Africa Digital Economy Forum Set to Drive Digital Inclusion 

Nosa Alekhuogie 

The Africa Digital Economy Forum (ADEF), a digital transformation advocacy platform, is set to drive and deepen digital inclusion in Africa with the launch of its Shelter4Digital Initiative (S4G).

To this end, the forum has signed a partnership with the Lagos State government to bring the S4G campaign to life across schools in the state. 

With the mantra, “No one Should Be Left Behind,” the initiative is aimed at creating awareness, deepening digitalisation, and driving digital inclusion among African youths and SMEs across the continent. 

Commenting on the initiative, the ADEF Founder and CEO, Mr. Akin Naphtal, said S4G Project was created to support and create awareness of the importance of technology to aid social development and drive digital impact. 

“Digital Inclusion can only be achieved when activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are in place.  Digital Inclusion must evolve as technology advances. Digital Inclusion requires intentional strategies and investments to reduce and eliminate historical, institutional and structural barriers to access and use technology, this is what has birthed the Shelter 4 Digital Campaign (S4G),” Naphtal explained.

“We made our first stop at a Community School with a special needs unit in the Agege local government area, where we started by training the teachers, before moving to training the children. Our instructor started with scratch programming with the children, teaching them how to create digital stories, make animations and designs. Tutoring the children has been an amazing experience, as they do not let their disabilities define them. The positive response we got from the children, kept us going, as some of them are now able to do graphics designing, digital stories, and even create animations,” Naphtal added.

According to him, the United Nations has identified the internet as a basic human right that should be extended to all citizens of the world. As the digital revolution intensifies and grows, governments, non-profits, and businesses will have to extend access to ICT very broadly. It is the only way forward to creating a more enabling and competitive global society.