AfriLabs – a pan-African network of innovation hubs – says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Telecommunications Union to fast-track digital innovation across the African continent.
Under the MoU announced on Friday, ATU’s 52 member states will unite with AfriLabs’ ecosystem of over 500 innovation hubs across 53 African countries to drive inclusive technological advancement, empower local solutions, and catalyse transformative economic growth.
AfriLabs said the initiative intends to address the widening gap between Africa’s digital potential and current internet access levels.
According to ATU Secretary General John Omo, some market analysts estimate Africa’s internet economy could reach US$712 billion by 2050, but only 38% of Africa’s total population was online by the end of 2024, marking the lowest penetration rate among regions covered by the International Telecommunication Union.
“Our entrepreneurs have the ideas and resilience; however, they continue to face challenges such as fragmented regulations and limited continental visibility,” Omo said in a joint statement. “This collaboration with AfriLabs seeks to provide a framework that will enable ATU and AfriLabs to address some of these challenges and innovators to concentrate on addressing practical issues rather than bureaucratic hurdles.”
ATU and AfriLabs said they aim to leverage the potential growth in mobile internet adoption over the next five years – particularly for 5G – to incubate solutions tailored to Africa’s diverse markets in the hopes of translating the expected surge in mobile internet connectivity into more digital inclusion.
“By aligning our pan-African network of innovation hubs, innovators and entrepreneurs with the regulatory and institutional influence of ATU, we are laying the groundwork for a future where every entrepreneur, regardless of location, can turn bold ideas into scalable solutions,” said AfriLabs executive director Anna Ekeledo.
Meanwhile, the MoU also includes the establishment of a joint programme for intellectual property (IP) protection and commercialization for African innovators that strengthens the existing IP ecosystem.
ATU and AfriLabs added that the agreement is aligned with the African Union’s goal to boost internet penetration to 80% by 2030 under its Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020-2030.
