Kenya proposes cross-border digital public-service pilot for Africa

Kenya has proposed that willing African Union member states jointly test a cross-border digital public service, using the pilot to demonstrate how government systems can work across national boundaries. The proposal was made during an African Union Commission and Google ministerial roundtable on AI and data infrastructure held alongside the UN General Assembly.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo Gitau, pointed to the country’s eCitizen platform and Government Interoperability Framework as a starting point. Kenya has more than 22,500 services available through eCitizen, giving it a practical base from which to explore how public systems might exchange information and deliver services across borders.

The proposed pilot would involve participating countries selecting one service, testing it jointly and reporting results by February 2027. The value of the exercise would not be limited to the service itself. It would expose the legal, technical and institutional barriers that make regional digital integration difficult, including identity, data protection, authentication and accountability.

For AI, those foundations are increasingly important. Automated systems cannot deliver reliable public outcomes when data is fragmented, poorly governed or locked inside incompatible national systems. Interoperability is therefore becoming part of the AI infrastructure conversation, even when the first application is a conventional digital service.

Kenya also framed cross-border data flows around safeguards and risk-based regulation. That balance will be critical. Regional services need enough trust to function, but they must also give citizens clarity about how their information is shared and which institution is responsible when something goes wrong.

If the pilot proceeds, its most important result may be a tested model for cooperation rather than a single new service. Africa’s digital future will depend on whether national platforms can connect without weakening public accountability.

Source: https://techreviewafrica.com/news/7426/unga81-kenya-proposes-cross-border-digital-public-service-pilot-for-africa