A two-day regional workshop took place between September 19 and 20, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aimed at strengthening collaboration among recipients of the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP, Series of Projects P176181 and P180931). This gathering included representatives from Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, the East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Although Kenya is not a recipient of EARDIP, regional activities under the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP; P170941) are linked to EARDIP activities. Therefore, Kenya was also represented at the event.
The workshop’s primary focus was on identifying and aligning potential areas of collaboration in the region and establishing implementation arrangements for active and pipeline projects with delegations from the current and proposed beneficiaries. It is envisaged that this workshop will become an annual event as the project progresses into implementation.
The agenda for the two-day event included:
- Presentation of national and regional development objectives and activities by all project recipients, including invited representatives from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, IGAD, and EAC.
- Consolidating methods for recipients to collaborate in implementing regional activities under active and pipeline projects.
- Joint discussions and knowledge-sharing sessions on key regional thematic areas, such as cross-border connectivity, NRENs, cybersecurity, data exchange, digital payments, and others.
- Technical validation of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI) Digital Policy Matrix, which was initially presented at the HoAI 15th Ministerial Meeting on March 8th, 2023, in Nairobi
