Cairo 29 September 2025:
The African Union has commended conveners of the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium for drawing the world’s attention to Africa’s digital transformation and the imperative of data sovereignty and digital identity on the Margins of the 2025 General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.
Under the theme: Advancing Africa’s Digital Transformation: Inspiring Action, Accelerating Growth Accelerating Impact, the event held at the Nasdaq MarketSite – the commercial marketing presence of the Nasdaq stock exchange brought together African leaders and entrepreneurs gathered at the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium to talk about how digital technologies may boost economic growth and enhance public services, with a focus on data governance and public-private partnerships In order to guarantee that Africa’s digital future is formed cooperatively and sustainably.
In her address to the gathering, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission Selma Malika Haddadi while taking time to “commend” leadership of the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium, led by Ms Hannah Awuku and the African Peer Review Mechanism for executing the convocation, pointed out that the world stands at the crossroads of Africa’s digital destiny.
She however added that the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020–2030) is helping to make that transition a reality. “By 2030, we aim to establish an African Digital Single Market that improves the lives of our people, accelerates regional integration, and ensures that Africa is not just a consumer of digital technologies but also a creator and innovator in the global digital space”. Ambassador Malika noted.
The AU official also recognized a critical challenge: the fragmentation of frameworks, policies, and standards across our continent. This fragmentation she argues creates barriers instead of bridges, limiting cross-border collaboration and preventing our businesses from realizing the full potential of Africa’s digital market. “The African Union Commission is addressing this challenge by developing comprehensive foundational architecture that harmonizes our continental approach” Deputy Chairperson Malika stressed. .
Founder and Founder and Executive Director at Forward Africa Leaders Symposium Hannah Awuku who made a brief remark to officially commence the dialogue explained that Forward Africa is more than a symposium—it is a movement dedicated to advancing Africa’s digital ecosystem through strategic partnerships, bold investments, and inclusive innovation. Our goal is to mobilize capital, foster cross-border collaborations, and showcase homegrown solutions driving growth from Lagos to Nairobi, Accra to Cape Town.
“Our convening could not be more timely. Africa’s digital economy is surging with unprecedented momentum, projected to contribute over 5% to GDP by the end of 2025. With more than 60% of its population under 25 and increasing internet penetration, the continent is poised to leapfrog traditional development challenges through innovations in mobile money, agritech, and healthtech”. The founder noted.
Samaila Zubairu. President & Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) while adding his voice to the position of other particiapnst stressed the need for Africa to succeed in building a vibrant digital economy. “The digital economy is not optional for Africa – it is vital. It is the backbone that will allow our entrepreneurs to innovate, our businesses to compete, and our young people to create the jobs of tomorrow”. He further explained that At the Africa Finance Corporation, had seen this potential firsthand when the AFC backed the MainOne broadband project. Today, MainOne powers financial services, e-commerce, education, and the creative industries across the region. Its acquisition by Equinix, one of the world’s leading digital infrastructure companies, a situation he say proofs that Africa can build assets of world-class standard — assets that attract global capital and create opportunity at scale.
“Our message tonight is simple: with the right governance and the right capital, Africa can leapfrog into the digital future. The examples of MainOne and Itana show what is possible. The challenge now is to scale them across the continent. If we act with urgency, Africa will not just consume technology — we will produce it, export it, and shape the global value chains of tomorrow”.
The Executive Chairman of the KGL Group and former Board Chair of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Alex Apau Dadey Opening his keynote, Mr. Dadey posed a bold challenge: “The challenge before us is not whether change is possible, but how quickly and inclusively we can harness it. The answer, I believe, lies in the strength of partnerships — genuine, strategic Public-Private Partnerships that unite the innovation, capital, and execution capacity of the private sector with the legitimacy, reach, and enabling authority of governments.”
Drawing on a distinguished career spanning over three decades, across continents and key sectors, Mr. Dadey recounted how his journey in the United Kingdom and over 25 countries, to his tenure in public service as the former GIPC Board Chair — has shaped his vision. At its core, his lifelong passion remains rooted in multilateral collaboration, diaspora socio-economic inclusion, and harnessing technology to push boundaries for business and society.
Underscoring the vital role of the private sector, Mr. Dadey reaffirmed a principle he has long advocated: “I have always maintained that governments do not create wealth — the private sector does. Governments on their own cannot drive transformation, but sadly, private enterprises that do are most often treated as afterthoughts in national strategies, relegated to the rear when they should be at the center of policy deliberations and implementation.”
Also, Chief Executive. Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre brought into a sharp focus the transformative nature of Artificial Intelligence which is now taking center stage in the world. Citing an example of the Albanian government’s decision earlier this year, which effectively made a symbolic gesture of appointing an Artificial Intelligent Device named “Diella” to serve as the country’s digital Minister responsible for public procurement, Ambassador Marie-Antoinette noted that “for Africa, this is a powerful reminder that frontier technologies can be used to leapfrog all bureaucracies and drive new forms of integrity”.
In the coming days all the actors who converged at this year’s Forward Africa Leaders Symposium commit to work together to implement strategic partnerships for the digital transformation of Africa.
The 2nd Africa Leaders Symposium organized in partnership with the African Peer Review Mechanism was supported by the KGL Foundation, GSMA, ABAN, Africa Business Council, Convene Africa, African Population and Health Research Centre, Baobab Intelligence and Adeline.
