Digital Trade, Data Governance, and the African Digital Single Market
Efficient intra-regional trade and supply chain management relies on the smooth flow of goods, services, capital, and data — thus cross- border movement of data is essential to many aspects of e-commerce and digital trade.
Efficient intra-regional trade and supply chain management relies on the smooth flow of goods, services, capital, and data — thus cross- border movement of data is essential to many aspects of e-commerce and digital trade. But, digital trade and e-commerce do not exist in isolation, they require several complex cross-cutting considerations for regulatory convergence, harmonisation of legal frameworks, internet governance, information and communications technology (ICT) policy reform, and strategic regional ICT infrastructure investments and implementation, to name a few.
The realisation of a secure, rights-respecting, just , and transformative data -driven African digital single market (DSM) requires governing data and protecting privacy in a mutually reinforcing manner which simultaneously balances creating the requisite digital trade and e-commerce enablers, whilst upholding the right to meaningful connectivity, and security for a thriving data economy.
Further reading can be found here and here.