World Bank: Why Africa does not own its digital future

World Bank warns Africa risks losing control of its digital future to foreign software vendors. [iStockphoto]

Africa risks ceding control of its digital future to foreign vendors as it remains heavily dependent on imported proprietary software, the World Bank has warned.

The World Bank's Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) initiative, launched in 2018, identified the continent's reliance on externally controlled technology platforms as a structural barrier to digital sovereignty, warning that vendor lock-in limits system flexibility and delays innovation cycles.

The concern comes as open-source software (OSS) cements its position as the global standard for enterprise technology.

The Linux Foundation's World of Open-Source Global Spotlight 2023 report found that over 90 per cent of organisations worldwide had adopted OSS at least moderately, with such systems forming the backbone of modern banking, telecommunications and cloud infrastructure.

Africa's engagement with that shift, however, has largely been reactive. Institutions across the continent turn to open-source alternatives mainly when proprietary platforms become too expensive or too rigid to scale, missing the broader strategic value of systems that can be customised to local languages and regulatory requirements without waiting on foreign vendors.

The scale of what is at stake is underscored by Africa's mobile money dominance. The GSM Association (GSMA) State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money of 2023 found that Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly half of all global mobile money transactions, a reality that demands locally adaptable digital infrastructure rather than fixed proprietary imports.

Policymakers are under pressure to act. The DE4A initiative estimates that between 62 and 79 billion dollars in funding is required to establish the foundation for a continent-wide digital economy, a target that analysts say cannot be met while critical systems remain under external control.