e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program for African officials

The e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program has the following goals:

1. Facilitate experience-sharing in the development and implementation of digital solutions between Russian and African institutions;

2. Ensure the transfer of Russian expertise, technologies, and best practices of public administration to Africa;

3. Prepare annual expert and analytical reports on e-governance, using statistical data and infographics to illustrate the features of e-government systems in African countries, their achievements, and their challenges;

4. Contribute to the implementation of the Declaration of the Second Russia-Africa Summit 2023, the African Agenda 2063, as well as the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020-2030;

5. Strengthen the digital sovereignty of African governments through the dissemination of best practices and improvement of public administration systems;

6. Develop new bilateral and multilateral trade and economic ties between Russia and African countries.

E-governance is one of the priority areas for the development of African countries. Taking into account resource constraints, the development of information and communication technologies is one of the ways to address socio-economic challenges. The importance of investing in the development of online government services has been emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many African states, intergovernmental organizations, and the African Union have prioritized working in this field and adopted ambitious digitalisation strategies, including the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030), Agenda 2063, and national plans aimed at ensuring equal access to public services and eliminating the digital gap. 

Nevertheless, as of 2022, Africa had the lowest number of fixed broadband subscribers among other regions (9 million), while Asia-Pacific had the highest (848 million). At the same time, the level of telecommunications infrastructure development has a direct impact on citizen engagement and the speed of government service delivery. According to the latest United Nations e-Government Survey 2024, the average value of the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) in Africa is 0.45.

For a long time, the digitalisation process in Africa was outside-driven, provided by external actors, with the relative weakness of local governments. Today, however, digitalisation in African countries has entered a new stage, with governments taking a more proactive approach and seeking to gain more control over the ICT sector. This means that countries are gradually acquiring digital sovereignty, i.e., the ability to make independent decisions on ICT development in the country based on accumulated and transferred experience and national interests.

Russia is one of the leaders in terms of the level of e-governance. Its E-Government Development Index (EGDI) in 2024 was 0.8532, which means an increase of 0.037 from 2022. Russia's GovTech Maturity Index, according to the World Bank, was 0.897, placing the country among the top ten countries in terms of the level of e-governance. This allows describing Russian e-government as developed and self-sufficient, independent of foreign technologies.

In this regard, the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program may become useful for the development of Russian-African cooperation in the field of information technologies.

In the first half of 2023, the e-Governance Knowledge Hub was launched with the support of the “Innopraktika” company. This is an electronic platform for posting information on projects implemented under the Program. It also provides interactive country profiles demonstrating the successes of digitalisation in African countries, analytics on challenges and their possible solutions offered, among others, by innovative Russian companies. The platform also provides a registration form for Program participants.

The concept of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program was first presented in 2022 at a round table at the XXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development in the presence of African diplomats and experts. They emphasized the similarity of the problems faced by their countries with those that are already being successfully solved in Russia. They also expressed interest in knowledge & experience sharing in the field of state building and were willing to join HSE University in the Program’s implementation.  

The round table "Russia-Africa Sharing Knowledge" at the site of the XIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development

On December 15, 2022, at the round table “Russia-Africa: Digital Transformation of Public Administration” several reports were presented on the prospects of cooperation with African countries in the digital markets. The experts also discussed suggestions regarding the contents of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program.

On July 28, 2023, on the site of the Second Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program was finally presented. On the "Knowledge Sharing: Exchange of Experience in the Field of e-Governance" round table, Andrey Maslov, Director of the Center for African Studies, spoke about the experts' intention to hold online and offline educational events, including lectures, seminars, and problem-oriented case studies. During the discussion between the participants – Russian and African civil servants – the vectors of cooperation and plans for further implementation of the program were outlined.

"Knowledge Sharing: Exchange of Experience in the Field of e-Governance" round table, the Second Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum

The Winter E-Governance Knowledge Sharing Week for African officials held in Moscow in December 2023 was the most important event of the initial stage of the Program implementation. It was attended by 44 top and middle-level civil servants from 23 African countries, international (UN Economic Commission for Africa) and regional (IGAD, ECCAS) organizations. The school brought together Russian government agencies and officials from leading Russian companies (including Kaspersky Lab, Sberbank, Geoscan and others).

On the sidelines of the Winter e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Week for African officials 

Within the school, “E-Governance in Africa 2024: Opportunities and Challenges”, the first edition of the handbook on e-Governance in Africa, was presented. The publication was greatly appreciated by the participants and experts, including Dr. M. Seck, Head of Innovation and Technology Sector at the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
Among the other events of 2024 was participation in the Africa World Summit on the Information Society (Africa WSIS+20), which took place on October 9-11 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. On its margins, Director Andrey Maslov and Dr. M. Seck exchanged signed copies of the three-year agreement on strategic cooperation in education, science, and technology. The parties also agreed to support the Program, jointly review and amend the architecture of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Hub, participate in events on e-Governance, and plan, prepare, and review the yearly handbook “E-Governance in Africa”.

