African countries convene in Abuja for data protection conference

No fewer than nine African countries have commenced a peer-review exchange conference in Abuja, focusing on data protection, data sovereignty, and the management of personal data across regional borders.

The conference is designed to examine regulatory frameworks, operationalise cross-border data sharing, ensure the safety and protection of data subjects, and explore opportunities within the data ecosystem to drive economic growth.

Participating countries include The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Somalia, Malawi, Zambia and Kenya.

The week-long event, holding at the Continental Hotel in Abuja, is organised in partnership with the World Bank, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), and Smart Africa.

Delegations from the participating countries are joined by representatives of key regional organisations, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Speaking at the event, the National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, said the initiative would promote East-West peer learning and strengthen mechanisms for building and operationalising data protection regimes across the continent.

Olatunji described the development as a milestone for Nigeria, noting that it aligns with the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on digital inclusion, data protection, regulatory advancement, institutional capacity building and the creation of opportunities under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Dr Olatunji said Nigeria has emerged as a global reference point in data protection and linked the feat to the country’s rapid progress in building a functional data protection ecosystem.

The NDPC boss said that effective implementation of the regulatory framework and compliance still remain challenges in Africa, despite significant growth in data protection laws.