Vice President Kamala Harris is declaring the formation of a new alliance to assist in bringing internet connectivity to 80% of Africa by 2030, an increase from the current 40%.
The statement on Friday is a follow-up to Harris’s trip to the continent in the previous year, which coincided with Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to Washington this week.
At the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Harris was supposed to speak with the Kenyan leader over a fireside conversation about how public-private partnerships may boost economic growth.
An early look at Harris’s projects, obtained by The Associated Press, shows how she intends to carry out the promises she made during her trips to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia to advance digital innovation.
Laptops 1000Africa had difficulty obtaining the funding to develop its technology and industrial sectors.
According to a UN report from the previous year, foreign direct investment on the continent decreased from a record high of $80 billion in 2021 to $45 billion in 2022.
Despite making up over 18% of the world’s population, Africa only received 3.5% of foreign direct investment globally.
In addition to establishing the nonprofit Partnership for Digital Access in Africa to enhance internet connectivity, Democratic Congressman Martin Harris is launching a new programme intended to provide 100 million Africans with access to the digital economy, particularly for those in the agricultural sector.
The African Development Bank Group will assist in forming the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy Alliance, or MADE, along with Mastercard and other organizations. Before going nationwide, the coalition will launch a trial programme to provide 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria with internet access.
In addition, Harris—the first female vice president of the United States—announces that over $1 billion in public and private commitments have been made as part of the Women in the Digital Economy initiative to close the gender gap in technology access, with certain U.S. contributions still awaiting congressional approval.
