Across the globe, regions are transforming rapidly: Latin America’s fintech sector saw funding surge 73% in 2024, cementing its role as a financial innovation hub, while Southeast Asia’s expanding AI talent pool accelerates cross-border collaboration. This tech-driven globalization, with a sharp focus on sustainability, is fostering unprecedented inclusivity, dynamism and interconnectedness.
The African region stands at the heart of this transformation, serving as a testing ground for innovative green growth guided by the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2020–2030). Projections show Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth at 3.5% in 2025 and 4.3% from 2026 to 2027. Integration into global value chains, however, remains below 15% of GDP, a critical bottleneck highlighting the vast untapped potential and the urgent structural challenges the region must overcome to fully realize its digital and green transformation.
With 18% of the world’s population and a median age of 19, Africa has a young, fast-growing workforce. Nigeria alone holds 2.8% of the world’s population, representing untapped demographic potential. Its abundant reserves of cobalt, lithium, graphite and rare earths are foundational for digital and green industries. As AI and digital demand soar, investment in cloud and resilient, sustainable energy systems becomes essential for Africa’s ambitions. Digital transformation and green investment are converging to reshape Africa’s economic future.
Only 37% of Africa’s population was online in 2023, far below the global average of 67%, highlighting the need for accelerated digital inclusion, but there are signs that this is already happening. By 2030, projections show Sub-Saharan Africa will have 751 million unique mobile subscribers. Kenya’s M-Pesa serves over 40 million users and is expanding regionally. Ghana and Nigeria are leveraging digital IDs and AI platforms to boost agricultural productivity and food security.
On the green front, Morocco’s Noor Solar Complex and Rwanda’s renewable energy initiatives lead, while Ethiopia’s eco-industrial parks model low-carbon, sustainable supply chains. Rwanda’s Zipline drones deliver medical supplies to remote clinics, slashing delivery times and reducing blood wastage by two-thirds. And, in Nigeria, payments infrastructure provider Flutterwave processes over 500,000 daily transactions for more than one million businesses and is valued at $3 billion.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its Digital Trade Protocol are foundational for Africa’s digital era. Full implementation could lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and boost continental income by $450 billion by 2035.
Massive investments in broadband, cloud and digital infrastructure, alongside regulatory harmonization and cross-border interoperability, fuel this progress. Public-private partnerships are expanding subsea cables, fibre and data centres across major markets.
Tech initiatives, like 2Africa and Equiano, are boosting broadband and enabling 5G. Pan-African efforts, such as Smart Africa Alliance and the African Union’s Data Policy Framework, are aligning digital regulations and enabling cross-border data flows, accelerating integration into global digital value chains. While connectivity and energy constraints persist, Africa’s coordinated digital policies, inspired by successful Asian and Latin American strategies, are driving inclusive growth, including in rural areas.
A Guest Editorial