African Development Fund, Smart Africa Alliance launch digital trade policy project

The African Development Fund and Smart Africa Alliance have jointly launched a USD 1.5 million project to streamline digital trade and e-commerce policies in ten African countries. The Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-Border Trade Project (IDECT) will evaluate policy gaps in Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Republic of Congo, Sao Tome & Principe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The project will implement regional training and capacity-building programs focusing on cross-border e-payments and e-commerce for governments, private sectors, and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The schemes are expected to reach 600 participants, 60 percent of them women and young people. There will be certificated training in the problems specifically faced by women in digital trade and e-commerce, which will be developed and disseminated to 2,500 participants.

African Development Bank director-general for Southern Africa Region Leila Mokaddem, described the IDECT as a pivotal step towards strengthening Africa’s digital trade and e-commerce sectors. Mokaddem said it will bolster harmonized e-payment policies, capacity building, and sex equality-sensitive frameworks.