Africa: Tech policy trends to watch in 2025
In 2025, Africa’s tech policy will be shaped by a complex interplay of global pressures and local priorities. Building on the trends observed in 2024, we anticipate intensified regulatory activity around data governance and a sharper focus on emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). The continent stands at a pivotal moment where multiple forces converge to define its digital future amid evolving macroeconomic challenges. Below we outline 12 key trends to watch.
1. Regional and global influences on Africa’s tech policy
The U.S. has reaffirmed its America-first policy under the Trump administration, yet a strategic interest in countering China’s growing economic influence on the continent will likely temper this approach. While the U.S. pushes deregulation and innovation-driven policy, China continues to expand its footprint, particularly in AI, fintech, and digital infrastructure. African nations will increasingly need to balance the benefits of these investments with concerns about technological dependence and sovereignty. Meanwhile, America’s inclination toward deregulating innovation and technology policy may continue to contrast sharply with Europe’s regulatory-heavy approach – prioritising market fairness, consumer protection, and data privacy. The extent to which these opposing values filter into Africa’s evolving tech policy ecosystem will vary by country, likely creating a patchwork of sentiments, priorities and uncertainty for multinational operators.
2. Balancing regulatory and reputational risk
Multinational technology companies will navigate a complex landscape where reputational risk and regulatory scrutiny intersect. For instance, the rollback of misinformation controls by some companies, while potentially aligning with deregulation trends in Western markets, poses risks in Africa, where enforcement mechanisms and sources of accurate information are often weaker. Companies may face heightened scrutiny from governments and the public alike, as public trust in online platforms wane. These platforms’ reputations will remain in focus, as governments leverage fines, taxation, and regulations to achieve various national outcomes. Balancing operational efficiency, regulatory adherence, and public trust will be vital for multinational operators, as African markets will grow more assertive in safeguarding their digital ecosystems and protecting against disinformation, cyber threats and the perceived exploitation of African data, content and culture.
3. Regulators finding their voice
Across Africa, regulators are flexing their muscles; seeking more robust oversight of multinational technology firms. Western enforcement actions, such as imposing fines, and emphasising consumer protections and competitive markets, serve as a blueprint for African regulators. However, the region faces a key challenge: untangling or consolidating overlapping regulatory mandates, for instance in Nigeria. Here, the resistance to relinquishing regulatory power stems from budgetary and institutional inertia, hampering progress toward streamlined and agile governance structures.
4. Learning from neighbours
We anticipate growing adoption of policies pioneered by regional leaders like Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria on issues such as data protection, foundational digital identity and online platform regulation, as neighbouring countries draw inspiration from their approaches. Efforts to harmonise policies, especially under frameworks like the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and Smart Africa Alliance are likely to gain momentum, focusing on cross-border data transfers, digital trade, connectivity, taxation and AI regulation. Yet, policy emulation presents its own risk: that ineffective or poorly adapted policies could spread across borders, necessitating careful evaluation to ensure these approaches meet diverse national needs while minimising fragmentation across Africa’s digital ecosystem.
5. Startup funding in a selective market
The digital economy will remain hampered by funding challenges. In 2023, we forecasted the end of “easy money” for startups. By year’s end, total funding stood at USD 3.5 billion — a 46% decline. In 2024, we anticipated a year of “reality checks,” as investors shifted focus towards product-market fit and early returns over speculative growth. Funding that year totalled USD 3.2 billion, underscoring the ongoing recalibration of investment appetite. Looking ahead to 2025, we foresee funding challenges to persist, shaping a more discerning investment landscape. This gap may be partially offset by Africa-focused multilateral initiatives like Timbuktoo as well as local or regional investors, signalling a shift toward localised funding sources. Meanwhile, as Africa’s startup ecosystem matures, some local investors may intensify calls for portfolio companies to consolidate existing startups.
