Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has said that for Africa to achieve a multimillion-dollar digital economy by 2035, it must implement the protocol on digital trade.

Speaking at a roundtable, yesterday, in Abuja, Mene said: “In this regard, we have agreed to work together to mobilise investment in Africa’s digital economy.

“The protocol on digital trade is the first of its kind around the world. It will be the first time that we as Africans will be creating a single digital economy, a single digital market, marketplace for a range of different investors, including FinTech, the creative industries.

“In the protocol, we have made some commitments. I’ll mention just a few, establishing an inclusive environment for SMEs to be part of Africa’s digital economy. So, digital and financial inclusion is a very, very important objective in that project.”

“We have agreed that there shall no longer be prohibitions on the movement of data between countries, something that constrains our capability and continent to be competitive.

“The ability for us to commercialise, move, allow our companies to move data around the continent will enable us to be more competitive, not only for the establishment of digital infrastructure but more importantly, to create opportunities for young people, who all of us know are already at the cutting edge of digital innovation in Africa’s economy,” he said.

In his remarks, the Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the ministry would work towards driving the development of technical knowledge and know-how in the country significantly and invest deeply in digital infrastructure.

Tijani said: “We’re remaking our policies and regulations to ensure that we have pro-business and we will find significant ways to support innovators and entrepreneurs in our country, and the last is trade.”