Building resilient food systems is essential to ensuring global access to nutritious, sustainable diets. Yet, despite agriculture and food production increasing globally over recent decades, acute food insecurity and malnutrition continue to rise, particularly among the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Addressing this challenge requires systemic change across the entire food ecosystem, from production and monitoring to distribution and quality assurance. It also involves equipping smallholder farmers with timely data and user-friendly digital tools that empower them to make informed decisions, improve productivity, better integrate into existing value chains, and deal with the interconnected challenges they face.

However, merely supplying data and digital agriculture tools is insufficient to enable the systemic change required to strengthen the resilience of food systems. To achieve this form of long-term impact, it is necessary to provide sufficient advisory services on how to best utilize these data and tools, as well as local capacity building and training to ensure that the necessary advisory support services remain available when and where they are needed most.

DAS: Improving the Efficiency of Agriculture Data Use

To support this need, Development Gateway (DG), in partnership with digital development experts, Jengalab, and training experts, TechChange, with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), implemented the Digital Advisory Support Services for Accelerated Rural Transformation (DAS) program from 2022 to 2025. By providing technical support for ICT4D activities within IFAD-financed programs, DAS aimed to improve the livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers through facilitating digital transformation in agriculture. The program’s target regions were East and Southern Africa, Central and West Africa, and the Near East and North Africa.

With the DAS program concluding in March 2025, we reflect on its impact in integrating ICT4D solutions to improve rural livelihoods, the effectiveness of its knowledge transfer and capacity building for sustaining gains, and the lessons it offers for future agricultural technology programs.

Integration of ICT4D Solutions

To support IFAD – the only multilateral development institution that focuses exclusively on transforming rural economies and food systems – with its digital strategy, DAS provided on-demand advisory services to support ICT4D activities for IFAD-financed programs. By filling gaps related to technical support, DAS strengthened the ability of these programs to build, maintain, and scale their use of technology in supporting farmers.

While the impact of the DAS support services is ongoing and may only become apparent in the months and years to come, some have already been identified, captured in the examples below.

Nigeria

In Nigeria, the DAS program conducted an assessment of the digital agriculture ecosystem. Serving as foundational research for various project activities – including online training on principles of digital development, interoperability, and in-person monitoring and evaluation (M&E) training – this assessment helped identify key digitalization challenges in the country, such as connectivity and affordability, and generated recommendations for strategic partnerships to address these challenges.

The assessment, which identified data gaps, prioritized interventions, and fostered collaboration with stakeholders, facilitated the development of an ICT4D strategy with the Nigerian government, laying a solid foundation for local ICT-enabled projects and providing a strong case for scaling digital innovations in IFAD-supported programs.

Morocco

In Morocco, DAS provided ICT4D support to the Integrated Rural Development Project of the Mountain Areas in the Oriental Region (PADERMO), contributing to the development of specific actions within the project. These included a pilot initiative to monitor beehives digitally, the establishment of digital agricultural cooperatives, and the use of digital services to promote and market agrifood products.

In particular, support from DAS partners enhanced the integration of digital tools, such as piezometers – geotechnical sensors that measure pore water pressure and water level in soil and rock – during the design phase. To further improve impact in future interventions, the team noted that digital skills training and a deeper understanding of implementation partners’ practical capacities would be highly beneficial.

Tanzania

In Tanzania, DAS assisted with the development of the country’s first e-agriculture strategy – the Digital Agriculture Strategy (2025 – 2030) – by conducting a situational analysis and generating a draft zero for it. This enabled the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to better leverage digital agriculture technologies and enhance data-driven decision-making in the country. DAS further supported capacity-building activities for the government and implementing partners on how to effectively integrate digital solutions for agriculture, informed by digitalization trends and practices from other countries.

Following the development of the e-agriculture strategy, IFAD, in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), formed the Joint Programme on Data for Digital Agricultural Transformation, supporting the MoA to better leverage data and strengthen interoperability to transform the country’s agriculture sector and provide more efficient service delivery. Through the technical support provided by DAS and the subsequent Joint Programme, 10 innovative agri-tech projects are expected to scale up, with additional catalytic investment provided for 3 agri-tech projects. It is estimated that this will result in more than 500,000 smallholder farmers – including 300,000 women and 100,000 youth – gaining access to enhanced digital services.

Impact of Capacity Building Trainings

By identifying specific learning areas within digital agriculture that would be of greatest relevance to IFAD-financed programs, Development Gateway and TechChange designed a number of training courses that provided capacity building for those who work in agriculture, as well as to mid-to-senior level officials and technical staff working in ministries, agencies, and organizations.

A total of 19 in-person training sessions were held on a variety of different topics, reaching 940 participants. Following up with these participants more than six months after they had completed their training, 92% stated that much or all of the course content remained relevant to their work and that they continue to frequently support colleagues using the concepts learned.

In addition to in-person training sessions, the DAS ICT4Ag Digital Classroom Series was created, containing four  IFAD-sponsored self-paced training courses and ensuring the continued impact of the initiative. Two examples of IFAD-sponsored training courses on digital agriculture are highlighted below.

Basics of Digital Agriculture Ecosystems and Interoperability

In this course, participants learned about the causes and consequences of fragmented data, as well as the tools and techniques needed to achieve digital transformation for rural agriculture. Through exploring models of enabling environments for digital agriculture, participants learned how to assess the maturity of their own agriculture ecosystem. This course further outlines use cases and best practices for interoperable data use in digital agriculture, linking data from different sources in a standardized, context-aware way.

Access the free 2-hour self-paced Basics of Digital Agriculture Ecosystems and Interoperability course.

Basics of Digital Rural Finance for Agriculture

Introducing participants to digital finance in agriculture, this course explores how digital services and tools can be applied to an agricultural project or intervention with a financial component. Completing the course enabled participants to draw insights from IFAD’s project portfolio on the relevance of digital technologies to advance financial inclusion in rural areas, as well as to utilize IFAD’s financial strategy to deliver these tools and services to smallholder farmers.

It further equipped participants with knowledge of how to accurately assess the financial needs of smallholder farmers and how best to leverage digital technologies to address them. Through the use of real examples and case studies, the course made understanding the principles underlying the design and implementation of digital financial initiatives as simple and applicable as possible.

Access the free 2-hour self-paced Basics of Digital Rural Finance for Agriculture course.

Lessons Learned & Recommendations

Through its 3-year lifespan, the DAS program made significant strides in supporting the digital transformation of agricultural systems across IFAD’s portfolio across East and Southern Africa, Central and West Africa, and the Near East and North Africa. Through tailored advisory services, targeted capacity building, and the development of knowledge products, the programme strengthened the ability of governments, project teams, and implementing partners to integrate digital tools in a way that is inclusive, sustainable, and aligned with local contexts However, as with every program, there were lessons to be learned on how to improve the impact of such programs in the future.