6. AI: opportunity and contention
AI remains a polarising topic in Africa. While detractors voice concerns over job displacement, intellectual property disputes, and algorithmic bias, champions highlight AI’s transformative potential in healthcare, education, agriculture, and MSME enablement. In 2025, AI regulation and/or enablement will remain a key theme for 2025. Policy recommendations and strategies will continue to evolve in those countries with heightened readiness, including South Africa, Mauritius, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria guided by frameworks from the African Union and other cross-sector entities. Egypt, notably, will launch its second AI strategy this year. With its leadership of the G20, South Africa plans to coordinate the establishment of an AI task force, intending to integrate regional AI considerations into the international discourse and advocate Africa’s priorities.
The growing emphasis on AI infrastructure may shape how countries across Africa position themselves in the global AI landscape. Investments in foundational enablers – high-performance computing, data, and regional research hubs – will be increasingly recognised as pivotal for unlocking possibilities for the continent’s development. These efforts will enable not only policy alignment but perhaps the scaling of locally-led or locally-nuanced AI research and innovation.
AI’s impact on the future of work and digital skills will remain in sharp focus. Advocates will point to AI-driven inclusivity and unlocking skills potential, while critics will caution against the erosion of creativity and the risks of plagiarism. The push for the “decolonisation of AI” and locally contextualised AI solutions may gain momentum, especially in southern Africa, where mistrust of multinational tech companies and ostensibly biased algorithms, remains high. Despite ongoing hype, 2025 will likely bring a sharper focus on critical AI applications. While innovations like live-feed election monitoring have merit, investment and donor attention may instead prioritise sectors with clear monetary or developmental ROI – particularly education, SME-enablement, healthcare, and agriculture.
7. Payments: Africa’s dollar-free future
Driven by inflation, currency volatility, and economic shifts, some African nations will intensify efforts to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar, exploring alternative payment systems and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) will continue to build momentum as a tool for reducing dollar-dependency, with wider adoption expected as integration with the system continues to deepen. The foreign exchange crisis affecting many African nations may continue to deepen crypto adoption, providing a dollar proxy for businesses and individuals in Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria and elsewhere.
At the same time, demand for off-the-shelf solutions for digital merchant payments like Mojaloop could deepen, given the success of the model in regions with similar challenges. As remittance flows become even more critical for conflict-affected countries, migration-dense nations and an increasingly culturally-attuned diaspora, the demand for fintech solutions including mobile money and cashless solutions is likely to see further growth. To avoid widening the digital payments divide, however, governments must ensure this lifeline is also accessible to hitherto underserved groups.
8. Digital public infrastructure and the fair share debate
Governments across Africa will continue prioritising digital public infrastructure (DPI), with tangible progress expected in connectivity, telecommunications, and digital inclusion. The continent is poised to harness the potential of its expanding digital ecosystem, with key themes in countries like Nigeria and Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to include fintech, e-commerce, edtech, connectivity infrastructure, digital financial inclusion, and foundational e-identity. However, rural communities will face the same longstanding connectivity and access challenges. Strategic initiatives in 2025 may focus on attracting private-sector investment and forging alliances to bridge this gap.
Simultaneously, the “fair share” debate – already vocalised in South Africa – may begin to gain traction elsewhere across the continent. This debate, which centers on whether content platforms should contribute to the costs of network infrastructure, has been further spurred by developments in the West. Telcos on the continent, restricted in some nations from raising tariffs to what they consider to be sustainable levels amidst inflationary and energy pressures, may seek to lobby content platforms to share infrastructure costs.
9. Data governance and digital sovereignty
Digital sovereignty is emerging as a cornerstone of Africa’s tech policy agenda, driven by growing mistrust of global platforms and scrutiny of data practices. High-profile incidents, such as the WorldCoin scandal in Kenya amplified sentiments around data localisation and increased calls for stricter data protection. The handling of such incidents is heightening awareness of data sovereignty, with nations pushing for policies that keep sensitive data within their borders. However, the push for data localisation often collides with the reality of limited local infrastructure, creating a tension: nations aim to retain control over data while still relying heavily on foreign-hosted cloud services and data centers. Addressing this requires significant investment in infrastructure, to support data localisation ambitions.
