Mr. Xavier Poisson Gouyou Beauchamps

Digitalization is a growth driver across Africa, including for green jobs and innovation. Digital solutions can also help protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of climate change. At the same time the digital sector is susceptible to climate risks and a growing source of GHG emissions. The roundtable will discuss how governments and the private sector can climate proof digital infrastructure and accelerate sustainable digital development. The event is organized by Smart Africa and World Bank.

The session will aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential benefits and challenges of data-driven intra-trade in Africa, and how to leverage data to increase trade and economic opportunities. It will also explore the role of digital infrastructure and policy frameworks in enabling data-driven intra-trade, and identify opportunities for collaboration and partnership to support the growth of intra-trade and the data economy in Africa.

The Africa data centre market size is expected to cross US$3bn by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of over 12 percent. The sector has witnessed a steady growth in interest from major global cloud service providers such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft and Huawei over the last five years. The Africa green data centre market account for around 10% of the overall data centre market in the region. The region, primarily Africa-based countries, has been slow in adopting efficiency in operations due to lower fund availability. However, investment is expected to grow with more funding flowing into the industry and global operators entering the market.