• Deploying ICT4D solutions in resource-constrained settings with low levels of digital literacy requires a strategic, context-aware approach that grounds innovation in practicality.
• Time constraints were a recurring challenge in countries such as Tunisia and Uzbekistan, where short mission durations restricted the depth of engagement. This hindered the ability to address more complex digital needs or provide sufficient capacity-building.
• In scenarios where capacity is limited and advisory engagements are short, it can further be difficult for the Project Management Unit (PMU) staff to define their needs and internalize the steps necessary to drive change and sustainably take recommendations forward to achieve long-term success.
• Programs could have benefited from a more unified approach to digitalizing Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) processes, as well as involving end users in the design of any tool.
• Although the DAS intervention has proved valuable in a multitude of implementing countries, room for improvement exists in tailoring the digital solutions provided to fit the local context. Feedback suggested that consultants could benefit from a deeper understanding of IFAD’s context and projects to enhance their ability to provide practical and implementable technical solutions. This is particularly important in aligning with the realities on the ground, such as the technical capacities of the implementing partners, the developmental (rather than research-oriented) nature of IFAD projects, and the characteristics of the final beneficiaries – mainly smallholder producers with relatively low digital and technical skills.

Recommendations for Future Programs

As the DAS program closes, it opens more doors for follow-up initiatives that build on the results it has achieved. In particular, the three facets of knowledge transfer, local ownership, and long-term sustainability will remain paramount for any initiative seeking to achieve digital transformation in the rural agriculture sector.

More than that, the following recommendations are suggested for future programs:

• Prioritize preliminary capacity-building activities: It is highly recommended that future digital interventions aiming to achieve similar results carry out  preliminary capacity-building activities, such as a dedicated introductory phase for digital training. This will ensure that teams and PMUs are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively implement digital solutions, efficiently adapt ICT4D tools to the local context, and maximize their ability to sustainably impact development outcomes.

• Implement M&E frameworks during the design phase: In order to accurately assess the effectiveness and impact of digital initiatives, it is paramount that clear M&E methodologies – as well as a structured approach to introducing these frameworks –  be included in the program’s design. Doing so enables teams to easily track progress, effectively maintain alignment with the program’s objectives, and efficiently evaluate how well the digital components were implemented, as well as their ongoing impact on driving systemic change.

• Provide long-term ICT4D support: Finally, it is important to note that short-term advisory missions often lack the depth needed to fully implement programs that provide technical assistance. As such, it is recommended that long-term technical assistance be provided within IFAD’s projects to foster continuity, mentorship, and problem-solving beyond initial design, ensuring impact continues to evolve well after the program’s close.

In 2023, I wrote about the OGP Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, and its focus on digital democracy. Estonia put digital democracy on center stage, showcasing e-Estonia and the digitization of government services such as legislation, voting, education, justice, healthcare, banking, taxes, policing, etc. e-Estonia is an example of digitizing democracy. 

Also prevalent at the 2023 Summit was the concept of democratizing digital, or ensuring that digital tools, platforms, and policies are made and governed in ways that reflect democratic values. Open government and digital democracy can improve transparency, accountability, and participation in society. However, open government mechanisms and digital democracy must be usable, accessible, and inclusive.

Former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas delivers her keynote at the 2023 OGP Summit (Image: OGP)

As we approach the 2025 OGP Summit, the Government of Spain and Cielo Magno have prioritized the themes of People, Institutions, and Technology & Data. These themes signal that democratizing digital and digitizing democracy remain cornerstones for building resilient, effective, and trusted institutions. 

However, the Summit takes place amid a backdrop of democratic backsliding, decreasing institutional trust, and increased influence of Big Tech on policy.  By continuing to apply technology to problems that require “people” solutions, distrust in institutions will continue. My theory remains that if democratic principles are applied to digital government, then institutions will be stronger, more effective, and more accountable. 

What’s Changed Since 2023? 

Three key developments have had a significant impact on digital democracy. First, governments globally are grappling with how to invest in and leverage AI – and more specifically, generative AI – for economic growth and service delivery. From racing to build data centers, to appointing an AI bot as minister in Albania, governments globally do not want to be left behind in the AI divide. Second, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has gained traction and investment to expand access to services, improve efficiency, and foster innovation by providing the “digital highways” for identity, payments, and data. Third, global leadership shifts have fundamentally changed approaches to regulation, digital sovereignty, protections, and sustainability. 

Funding cuts from USAID resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in digital and data programming, as well as forecasted programming and subsequent resources aimed at advancing digital democracy. Cuts from bilateral donors, along with a cacophony of geopolitical dynamics, technological advancements, and regulatory policies, have prompted a focus on digital sovereignty, in turn putting more governments in the driver’s seat of digital decision-making.

Promises and Risks for Digital Democracy: Making Democracy Work, digitally 

For those of us who have worked in digital democracy through multiple hype cycles, we have seen technology promise and fail to solve complex problems such as corruption, inclusion, and poverty. AI will not fix government shortcomings. By promising that technology can solve problems, and then in turn failing, institutions are breaking promises to citizens and stakeholders, thereby further eroding trust. 

Using Digital to solve the right problems

Advocates for digital democracy should be promoting tech-assisted government, seeking improvements, not replacement. When equipped with the right tools at the right time, AI can transform efficiency and effectiveness.  Automated document processing (ADP) tools, for example, can manage paperwork, reducing staff workloads and errors. According to an Amazon Web Services case study, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) reduced transcript processing times from several weeks to just one day using AI-powered automation. IIT automated their entire workflow from document intake through to student record updates, international grade conversions, and customer relationship management (CRM) integration. This streamlined process reduced the prospective student credential evaluation process from 4-6 weeks to a single day. Transforming efficiency and reducing errors has the potential to improve government delivery and trust if done with rights-respecting processes and technology.

However, trust in AI is not universal. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that nearly 1 in 2 are skeptical of the use of AI in business. Those with high levels of grievance have even deeper distrust of AI. Therefore, applications of AI for government, while having the potential to improve efficiency, may further erode trust. This risk is heightened when AI tools are created in a black box without transparency.

Bridge the deepening divide

AI and DPI are expanding, but their perceived and actual benefits are uneven. Without rights-driven values embedded into technology, the solutions risk reinforcing the inequities they aim to address. For communities without reliable connectivity, digital literacy, or protections, AI and DPI can deepen exclusion. Digital-only ID systems may exclude those without access to the internet, particularly impacting women and girls. AI is perceived as a driver of manipulated information, pervasive in democratic elections. Tools are more sophisticated, and protecting civic discourse is harder than ever. Without safeguards against misinformation, harassment, and manipulation, AI can be used to further target, discredit, and exclude voices.

Reflections for moving forward

To make democracy work digitally, the Open Government community should:

• Promote hybrid digital and non-digital approaches that enable institutions to work better and more transparently, not replace them. 
• Deploy digital and AI tools for specific problems, not as blanket solutions.
• Embed human rights values in design, regulations, and oversight of digital systems.
• Prioritize sustainable funding and local ownership to ensure digital democracy endures. 

Digital democracy faces profound promise and risk. Using technology as a tool to deliver on government promises can build institutions. Democratizing these tools ensures that systems reflect and reinforce democratic values. By democratizing digital and digitizing democracy, we can advocate for and build trusted, resilient, and inclusive institutions. 

Reflections and insights into the value of open-source data exchange infrastructure and the conditions needed to enable it.

The global digital development landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. As we navigate the mid-2020s, a shift towards national digital sovereignty is fundamentally redefining how countries approach technology, data, and international cooperation. This pivot, particularly evident in 2025, carries significant implications for sustainable development in the global majority countries, including the evolution of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the role of open-source solutions.

The Accelerating Pivot Towards Digital Sovereignty in 2025

2025 has emerged as a pivotal moment in global geopolitics. In the West, the established liberal paradigm of global governance, which has underpinned sustainable development efforts for at least twenty-five years, has evaporated. A renewed era of realpolitik is emerging to fill the void left over, with Western countries pulling back from multilateralism, free trade, aid, and the projection of soft power. 

