INDIA'S ROLE IN AFRICA'S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The digital revolution is fundamentally reshaping how nations approach development, governance, and economic growth. As Africa stands at the threshold of unprecedented digital transformation, India emerges as a natural partner, offering both experience and technological solutions that could accelerate the continent's journey toward a digitally empowered future. With India's proven track record in building digital public infrastructure and Africa's vast potential for technological upsurge, this partnership represents one of the most promising South-South collaborations of the 21st century.

- By Chigo Udensi

India's Digital Transformation Journey

India's digital transformation story is remarkable. India's digital economy grew 2.4 times faster than the economy between 2014 and 2019, generating around 62.4 million jobs. the size of the digital economy has grown from $107.7 billion in 2014 to $222.5 billion in 2019.1 Newly digitizing sectors, including agriculture, education, energy, financial services, healthcare, logistics, and retail, as well as government services and labour markets, could each create $10 billion to $150 billion of incremental economic value in 2025 as digital applications in these sectors help raise output, save costs and time, reduce fraud, and improve matching of demand and supply.2 The Digital India initiative, launched in 2015, created a comprehensive framework that transformed government services, financial inclusion, and digital infrastructure. The cornerstone of India's success lies in its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), a set of foundational digital systems that enable secure interactions between people, businesses and governments. India, through India Stack, became the first country to develop all three foundational DPIs: digital identity (Aadhaar), real-time fast payment (UPI) and a platform to safely share personal data. India's UPI processes over 12 billion transactions monthly, while Aadhaar covers over 1.3 billion citizens, making it the world's largest biometric identity system.3 While smaller nations like Estonia and Singapore achieved digital excellence through favourable demographics and resources, India demonstrated that large-scale digital transformation is possible with limited resources and vast diversity, making it particularly relevant for African nations facing similar challenges.

India's Digital Footprint in Africa