Signatories to the agreement: Andrey Maslov, Dr. M. Seck

On November 9-10, 2024 the Program delegation took part in the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in Sochi, Sirius University. A profile session “Knowledge Sharing: Capacity Building in e-Governance” was organized, where the issues of digital sovereignty, international cooperation in the field of digital development, as well as the benefits of using digital technologies in public administration were discussed. In general, officials from the UN Economic Commission for Africa, ICT Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Zimbabwe, Angola, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Kenya, Mauritania, Algeria, including 4 Ministers of Information and Communication Technologies participated in the Program events.

The 13th Africa Internet Governance Forum (XIII Africa Internet Governance Forum) was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 20 to 22 November 2024. During the “Capacity Building in E-Governance through Knowledge Sharing” session, organized by the Center, the experts of the Program elaborated on the role of knowledge sharing in developing self-reliant e-governance practices in Africa. In addition to Dr. M. Seck, representatives of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers also participated in the discussion.

The 13th Africa Internet Governance Forum (XIII Africa Internet Governance Forum)

On 10 December 2024 the team of experts of the Program held a series of workshops in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “E-Gov Knowledge Sharing Workshops: Investing in Digitalisation of Public Finance” contained four sessions and brought together representatives of 13 African countries and organizations, Russian official agencies, leading IT companies and experts in the field of e-governance, as well as representatives of 2 international organizations. In total, 34 people attended the event in person (including 13 representatives from 9 African countries) and more than 40 people via videoconference. Since the Russian side was represented by the Federal Tax Service as well as by Russian GNIVC company, Sberbank, Kaspersky Lab, Security Code, Taitan, “Rostec” State Corporation, etc., special attention was paid to the introduction of Russian technologies in the field of e-governance and the development of joint projects and educational programs.

The e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Workshops

From 22 to 25 December 2024, the delegation of the Program visited the Republic of Congo, the African Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence (CARIA). The visit took place at the invitation of Leon Juste Ibombo, the Honorable Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy of the Republic of the Congo. After a personal meeting, the delegates discussed the prospects of CARIA’s and the Ministry’s participation in the e-Governance Knowledge-Sharing Program. The Congolese party mentioned that it would be glad to strengthen partnerships with Russian companies and digital solutions suppliers, as well as start working together for the benefits of digital services.

Meeting of Director A. Maslov with L.J. Ibombo, the Honorable Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy of the Republic of the Congo

At the end of 2024, the second edition of the handbook, “E-Governance in Africa 2025: Balancing Digitalisation and Self-Reliance”, was published. The main issues covered include strategies and regulation in such fields as e-governance, cybersecurity, international cooperation in telecommunications, AI for e-governance development, smart city and IoT technologies, and also the role of African languages in enhancing the effectiveness of digitalisation.

One of the Program’s objectives is the preparation of annual expert-analytical handbooks on e-Governance development in Africa.

The first publication, “E-Governance in Africa 2024: Opportunities and Challenges,” was released in December 2023. The book presents an overview of up-to-date information on e-Governance development in Africa, trends, common challenges, and solutions being implemented in the region.

The publication was reviewed by Dr. Moctar Seck, Head of Innovation and Technology Sector at the UN Economic Commission for Africa:

“We must congratulate Russia for having done this very comprehensive work in a very objective and transparent manner. The data and the book are for Africans. And African students played an important role in the preparation of the book. I’m pleased to announce that for the next edition, we’ll be working together to cover all African countries.”

At 153 pages, the guide contains 10 chapters, 43 country timelines, and 55 infographic illustrations.

The second edition of the handbook, “E-Governance in Africa 2025: Balancing Digitalisation and Self-Reliance,” was prepared by Program experts and released in December 2024. It is based on the first edition and the chapter “African Quest for Digital Sovereignty” from the “Africa 2025: Prospects and Challenges” book.

The handbook provides an in-depth analysis of the digital sovereignty of African countries in the process of their technological transformation. It assesses foreign influence on digitalisation processes and analyzes the role of corporations in data storage. The publication aims to foster dialogue and stimulate international cooperation efforts among the key stakeholders.

In both publications, illustrative infographics and statistics taken from official sources are provided

54 country timelines illustrate the chronology of e-Governance development in Africa