In the digital policy sphere, one way in which this new reality is manifesting is as a push towards digital sovereignty by governments and political blocs worldwide. 

In the European Union (EU), the State of the Digital Decade 2025 report explicitly calls for EU and Member State action on digital transformation and digital sovereignty. Its recommendations span crucial policy and tech stack areas, including advanced connectivity, semiconductors, secure and sovereign cloud infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity. 

The trend is equally strong across Africa. For instance, the African Union’s (AU) Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Data Protection (2023) and its Continental AI Strategy (2025) both advocate for sovereign data management and AI capabilities, aiming to promote African countries’ control over modern data sources and technology. Moreover, key events in 2025, including the Global AI Summit on Africa in Rwanda and the 2nd Conference on the State of Artificial Intelligence in Africa in Nairobi, have focused on the critical need for digital sovereignty alongside inclusive development tailored for the continent, emphasizing control over critical infrastructure, including digital infrastructure.

In the United States, in February 2025, the Trump administration issued a memorandum authorizing trade tariffs against companies deemed to be “hindering American companies’ global competitiveness”. This move was a direct response to the administration’s belief that European regulations and fines on US tech firms violated “American sovereignty” and compromised “American economic and national security interests.” This ongoing “tussle and negotiation” over tech firm regulation underscores the broader global trend toward greater exertion of sovereignty over digital infrastructure.

This global pivot signifies a fundamental realignment, where national control and self-determination over digital assets and infrastructure are becoming paramount modes through which sovereignty is asserted. 

Digital Sovereignty and Open-Source

In our view, as Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG), one of the most compelling characteristics of the recent shift towards digital sovereignty, particularly from a digital development perspective, is the heightened emphasis on open source solutions as crucial enablers of digital sovereignty and political agency. 

Perhaps counterintuitively, open source has become a technical cornerstone of digital sovereignty. This is largely because the use of open source technologies largely frees users from dependency on others. In short, open source technology allows for a greater degree of independent control over digital infrastructure.

Beyond political endorsements, renewed enthusiasm for open source is evident in various initiatives, for instance, within the EU’s Gaia-X project, which is developing open source cloud and data infrastructure. Denmark has gone even further, actively exploring replacing governmental reliance on proprietary solutions like Microsoft’s Windows and Office suite with open source alternatives like Linux and LibreOffice to assert digital sovereignty over civil servants’ daily digital tools. We anticipate that in the near future, more countries will translate political statements in support of digital sovereignty into operational reality through the use of open source technology stacks.

This transition to open source, while promising for sovereignty, is not without its complexities, especially when considered through a development lens. Moving from a proprietary solution to an open-source alternative has significant implications across various operational aspects: maintenance, cybersecurity protocols, data integration strategies, governance frameworks, management practices, staff capacity requirements, and the broader tech stack. How governments will approach these issues will significantly impact how successful they ultimately are at “exerting sovereignty” over their digital infrastructure. There is a real risk that poorly thought-through or incomplete approaches to adopting open source will leave critical components of national tech stacks either dependent on external providers or vulnerable to cyberattack.

Data Exchange: The Interoperable Core of Open-Sourced DPI

The current shift towards digital sovereignty will have a significant trickle-down impact on national DPI policies. With open source technologies being prioritized to achieve digital sovereignty, there will need to be a corresponding focus on developing DPI using these open, transparent, and controllable solutions. 

As open-source approaches in DPI development and implementation pick up pace, the criticality of data exchanges to the functioning of digital goods and services will also increase. Data exchange, in its simplest form, refers to the process of transferring or sharing data across institutions, systems, platforms, or even individuals. It is recognized as a core pillar of DPI, with organizations like GovStack and the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) particularly emphasizing its importance in the context of open-source solutions. Data exchange is essential for linking digital identity or e-payment services to specific e-services – from pensions to agricultural subsidies – and any other financial interaction between administrative authorities and individuals.

Achieving effective data exchange as part of their DPI investments presents pressing challenges for governments transitioning to open-source systems. At its heart, data exchange is a complex series of interoperability challenges spanning technological, data, organizational, and human layers. Many government offices struggle with siloed, sector-specific digital systems that impede effective data utilization and decision-making, thereby hindering ambitious sustainable development goals. 

To ensure that DPI successfully meets public needs in this new era of digital sovereignty, unlocking interoperability in data exchanges will be crucial. This is essential for ensuring that the datasets powering digital services, evidence-based decision-making, and public transparency are standardized, adhere to critical protocols, and are semantically interoperable (i.e., that machines can read the data in a manner that preserves its meaning and integrity, ensuring it is fit for purpose). 

As governments move towards integrating open-source solutions into their DPI, they need to be mindful of the technical capacity, cost, and operational needs that accompany this shift. They also need to ensure that they do not over-focus on e-payments and digital ID systems as pillars of DPI to the detriment of data exchanges, which in open-source systems are arguably the cornerstone of DPI.

Operationalizing Digital Sovereignty for Resilient Systems

In 2025, digital sovereignty and open source have become an unlikely duo. From the point of view of governments, the operationalization of digital sovereignty through open source technologies creates opportunities for more resilient data and digital systems, including DPI, to be built. 

As this trend accelerates, the function of data exchanges in establishing interoperability between open-source systems is ever more important. Based on our decades of experience building open source digital infrastructure at DG, for governments adopting the open source approach to digital sovereignty, several insights and recommendations stand out:

• Governments must examine existing data governance policies and practices to proactively prevent unexpected blockers when implementing open source solutions, particularly within broader digital transformation strategies.
• It is essential to understand what already exists at a technical level to effectively set priorities. Rather than discarding functional systems, the focus should be on connecting existing systems through new data exchange infrastructure, such as creating data standards or semantic interoperability layers. This approach necessitates creating data standards and identifying champions who can advocate for and develop these standards across sectors and regions, recognizing that this is a time-consuming process.
• Institutionalizing sustainability from the outset is paramount. Data exchange infrastructure initiatives must integrate human, institutional, financial, and technical components to ensure long-term scalability and viability.
• Finally, there’s a need to build data exchange capabilities now for future innovation. Investing in open source data exchange creates a stronger foundation for implementing innovative technologies, particularly AI, which relies heavily on vast amounts of data. This also necessitates fostering institutional and individual digital literacy, as well as robust data organization and categorization.

In the coming decade, DPI development in the global majority countries is likely to be characterized by a balance between procuring off-the-shelf solutions from diverse markets (including the US, EU, China, and others) and deploying locally developed or supported open source solutions. The increasing focus on data exchange as the central cog of open-sourced DPI will necessitate continuous updates to digital transformation policies, strategies, and open source tools to meet these evolving needs. This path forward requires a careful balance between practical implementation and the political realities of 2025.

The social sector is operating amidst periods of unprecedented uncertainty and a shifting political landscape and priorities. As a result, there is a significant need for increased domestic resource mobilization for foreign aid.  Economists have found that as of mid-2025, official development assistance (ODA) has decreased between $41 billion and $60 billion compared to 2023 levels of $228.3 billion. Additionally, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to see a total decline of 16% to 28% by the end of the year.    

