• Smart Africa and Ascend Digital Solutions are piloting the Smart Africa Data Exchange (SADX) in Benin, Ghana, and Rwanda to enable secure cross-border data sharing and digital ID verification.

• Under the Smart Africa Trust Alliance (SATA), the platform supports mutual recognition of digital IDs, aiming to improve access to services like banking and healthcare and move toward a Single Digital Market by 2030.

• Despite progress, only 21 of 55 African countries have signed the AU’s cyber and data protection convention, with 16 ratifying it—highlighting the need for stronger legal alignment to support digital growth.

Smart Africa has entered a partnership with Ascend Digital Solutions Ltd. to pilot the Smart Africa Data Exchange (SADX), a platform designed to facilitate secure and scalable cross-border data exchange and digital identity verification across the continent. The agreement was formalised during the Transform Africa Summit (TAS) 2025, held in Conakry, Guinea, from November 12 to 14.

The SADX pilot will be implemented in Benin, Ghana, and Rwanda under the framework of the Smart Africa Trust Alliance (SATA), a regional initiative launched to promote interoperability of digital identities and data systems among African nations. The pilot aims to address the persistent challenge of fragmented national digital systems, which currently impede cross-border trade, services, and mobility.

SADX is positioned as a digital public infrastructure built on open standards, intended to support trusted transactions and data flows between countries. The platform will initially focus on use cases such as identity registration, which is expected to facilitate access to digital services for citizens across borders. The alliance enables mutual recognition of digital identities, allowing citizens to use their national IDs for services such as banking, healthcare, and e-commerce in participating countries.

The initiative is seen as a step toward the realisation of a Single Digital Market in Africa by 2030. According to estimates by the International Finance Corporation and Google, the continent’s digital economy could reach $180 billion by 2025, contributing 5.2% to Africa’s GDP, and potentially growing to $712 billion, or 8.5% of GDP, by 2050.

Despite growing momentum toward digital integration, regulatory harmonisation remains uneven across the continent. While initiatives like the Smart Africa Trust Alliance (SATA) aim to bridge interoperability gaps, the broader legal landscape still presents challenges. @As of 2024, only 21 out of 55 African countries have signed the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, with just 16 having ratified it.

This underscores the need for accelerated policy alignment to support secure cross-border digital services and data flows. The pilot in the three African countries is expected to serve as a proof of concept, potentially leading to broader adoption across Smart Africa’s 42 member states.

Hikmatu Bilali