regional integration across the continent.
UNDP has played a significant role in supporting digital public infrastructure development across the Global South through financial resources, technical assistance and policy guidance. Through the new Africa-focused accelerator, the organisation aims to help countries build digital systems that are open, sovereign, inclusive and responsive to national development priorities.