These deficits lead to an unexpected shock of financial sources that fund essential government services – from education to health. As an example, in Côte d’Ivoire, 8,600 healthcare providers who provide essential services have been terminated. In Southeast Asia, Myanmar terminated its supply of malaria diagnostic tests and drugs, despite a 10 times increase in cases compared to previous years (Source).

Within this context, the UN held the fourth Financing for Development Conference, bringing together more than 60 heads of state, as well as high-ranking officials from development banks and multilateral institutions from around the world, and 15,000 attendees to tackle how countries may address the financing for these services.  The conference and outcomes document spoke of a number of measures, including increased financial transparency and a need for innovative blended finance mechanisms. Conversations on these issues will continue from mid-late September in New York during the UN General Assembly (UNGA), and we hope, in particular, one method will receive more attention: the key role health taxes can fill in closing the financing gap.

To speak to this issue, representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), and Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) came together to discuss the critical role of health taxes in mobilizing domestic resources for health. 

Development Gateway’s Experience

Development Gateway has direct experience in supporting more effective tax policy through providing access to clear evidence and best practices. Through the Tobacco Control Data Initiative, an ongoing tobacco control program in seven African countries, the program aggregates and visualizes data related to tobacco legislation. DG developed six country-specific websites that display tobacco research through close collaboration with government ministries such as ministries of health, finance, trade, as well as civil society organizations, academics, and local research firms. 

Through this process of developing and sharing this information, DG successfully provided key evidence and information in the lead-up to tax reform in several priority countries. For example, Nigeria updated its specific tobacco taxes by 30% in 2022 after consultation with DG and other key stakeholders. In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority and the Ministry of Finance used the tax modeling we had developed – in conjunction with the University of Cape Town – to understand the impact of different tax scenarios. With that information, they updated the excise tax in 2020 and in 2024. The average tax collected per pack was increased from 4.12 Birr to 12.4 (approximately US$0.086), and an 8 Birr Specific tax was added per pack, in line with best practices. These increased tobacco taxes lead directly to increased funding available for health expenditures.

WHO’s Experience

The World Health Organization discussed its launch of a new initiative: the 3 by 35 initiative. This initiative is a bold movement for countries worldwide to increase the real prices by 50% of three unhealthy products – alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks – by 2035. This movement showcases how taxes are a critical tool to raise revenue and save lives. WHO states that a “one-time tax increase sufficient to raise prices by 50% could generate up to US$3.7 trillion in new revenue globally within five years, or an average of US$740 billion per year – equivalent to 0.75% of global GDP.”

Tax Justice Network Africa’s Experience

Since 2017, TJNA has worked with national partners in seven African countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia) to implement the  Tobacco Tax Advocacy in Africa (TTAA) project. Through targeted policy advocacy, the partners promote increases in tobacco excise tax in order to raise domestic revenue and decrease the affordability and consumption of tobacco and nicotine products. Pivotal to the process is the tax structure implemented in each country. As such, the TTAA partners advocate for specific or mixed tax structures to enhance administrative capacities and price movement.   

The TTAA project has yielded various positive results – the most recent being in Ghana with the enactment of the Excise Duty Amendment Act, 2023 (Act 1093).  The Act revised the tax structure to include a specific tax component and reduced the ad valorem excise rate from 175% to 50%. A post-enactment assessment reveals that retail prices of cigarettes increased between May 2023 and May 2024 for almost all brands. Tobacco excise revenue increased from GHS189 million in 2022 to GHS252 million (approximately US$20 million) in the first half of 2024. Simultaneously, Kenya, Nigeria, while the South African and Zambian Ministries of Finance announced above-inflation (real) increases in tobacco excise tax.  

Next Steps 

As nations and partners go into further discussions on financing during UNGA meetings, it’s more important than ever for smart investments and policy decisions to raise needed revenue for critical services. Government agencies have the opportunity to capitalize on this moment of reduced foreign investment to review their tax structure and ensure that their taxes on tobacco products, sugary-sweetened beverages, and tobacco are in line with evidence-based best practices. These include (1) a tax policy that leads to a real price increase on these products and (2) a regular process of updating these taxes to keep up with inflation. As stated by Dr. Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General of WHO, “Health taxes are one of the most efficient tools we have. They cut the consumption of harmful products and create revenue governments can reinvest in health care, education, and social protection.” 

For African governments looking for country-specific recommendations on tobacco tax, we recommend the resources available at tobaccocontroldata.org. For other questions, we recommend that government officials reach out to the Tax Justice Network Africa and the Health Taxes Unit in the WHO for individual consultation. The opportunity is now to capitalize on these opportunities to mobilize resources for much-needed healthcare. 

A lot has been said about the importance of data and data-driven decision-making. However, having data isn’t enough; what matters is being able to understand it and apply it to enable better decisions. 

Research across disciplines has shown strong evidence that visualizing data, rather than presenting numbers alone, significantly enhances how people comprehend and use information. Easy-to-follow visualizations help deliver more information while making it easier for our brains to process, reducing the mental effort required to interpret complex datasets.

In fields such as agriculture, where decisions can have long-term consequences, having user-friendly data tools becomes even more crucial. Decision-makers across various levels, whether they’re farmers in the field or government policymakers, need tools that not only provide data but also make it usable and actionable.

Data visualization training as an entry to data use 

The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), along with the Ministry of Regional Trade & Integration (MoTRI) and the Livestock Development Institute (LDI) manages significant volumes of livestock data covering disease, markets, and genetics. However, the gap in technical capacity hindered effective data management, analysis, and use in decision-making. To this end, the a Livestock Information Vision for Ethiopia (aLIVE) program, funded by the Gates Foundation, conducted a series of structured and hands-on training in data visualization techniques in November 2023 and January 2024 with the goal of increasing data use.

Federal system owners received training with a focus on practical application in real-world scenarios, utilizing their data generated from their databases. Participants learned how to clean and manage datasets, apply Excel formulas and functions, use PivotTables and PivotCharts for data summarization, and develop interactive visualizations with Power BI. A critical component of the training emphasized key data quality principles, such as validity, integrity, precision, reliability, and timeliness, ensuring that system owners could produce reliable and accurate reports. Many trainees had prior theoretical knowledge but lacked hands-on experience, which this training effectively addressed by allowing them to work with live datasets from their databases. 

Visualization improves efficiency in reporting

As participants began applying their new data skills, the practical benefits became clear. Being able to visualize data using tools like Power BI and PivotTables in Excel, along with advanced filtering, enabled trainees to enhance the efficiency of utilizing livestock data for various reporting purposes. The trainees reported that data tasks that previously took them several days to complete could now be done in hours or even minutes.

Systems owners as trusted intermediaries

Systems owners play a critical role in connecting and translating information from the ground up, delivering data from farmers and local stakeholders to policymakers. To do this effectively, they must be empowered data users, capable of transforming raw datasets into clear, usable insights for decision-makers. Timely, clear, and well-targeted data visualizations created by system owners are a critical enabler of informed policymaking. 

When data is presented in an accessible and actionable format, it becomes far easier for policymakers to reference and utilize it. Conversely, poor decisions often stem not just from low-quality data, but from decision-makers being unable – or unwilling – to engage with overly complex or delayed data.

Through the aLIVE training program, system owners develop the ability to deliver information in a way that enables decision-makers to confidently act upon it. Importantly, this training goes beyond technical capacity. It positions system owners as trusted intermediaries in the livestock value chain – individuals who can translate raw field-level data into national-level insights that shape policies, programs, and investments.

