Context

• Africa Day, celebrated on May 25, marks the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 and represents the continent’s enduring journey toward unity, independence, and sustainable development.
• In the 21st century, this journey is increasingly defined by digital transformation.
• The African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2020–2030) reflects this shift, prioritising technology as a central pillar for socio-economic advancement.
• Against this backdrop, India has emerged as a key development partner, recalibrating its diplomacy to engage more deeply with Africa through digital cooperation.

India’s Evolving Development Diplomacy in Africa

• Historically, India’s engagement with Africa has blended state-led financial instruments with socially embedded development models.
• This has included a range of initiatives from technical training and education to concessional credit-backed infrastructure projects.
• In recent years, India has expanded this approach to include low-cost, high-impact solutions pioneered by social enterprises.
• This evolving model reflects a commitment to inclusivity, adaptability, and partnership-oriented development, principles that are now finding renewed expression in digital diplomacy.

The Emergence of a Digital Partnership

• India’s development cooperation is transitioning into a new phase, defined by integrated, technology-driven partnerships.
• Early efforts, such as the Pan-African e-Network launched in 2009, laid the groundwork by providing telemedicine and tele-education services across the continent via satellite and fibre-optic infrastructure.
• More recently, India is leveraging its robust Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) systems, such as Aadhaar (digital ID), UPI (digital payments), CoWIN (vaccination management), and DIKSHA (education platform), to co-create and share digital solutions tailored to governance and public service delivery in African nations.
• This transition is timely, as many African countries are actively pursuing national and regional digital agendas.
• Initiatives such as the Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa and the Smart Africa Alliance exemplify this momentum toward inclusive and sustainable digital growth.
• India’s DPI model, characterised by scalability, affordability, and public-oriented design, aligns well with these aspirations.

Concrete Collaborations: Case Studies of Digital Diplomacy

• Togo partnered with IIIT-Bangalore in 2021 to implement the Modular Open-Source Identification Platform for its national digital ID system.
• Zambia signed an MoU in 2023 with the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure at IIIT-B to support its Smart Zambia Initiative.
• Namibia’s central bank partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India in 2024 to develop a UPI-like instant payment system.
• Ghana is linking its digital payment infrastructure to India’s UPI for more efficient financial transactions.
• These collaborations signify a growing recognition of India’s DPI not just as a technological export, but as a model for building digital public goods.

Key Features of Indian Digital Diplomacy in Africa

• Navigating a Competitive Digital Landscape
  • India’s digital diplomacy in Africa operates in a competitive geopolitical environment.
  • As noted by scholar Folashadé Soulé, African governments are pragmatic in their choice of digital partners, prioritising effectiveness over ideology.
  • China remains a dominant player, offering attractive financial terms and infrastructure-heavy support.
  • The European Union and the United States also vie for influence in this space.
  • What distinguishes India is its commitment to open-source, interoperable systems that view digital infrastructure as a public good rather than a commercial asset.
  • This non-extractive model has the potential to build more equitable, locally adapted digital ecosystems.
• Capacity Building Through Education and Innovation
  • The establishment of the first overseas campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Zanzibar reflects India’s strategic push to link digital capacity-building with socio-economic development.
  • Offering advanced programs in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and supported by private-sector scholarships, this initiative exemplifies how academic cooperation can strengthen digital infrastructure while nurturing local talent.

Existing Challenges and The Way Ahead

• Despite promising developments, significant challenges remain.
• Africa continues to experience the world’s largest digital divide, exacerbated by high data and device costs, limited rural connectivity, and a pronounced gender gap in digital literacy.
• In addition, expanding digital infrastructure requires a stable and sufficient energy supply, something many African nations currently lack.
• Bridging these gaps demands coordinated investment in renewable energy and power grid expansion to support the growing digital ecosystem.

Conclusion

• Despite these challenges, the digital governance landscape in Africa is evolving rapidly.
• With 85% of African countries possessing digital-capable national ID systems and 70% collecting biometric data, there exists a solid foundation for building interoperable digital platforms.
• A future India-Africa digital compact, rooted in co-development, mutual respect, and enduring institutional partnerships, could offer a replicable model for inclusive digital transformation.
• As both regions move forward, their shared commitment to people-centric innovation may well redefine the contours of South-South cooperation in the digital age.