Meanwhile, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are setting benchmarks in data governance, while the African Union is working to harmonise these efforts to enable cross-border digital trade and innovation. Globally, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) continues to set the standard for data protection, but competing standards, including those promoted by the U.S., may begin to influence African policymaking. In 2025, the debate over how to define and protect sovereign data, and secure the compliance of non-resident data handlers, will continue to shape the continent’s data agenda. Heavy fines are also to be expected, where nations believe data handlers are falling short of compliance requirements.
10. Cybersecurity and online safety will remain in focus
Cybersecurity threats are evolving at an alarming pace with Africa increasingly vulnerable. Nigeria faces an average of 18,872 cyberattacks per month, and financial fraud losses soared from NGN 468 million (USD 293,000) in Q1 2024 to NGN 42.6 billion (USD 26.6 million) in Q2. In South Africa, ransomware attacks on critical sectors like finance and healthcare have surged, with 80% of businesses reporting cyber incidents costing ZAR 2.2 billion (USD 121.7 million) annually. A recent Interpol-Afripol operation across 19 African nations resulted in over 1,000 arrests, uncovering cybercriminal losses exceeding USD 193 million globally.
Data breaches, ransomware and phishing attacks will grow more sophisticated, exploiting gaps in underdeveloped cybersecurity systems. As the continent’s digital footprint grows, so too will its vulnerabilities: critical sectors such as banking, telecoms, government, healthcare, and e-commerce are particularly at risk due to their sensitive data. Meanwhile, the proliferation of near-end-of-life devices across the continent due to affordability concerns, presents a unique vulnerability, necessitating stronger e-waste and cybersecurity regulations.
Some governments will respond by taking steps to strengthen cybersecurity policies, potentially expanding the definitions of critical national infrastructure (CNI) and seeking out local and regional partnerships and collaborations to support capacity-building for combating cyber threats. Tech-enabled businesses will also face heightened scrutiny over online safety and trust, with data breaches carrying the potential to dissolve consumer confidence, trigger fines and scrutiny. Consumer and government expectations regarding trust and online safety will increasingly shape broader discussions on data, cybersecurity and content regulation at the national level.
11. Balancing cultural values and inclusivity
Content regulation in many African markets remains heavily rooted in deeply entrenched social and religious beliefs. Several nations, including Ghana, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria and Uganda are set to continue enforcing or seeking to codify culturally driven content moderation policies. Regulations targeting media, online platforms, and creators increasingly focus on suppressing content deemed contrary to traditional values, including restrictions on LGBTQ+ representation, gender norms, and politically sensitive topics. In 2025, the growing tension between some global content platforms’ commitments to diversity and inclusion and local demands for censorship of perceived Western influences could escalate.
In addition, policies or rhetoric from the U.S. that support traditional values is likely to resonate strongly with African leaders and policymakers, reinforcing existing regulatory tendencies. Governments in these markets may seek tighter oversight, driven by concerns over perceived moral erosion and cultural preservation, which are often amplified by local political dynamics. For content dissemination and online content platforms, navigating this landscape may require nuanced approaches and proactive engagement with regulators, to balance compliance with evolving public sentiment and the risks of reputational backlash.
12. Taxing the tech frontier
In the last five years, African governments have expanded their sights to include taxing the emerging digital economy as a high-growth sector, to address persistent revenue shortfalls. We do not anticipate these efforts will suddenly cease in 2025, but they are likely to evolve. Emergent technologies and the proliferation of AI applications could bring additional considerations, as governments are compelled to explore the taxation of AI-driven services, automation, data monetisation, etc. Digital assets will remain a priority, and more countries may seek to introduce frameworks akin to Nigeria and Kenya’s efforts to tax capital gains and ownership. Balancing innovation incentives with the revenue generation imperative will be critical to watch, especially as industry pushes back against perceived overreach in digital (services) taxation.
Finally, the U.S. withdrawal from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal, likely signals its end, increasing the incentive for profit shifting to lower tax jurisdictions and tax competition, and which could have consequences for African nations seeking to extract tax income from value generated within their borders.