Crucially, the program also employs a training-of-trainers (ToT) model. System owners cascade their knowledge to regional focal points, who in turn are better equipped to interpret and communicate data to local stakeholders, including farmers. For instance, once Dr. Gashaw completed the training, he immediately trained DOVAR-II owners at the Woreda level on data management and analysis. 

Additionally, regional focal points now use PivotTables for their own reporting. According to Dr. Tewodros, the Animal Disease Notification and Investigation System (ADNIS) System Owner at MoA, “The fact that aLIVE expanded its training to the regions based on our recommendation has simplified their data reporting and improved our ability to follow up. They have begun using Pivot Tables in their reports, and many are eager for similar and further training.”

This cascading approach helps ensure that data literacy does not remain concentrated only at the federal level but extends through the broader livestock system. By reinforcing accountability, transparency, and empowerment across different levels of governance, this approach protects and entrenches data use for the long term as it moves through the value chain.

Visualized data enables evidence-based decisions at every level  

Outside of reporting, visualizing data lowers the barrier to making evidence-based decisions, especially when the visualizations are simple, like bar graphs and simplified charts. This evidence can improve decisions by introducing new insights that can shift prior beliefs, reduce uncertainty, and can be understood from federal to regional to farmer level.

Improvement in data quality awareness was noted, as described by Dr Gashaw from the DOVAR System: “Since we are not data experts, we used to consider quality issues only in relation to outliers. The training has helped me understand data quality very well, including concepts such as integrity and validity. We are now discussing how the data that comes to our system can attain these standards.”

Improving data competency facilitates a data-driven culture

Embedding a data-driven culture requires demonstrating the value of data and building stakeholders’ capacity to use it. Data visualization training serves two purposes: enhancing the utility of data and reducing entry barriers, allowing stakeholders to generate their own visualizations. With improved capacity comes an increased willingness to integrate data into daily workflows.

Improved competency translates into a more confident mindset when working with data and a stronger willingness to engage with data tasks without relying on external support. As a result, participants are better equipped to generate insights quickly. One expert, for instance, went on to create time series analysis to identify trends and patterns, which could help policymakers plan for the future, allocate resources more effectively, and respond to emerging challenges.

Connecting the Dots

In conclusion, visualization is not only a practical tool for data analysis but also a powerful trust-building mechanism, as making data more accessible improves stakeholders’ ability at every level to engage with and interpret information. This demystifies complex livestock systems, empowering all stakeholders to explore data independently and reinforcing both confidence in the data and its use. Dashboards and visualization can enhance communication and coordination throughout the value chain, fostering trust and attracting new, previously disengaged stakeholders who might otherwise be excluded by technical barriers. 

…

This is the second blog in our series sharing lessons from the aLIVE program, which is supporting livestock decision-makers in Ethiopia by improving the accessibility and reliability of livestock data. The series examines how data can be made more accessible, actionable, and sustainable to enhance decision-making across government to farm levels.

Read the first blog here.

Working to curb corruption requires collaboration. Developers working to create innovative tech tools to increase transparency and flag corruption risks use shared knowledge and open source code to advance tools, building upon one another’s work. As Development Gateway: An IREX Venture and Accountability Lab mentored HackCorruption teams selected during regional hackathons for their innovative digital tool ideas, we noticed that these teams spent time searching for existing tools that could be built upon, as well as open source code that could be leveraged to create new tools.

We developed the HackCorruption Civic Tech Tools Repository as a comprehensive, open-source collection of impactful and scalable digital solutions for combating corruption to be used not only by HackCorruption teams but also by any others interested in building or enhancing digital anti-corruption tools. The repository is designed for continuous growth through community contributions via GitHub and is intended to serve as a centralized hub for tools, source code, and resources organized across six key thematic areas:

• Foundational anti-corruption data and metadata management tools
• Beneficial ownership transparency
• Open contracting
• Budget transparency and participatory budgeting
• Climate finance transparency
• Illicit financial flows

Key Features

• 41+ curated tools across multiple categories with direct access to source code
• Open-source accessibility allowing community contributions and continuous updates
• Comprehensive documentation, including technology overviews, deployment examples, intellectual property information, and impact evidence
• Wiki integration providing background information and contributor guidelines
• Global scope with geographic tagging and categorization

We invite developers and others working on anti-corruption tech tools to contribute their open source code and tools to this repository! We hope that this resource can act as a catalyst for the collaboration and cooperation required to create change and curb corruption.

Access the repository below.

Click here to learn more about HackCorruption.

Reliable, accessible data is essential for effective tobacco control, enabling policymakers to implement stronger, evidence-based responses to evolving industry tactics and public health challenges. As spotlighted by this year’s World No Tobacco Day, themed “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products,” the tobacco industry continues to market its products, especially to youth, through increasingly deceptive strategies. 

In support of stronger, data-driven policy responses, Development Gateway’s (DG) Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI), launched in 2019 with funding from the Gates Foundation, developed country-specific websites for Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia, and the DRC. These platforms centralize trustworthy, reliable data on topics ranging from taxation and illicit trade to health burden and industry interference. 

Complementing this work, DG’s Data on Youth and Tobacco in Africa (DaYTA) program, which began in 2023, focuses on filling knowledge gaps around tobacco use among 10- to 17-year-olds in Kenya, Nigeria, and the DRC. Together, these initiatives support ongoing efforts across sub-Saharan Africa to counter industry influence and strengthen tobacco control. This blog shares key research findings on tobacco industry interference from TCDI-focus countries.

Unmasking the Appeal: How Tobacco Industry Strategies Hinder Effective Tobacco Control in Africa 

Across Africa, the tobacco industry continues to employ various strategies aimed at maintaining a favorable operating environment and expanding its customer base. As a profit-driven sector, its approaches often include efforts to influence public perception, delay the implementation of health regulations, or frame its activities in ways that minimize perceived harm. Such practices can complicate policy development and slow the adoption of effective tobacco control measures, posing significant challenges to public health progress.

In Nigeria, for instance, the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation targets National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members through agricultural entrepreneurship initiatives, such as the Farmers for the Future Grant and the Graduate Agripreneur Program, reflecting a major tactic the industry uses to deflect attention from the harms of its products. 

In Zambia, the Centre for Primary Care Research (CPCR), one of TCDI’s implementing partners, revealed several alarming strategies used by the industry to attract young people to tobacco and nicotine products. In their report “Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets”, published in March  2025, researchers discovered that at least one type of tobacco product was available for purchase in 99% of points of sale (POS) located within 100 meters of schools and playgrounds. In over half of these POS, flavoured cigarettes were available for purchase. 

To address these realities, generating reliable, evidence-based insights is crucial in equipping public health actors with the tools needed to critically evaluate industry claims, counter misinformation, and advocate for stronger, more resilient policy and legislative frameworks.

Between April and June 2024, DaYTA conducted a household-based, nationally representative survey that shed light on the reasons for initiating use of tobacco and nicotine products amongst adolescents, as well as the widespread exposure they face through both digital and in-person advertising and promotional channels. The following infographics highlight some of these key insights:

Strengthening Tobacco Control in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In light of the industry’s persistent efforts to obstruct tobacco control, TCDI developed dedicated industry interference pages tailored to each focus country, which compile and analyze common arguments used by the industry. These resources are designed to provide stakeholders with a deeper understanding of industry tactics and support countermeasures rooted in evidence. Timely, context-specific information on these strategies is vital for tobacco control advocates to effectively monitor, expose, and counter industry influence.

