The iPRIS Project will convene its 2025B Africa Follow-Up Phase in Botswana from October 6 to 9. Over four days, National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and Regional Regulatory Organisations (RROs) will gather to advance ongoing Change Initiatives and deepen collaboration on some of the most pressing challenges shaping Africa’s digital future.
Representatives taking part will include those coming from the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM), the National Communications Authority of Sierra Leone (NatCA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), and Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA). Additionally, the presence of RROs such as CRASA, WATRA, and EACO will emphasise that regional cooperation is paramount if regulatory transformation is to be realised.
This Africa phase aims to build momentum following the May 2025B Europe round, where the same cohort gathered to map out their Change Initiatives. In Botswana, the regulators will provide further updates on their change initiatives. At the same time, various peer-to-peer exchanges will be designed to enhance project management, refine policy responses, and promote the sustainability of institutional impacts.
Interest Areas: Digital transformation and resilient Institutions
During the Africa phase, NRAs in this region will particularly focus on four main themes:
- Digital transformation — inclusive, secure, and competitive digital ecosystems.
- Spectrum management — mounting pressure emanates from mobile broadband, 5G, and emerging services.
- Consumer protection tackling the accelerated use of digital platforms.
- Institutional resilience for future-ready regulators who can develop fast with rapidly changing markets.
Regional Priorities in Context
The discussions come at a pivotal time. According to the GSMA- State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2024, sub-Saharan Africa which has one of the most youthful populations globally has more than half of adults aged 18+ still unconnected. By the end of 2023, nearly 44% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa subscribed to a mobile service, amounting to 527 million subscribers (GSMA), reflecting both the potential and the infrastructure challenges regulators must address. Meanwhile, cross-border digital services, cybersecurity threats, and the need for harmonised frameworks place additional demands on NRAs.
By convening in Botswana, this delegation will continue to strengthen the role of iPRIS as a focal point for regulatory cooperation and advance the resolution of real issues useful in sustaining long-term capacity building. The result of these sessions will be national reforms, as well as a solid regional coordination framework vital to Africa's continued digital transformation.
iPRIS is coordinated and implemented by SPIDER in strategic and technical partnership with the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) and Institut luxembourgeois de régulation (ILR), as well as ARTAC, CRASA, EACO, and WATRA.
iPRIS is funded by the European Union, Sweden, and Luxembourg as part of the Team Europe Initiative “D4D for Digital Economy and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa” (Code: 001).
