World Bank supports EAC in enhancing regional digital integration

Dar es salaam, Tanzania | Xinhua | The World Bank has earmarked about 15 million U.S. dollars to accelerate regional digital integration efforts across the East African Community (EAC), the EAC said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement, issued by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha, said the World Bank through its Single Digital Market initiative aims at supporting the region to become a more deeply integrated and dynamic digital investment, innovation, and growth hub.

The project will focus on connectivity market development and integration, which entails creating an enabling legal, regulatory, and information and communications technology institutional environment to enhance digitalization in the region, said the statement.

The statement said the project scope was deliberated on in a meeting held at the World Bank headquarters.

EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki said the EAC is looking at establishing regional digital innovation hubs across member states to respond to digital challenges.

“This support will further enhance the region’s competitiveness and skills development that are central to successful digital transformation,” said Mathuki.

The EAC member states are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.

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The World Bank has earmarked about $15 million for the EAC, to enhance & accelerate regional digital integration efforts across the region.

EAC SG @pmathuki held a meeting with the project’s team on this at the @WorldBank main offices in Washington,D.C@WorldBankAfrica pic.twitter.com/FFQ7YWpKnN

— East African Community (@jumuiya) December 16, 2022