As part of TCDI’s primary research across the six focus countries, teams in the DRC and Zambia investigated the prevalence of illicit cigarette trade, a significant barrier to effective tobacco control on both the enforcement and implementation fronts. In 2022, the Zambia study found that 12.2% of over 118,000 discarded packs analyzed were illicit, lacking Zambia Revenue Authority tax stamps, required health warnings, or bearing duty-free labels despite being sold openly. Of particular concern, 10.1% of packs lacked a ZRA stamp, indicating a significant loss of government tax revenue. A summary of the study is available here.

In 2023, 8.6% of the cigarette market in DRC was found to be illicit, surging to over 51% if all imported yellow-stamped packs were included, according to the study. To support enforcement efforts, the team trained 26 provincial health inspectors, one from each province, on both the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the survey’s key findings. Consequently, during this year’s WNTD, the DRC’s Minister of Health, Dr. Roger Kamba, joined forces with civil society to lead a public march to the National Assembly, where they delivered a formal memorandum urging lawmakers to ratify the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, the first protocol under the WHO FCTC and an independent international treaty designed to combat illicit tobacco trade worldwide.

This primary research represents a critical path forward in generating local evidence to guide policy, offering the most precise picture yet of illicit tobacco trade in Zambia and the DRC. It underscores the urgent need for enhanced border control, better regulation of tobacco distribution, and effective systems to track and trace these products

From Evidence to Action: How Our Stakeholders Are Harnessing TCDI Data to Counter Industry Interference

In Nigeria, the Kano Hadaka Development Initiative (KAHADI), one of TCDI’s civil society partners, has effectively leveraged data from the TCDI website to counter tobacco industry interference through a strategic, multi-pronged approach. By utilizing the platform’s robust insights, KAHADI has pinpointed high-risk populations and designed targeted interventions to reduce tobacco use. The data has also bolstered their advocacy work, equipping them to push for meaningful policy reforms across different levels of government. Guided by findings from the Nigeria portal, KAHADI has launched public awareness campaigns to educate communities on tobacco’s harms while partnering with healthcare providers, educators, and local leaders to broaden their reach and deepen impact.

Highlighting the platform’s accessibility, Suleima Aliyi, KAHADI’s Secretary, said, “The TCDI dashboard is our go-to resource for tracking tobacco use trends. It directly informs the proposals and policy recommendations we develop for government stakeholders. We’ve been able to draft multiple proposals to the Kano State Government, and we’re now preparing for a final policy meeting with the Governor.”

Building on this, Zambia’s experience highlights how data is being used across contexts to support tobacco control. Ahead of an internal legislative committee meeting, the Zambia Ministry of Health and its civil society partners conducted a strategic review of the bill’s most contentious provisions, drawing on data from the TCDI dashboards to pre-empt and counter industry arguments. To challenge claims that graphic health warnings (GHWs) are impractical, the team cited the South Africa dashboard, which features an infographic illustrating the widespread adoption of GHWs across the continent. Similarly, in anticipation of pushback around illicit trade, they referenced the Kenya dashboard to demonstrate how robust enforcement tools such as track-and-trace systems can effectively curb illicit tobacco flows.

In a July 2025 interview conducted by the TCDI Ethiopia team, Bitsat Shimeles, Senior Expert at the Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances & Tobacco Desk of Ethiopia’s Food and Drug Administration, highlighted how the industry interference page plays a vital role in supporting the government’s mitigation efforts.

Evidence across the TCDI countries points to several core priority actions for countering influence from the industry: 

1. Enact or fully enforce comprehensive legislation
2. Ban/prohibit manipulative tobacco-funded CSR activities
3. Establish clear codes of conduct for public officials 
4. Embrace transparency measures  by mandating disclosures of all interactions with the industry and adopting more rigid conflict of interest policies 
5. Empower civil society to monitor interference and accountability, for both the government and industry alike.

With growing recognition of the need to address industry interference and enforce tobacco control laws, data-driven strategies, such as those supported through TCDI,  underscore the value of accessible, reliable evidence that can be adapted and shared across countries facing similar tobacco control challenges.

When we discuss food systems, we are not just talking about farms; we are referring to the entire food supply chain. We are talking about how people eat, live, and navigate an increasingly volatile climate. 

The upcoming 2025 UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4) provides a global platform to take stock of this complexity, and Ethiopia’s role as host is significant, offering a concrete case study to assess progress not only in policy but also in the lived realities of farmers, students, researchers, and urban households. While Ethiopia’s experience is specific, the challenges and innovations it reveals are common across many low- and middle-income countries.

This blog post analyzes Ethiopia’s national food systems strategy as an example of where the UNFSS can go next in strengthening global food security.

What People Often Miss About Food Systems

Food systems are often misunderstood as being limited to agriculture alone. In truth, they touch nearly every aspect of life, including land use, climate resilience, nutrition, hunger reduction, and economic opportunity. At their core, food systems have the potential to end hunger not just in Ethiopia, but around the world. By strengthening how food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed, global food systems can ensure that more people have consistent access to affordable, nutritious food.

Strong, inclusive systems can support smallholder farmers, improve distribution networks, and create safety nets that protect the most vulnerable from food insecurity.

At the same time, food systems are contributing to rising rates of chronic disease and environmental degradation. These patterns not only strain ecosystems but also increase the burden on public health systems. Meanwhile, today’s food systems are estimated to generate over $12 trillion in hidden costs according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Less than five percent of climate finance is directed toward fixing them.

Ethiopia: An Example of What’s Working So Far

Ethiopia presents encouraging examples of what’s possible. It has prioritized soil health through investments in soil mapping and regionally adapted fertilizer blending, as outlined in AGRA’s Ethiopia Strategic Plan (2023–2027), which supports national efforts to improve fertilizer quality and expand localized blending. Social safety nets, such as the Productive Safety Net Programme, also continue to play a critical role in protecting vulnerable households from food insecurity.

Progress in digital agriculture has also been notable. The country’s Digital Agriculture Roadmap outlines plans for interoperable systems linking farmer registries, market data, and advisory services. These goals align with regional aspirations for modern and inclusive agriculture. Youth engagement has also been meaningful. For instance, Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative has mobilized millions of young people to plant trees and promote environmental stewardship nationwide. In schools, projects such as the Youth in Horticulture, an initiative by the Farm Secure Schools Africa, have combined hands-on gardening with nutrition education, encouraging students to participate directly in sustainable food systems.

The Gaps We Can’t Ignore

Still, significant challenges remain. One is the disconnect between livestock farming and soil management. Ethiopia’s Livestock Information System Roadmap focuses on veterinary services and disease tracking but does not connect livestock practices, such as manure recycling, to soil health strategies. This siloed approach misses a key opportunity for integrated land management. Countries such as Senegal face similar challenges, where livestock and soil health are addressed in parallel rather than in a coordinated way.

​​Another concern is the lack of quality control for fertilizers. While local blending has expanded, there is no dedicated public budget for laboratory testing. As a result, quality oversight is left to market forces. Kenya also implements a fertilizer subsidy scheme, but its quality assurance system is undermined by limited laboratory capacity and insufficient regulatory enforcement.

Water insecurity also remains unaccounted for in Ethiopia’s food policy framework. Although crop yield data is available, there is limited information on post-harvest losses or household-level food stress. Tools such as the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) scale, which measures personal experiences of water-related hardship, could be adapted for this purpose.

Ethiopia’s digital agriculture framework remains focused on national implementation and rollout. While it demonstrates strong internal coordination, it does not yet incorporate the African Union (AU)’s standards for data governance or commit to the continent-wide digital infrastructure promoted by the AU Digital Agriculture Strategy. This limits opportunities for collaboration across national borders. A similar pattern is observed in Vietnam, where promising digital tools have emerged but remain disconnected from regional strategies. These examples show that many of Ethiopia’s food system challenges mirror wider global patterns.

What Ethiopia’s Case Tells Us About What Needs to Happen Next

To move from commitments to fundamental transformation, clear and actionable steps are needed. One critical issue raised in Ethiopia’s food systems strategy is that key sectors such as soil health, livestock, and digital agriculture are advancing in parallel but not in coordination. For example, the Livestock Information System Roadmap and Integrated Soil Fertility Management Manual are each robust in their own right. However, they fail to link grazing practices and manure reuse to soil restoration goals. Bridging these silos is essential for building a truly integrated and sustainable food system.

The Moment is Now

As one of many countries navigating food system transitions, Ethiopia’s progress, while uneven, offers valuable insights for peers around the world. The challenges it faces are not unique. Countries from West Africa to Southeast Asia are grappling with how to turn national food systems commitments into integrated, accountable action. These shared struggles highlight the need for stronger coordination, more transparent monitoring, and greater alignment with regional frameworks. The UNFSS Stocktake moment is the perfect opportunity to double down on technical support and promotion of the integration of food systems that support everyone.

In April 2025, over 2000 people gathered in Kigali for the first Global AI summit in Africa to discuss AI’s potential to increase economic opportunities for African citizens. Across various discussions, one thing was clear – Africa’s AI potential is real. The summit promised to move from discussions into actions, concluding with a clear outcome document: the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence. The declaration highlights the potential of AI and its dependence on the strength of data, infrastructure, governance, investments, human capacity, market, and international cooperation.

As governments, funders, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders rally around the AI moment and move towards actions, at Development Gateway, we are asking a different set of questions:

• Where is the data, and what is the quality of the data behind the algorithms?
• How will legacy government systems feed AI tools with fresh and usable data? 
• Are Government ministries resourced to govern and trust the AI tools that they are being encouraged to adopt?

Our answer is grounded in our experience over two decades: AI will not be able to scale without foundational data and infrastructure. Our focus has been on the less glamorous and often overlooked layers that are needed for every AI breakthrough – data, infrastructure, governance, and capacity.

What is missing from AI?

Conversations following the summit seem to focus on research and innovations as reflected in upcoming discussions such as the World Summit AI in October 2025 and the Southern African Conference for Artificial Intelligence happening in December 2025 (to name a few of many upcoming AI gatherings). Underpinning these innovations, there is a need for data systems, well-structured quality data, trust and transparency within institutions, and local ownership and capacity to govern these features. 

As highlighted in this blog on Artificial Intelligence for Public Good, when considering data for development, information about people is vital, particularly in the public sector. This includes the need for strong administrative systems that support service delivery and regular, representative national surveys & census efforts that ensure no one is left behind.  Despite this, across many African countries, data ecosystems remain reliant on paper-based systems and face major structural challenges. These include limited capacity to use data in decision-making, underdeveloped administrative data systems, insufficient investment in statistical capacity, costly and complex ICT infrastructure, and donor dependence for data initiatives.

The Invisible Layer: Infrastructure and People

In our work, we have observed that across sectors, governments rely on donor-funded servers, outdated systems, and overstretched ICT teams, as highlighted in this recent blog by Development Gateway and partners. One example: in Ethiopia, we found that the Ministry of Agriculture had fewer than 10 full-time staff managing 33 digital systems. The Ministry acknowledged that this is not sustainable.

At DG, we’re working with governments to:

• Analyze cloud vs. on-premise hosting options when looking at infrastructure. As outlined in Chapter 4 of our report on Demystifying interoperability, cloud can offer you flexibility, but on-site servers can align better with local resourcing and available skills. We work closely with partners to weigh the trade-offs, and it’s not always a one-size-fits-all solution, as it depends on context. Good infrastructure isn’t just about the technology; it’s about trust, sustainability, and what works best for the people it is meant to serve.
• Create internal AI Code assist tools that help overburdened technical teams manage dozens of integrated systems more effectively. We use Code Assist internally at DG, and by developing a custom one that helps with key maintenance tasks, it could speed up the onboarding of new staff (permanent and embedded). We are currently collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia on this initiative.
• Strengthen data quality. This requires striking a fine balance between not standing in the way of AI development and reinforcing that data quality is not just needed but a necessity. For example, in our work with the Ministry of Health in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, DRC, Zambia, and Nigeria on tobacco control data, we work with the governments to embed a rigorous validation and review process that involves thematic experts on specific topics and research advisory groups that include the National Bureau of Statistics.
• Understand how investments in interoperability can optimize the value of existing, siloed data, but can also leave difficult-to-fill gaps when data connected via API is taken offline. For instance, in the wake of lost USAID funding, data sources via API may not have backups. 

While Governments are central stakeholders in AI governance, infrastructure must serve a broader ecosystem that includes academia, entrepreneurs/innovators, investors, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the communities they serve. All stakeholders need access to open, reliable, and affordable infrastructure that is also sustainable. Local stakeholders on the continent face significant challenges due to fragmented or donor-dependent systems.

 The African Union AI strategy outlines principles to be adopted, such as diversity, inclusivity, and African culture and values. The Data Values Project by GPSDD echoes this need by emphasising that data, and by extension AI, must be anchored in equity, trust, and community voices. By prioritizing values and principles described in the strategy, such as Ubuntu (respecting collective community over individuality), countries can build AI infrastructure that supports innovation not only across sectors but that can also serve communities in an equitable manner. 

The Road Ahead

The Kigali Summit confirmed that Africa’s AI trajectory is in motion. But critical questions remain:

• Which countries are investing in AI governance that reflects African values, equity, and local priorities? In particular, African countries must adopt a more nuanced and intentional approach to cultural preservation because the continent has a higher number of languages that aren’t already documented and used for existing algorithms. 
• Who will fund the data infrastructure and capacity work that makes AI safe, scalable, and inclusive?
• How can practitioners plug into global and regional initiatives to bring a practitioner’s lens to AI’s foundational layer?

The AI summit raised important reflections, but now we need solutions and tangible actions. In June 2025, Development Gateway co-developed a session with partners on what it takes for philanthropy to build technology that is equitable at the 9th East Africa Philanthropy Conference. We hope to see philanthropy and other funders move beyond pilots and quick innovation wins to investing in systems that can make AI sustainable, not only in the region, but also, we hope to see a similar trend emerge out of global fora such as the World Summit on the Information Society +20.

Ultimately, while these questions we’re asking are oriented towards Africa and the continent’s development, they are global in nature. People-driven AI will need to reflect localized norms with sustainable funding and pathways for the practitioner’s lens, as part of regional initiatives in Asia, South America, and elsewhere. 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Education has long been recognized as a crucial driver in creating a more sustainable and equitable world. However, to understand how education is being delivered, who it reaches, where, and how effectively, we must first have access to quality, reliable educational data.

Across many sectors, countries, and contexts, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) has seen first-hand what makes data, technology, and evidence effective. Through this process, we have learned best practices for advising governments, agencies, and organizations on how to take practical, action-oriented steps to collect, monitor, evaluate, and use data to achieve impact.

This blog draws on DG’s experience in climate, health, aid management, and agriculture to explore connections between the challenges of data collection, data hosting, and data governance across different sectors and what the solutions to overcoming them can teach us about strengthening education data systems.

Overview of the EDI Project

In our latest education project, the Elimu Data Initiative (EDI), we aim to understand the existing open- and closed-source educational information management systems that track education data.

In the first iteration of this project, Hewlett 1.0 (2022 – 2024), DG conducted desk reviews and a series of stakeholder assessments to understand the education data ecosystems in Kenya and Senegal, culminating in a comparative white paper. As we enter into the project’s second phase with EDI, our aim is to grow on the successes of Hewlett 1.0. The project also aims to:

1. Assess and understand the existing landscape of digital systems being used for education data management through a paper comparing education management information systems;
2. Contribute to thought leadership on digital tools for education through discussion of and engagement with our learnings from the paper; and
3. Conduct stakeholder interviews with Nairobi County officials, who indicated a strong need for digital approaches in education. 

As we’ve begun these project activities, we’ve encountered recurring challenges in data collection, data hosting, and data governance. Reflecting on these challenges across multiple sectors, ranging from health to agriculture, can lead to innovative solutions that improve outcomes for the education sector.

Data Challenges: Perspectives from Multiple Sectors

Challenge #1: Data Collection

A challenge we have repeatedly encountered in various sectors is the collection and collation of data. In our white paper on Education Data-Driven Decision Mapping, for instance, stakeholders cited challenges with collecting data on student performance and other data entries. Teachers are often asked to spend a significant amount of time entering data into multiple online systems. Due to the lack of data sharing between these systems, teachers often struggle to balance other teaching priorities while simultaneously completing numerous lengthy forms. This pattern is a recurring trend in the education sector we have witnessed in a number of countries, from Jordan to Kenya.

However, data collection challenges aren’t unique to the education sector and have been an issue in DG’s creation of digital solutions in other sectors, too. In our climate program, the Great Green Wall, for example, it was difficult to secure financial commitment data from countries. We addressed this challenge by manually aggregating individual survey responses in order to provide a first-level baseline. We also ensured that this data was shared publicly through the Great Green Wall Accelerator, preventing the challenge of multiple concurrent closed datasets.

In the health sector and our Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI), the demand for up-to-date tobacco control research required us to implement new national-level data collection efforts, collecting and collating data ranging from vaping in South Africa to the behavioral reasons why Nigerians choose to start smoking shisha (also known as “hookah”).

Lessons Learned: Having a clear understanding of what data already exists, how readily available it is, where gaps remain, and the supply of and demand for new data enables us to design systems that are usable within present data constraints and scalable as additional data is collected.

Challenge #2: Data Hosting

Another common challenge relates to how and where the data collected are housed. In any program, a key decision must be made as to whether data solutions will be housed locally on servers within national borders or hosted on the cloud. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this challenge, and what works for one context may not work for another.

In the EDI education project, we began understanding this nuance while seeking to understand education data flows in different country contexts. In Togo, data sovereignty – i.e., hosting the data locally – is considered a priority when it comes to their national data, including education statistics such as the number of students enrolled, the number of teachers per school, and so on. However, they were not able to host this education data locally within their existing infrastructure. As such, they decided to pursue a compromise.

Currently, Togo uses their own data collection tool, StatEduc, to collect school data at the national level. In order to use the analytics and reporting capabilities of the University of Oslo’s platform DHIS2 for Education, they then manually export the data outside of Togo to the DHIS2 team. The DHIS2 and Togolese officials then work together to review and validate the data before inputting the validated education data into the DHIS2 platform. Although this process is cumbersome, it has been functioning reasonably well. However, now that Togo has built a new data center, they are pursuing migrating the data to be hosted either physically or virtually through Togolese servers. Doing so will streamline the integration process of education data and ensure that education data remains compliant with Togo’s national data regulations, while also cutting down on current manual data validation procedures.

In another example from our work in the agriculture sector, DG’s ‘A Livestock Information Vision for Ethiopia’ (aLIVE) team worked closely with ministry officials in Ethiopia to determine whether hosting nationally or in the cloud would be a better fit for their needs. As noted in chapter 4 of our white paper ‘Demystifying Interoperability: Insights from our work in Ethiopia’s agriculture sector,’ the advantages of cloud computing, such as improved scalability, can be outweighed by the cons, such as increased cost over time. Similarly, national hosting solutions also raise certain challenges. Although the advantages include improved bandwidth and higher degrees of control and access to the data, these may be outweighed by the challenges of maintaining a local team to manage hardware and software infrastructure. In the end, after considering a wide range of factors, it was decided to host the livestock platform on local servers.

Lessons Learned: Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to data hosting means each solution must be carefully considered and evaluated in accordance with existing data protection laws, technical staff availability, and budget constraints.

Challenge #3: Data Governance

Besides data collection and data hosting, a third major challenge we’ve seen during our work in the education sector is related to data governance. When talking with education experts from Kenya, Senegal, and Europe, we find that a common trend in the conversation is the underutilization of human resources dedicated to data processing and analysis, which inhibits data quality assurance and the effective use of data for decision-making.

Through our work in Hewlett 1.0, for example, we discovered that in one Kenyan county, there was only one data official working on data analysis for the entire county. These limitations in human resources exacerbate existing data quality and access challenges and can result in these challenges not being prioritized at a management level. 

The lack of resources and the scarcity of officials dedicated to data governance is a challenge we have encountered in a wide variety of sectors, particularly those that deal directly with governance or public infrastructure. In the agricultural sector, for example, the aLIVE team faced data governance challenges related to understanding the existing data management practices prior to the program’s initiation. The team found that these data practices were often not documented and rather relied on the memory of staff members to inform others about them. Due to staff turnover and the volume of systems, each with its own governance standards, much of this information was either lost or convoluted in such a way that understanding the overarching data governance landscape was a significant challenge.

While it may be challenging to gain a full image of the data governance structures in place, it is still vital to understand as much as possible what already exists in terms of data management, practices, and processes. It’s extremely rare for there to be “zero” data governance and, as such, the best practice is to document all you can of this foundational knowledge and build from there. This documentation not only helps to alleviate duplication but also builds buy-in for new practices among local system owners.

Moreover, we have encountered this challenge in our work over the years, providing the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with data strategy services, supporting the development of their global data governance strategy. As part of this long-term agreement, we have focused on what responsibilities data stewards should have and the functions they need to fill across UNICEF and the overall UN system. This process has highlighted the challenge of data governance in education and how building up the “data savvy” capacity in staffing functions across all levels of an organization can help to solve it.

Lessons Learned: The people, rules, and procedures that govern the use of data across systems must be reviewed as thoroughly as the technical requirements. By clearly documenting the current state of affairs, we can define the “unwritten” rules of data governance and streamline the integration of data into everyday decisions.

Charting a Path Forward in Digital Solutions

As we continue our work in health, agriculture, and education, we’ll continue to aggregate our lessons learned on data collection, data hosting, and data governance. Although there are common challenges across sectors, we see how a clear understanding of the data landscape, including what data governance practices and processes are in place, can inform the successful integration of new systems for many years to come.