Assessing the political and socioeconomic implications of the development of the digital economy in Africa means identifying the interests of other geopolitical powers in Europe and the US, while centring African development interests. On one hand, Beijing continues to cement its global influence on technology by promoting cooperation and supporting the narrowing of the digital divide between underdeveloped and developed countries, especially through capacity building. Euro-American interests, on the other hand, seek to convince African leaders to adopt their existing digital economy standards.

While promoting a critique of Chinese geopolitical influence, Western-based organizations such as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch depict the collaboration between African countries and China as directly or indirectly providing unethical support for authoritarian regimes. Freedom House, in its 2021 ‘Freedom on the Net’ report, claimed that support in Addis Ababa from Beijing translates to more independence for the Ethiopian government but less independence for the average Ethiopian citizen. The argument is that since the government is able to acquire technologies that boost its surveillance capacity, dissenting citizens are easily targeted. Thus, creating a threat to democracy and citizens’ freedoms.

Admittedly, governance in Africa has been a persistent problem, and the issue bleeds into the digital economy. It is on record that several African governments have taken measures to protect their interests at the expense of the citizens’ access to the internet. Election periods, which are generally a frantic event, can see governments in a bid to exert control over mass information, relying on methods like increased surveillance and restricting access to websites and digital platforms. These governments find ways to control media narratives. For example, in Uganda, the government’s communication regulator ordered internet service providers to block access to social media twice in three months, during the lead up to President Yoweri Museveni being sworn in for his fifth term in 2022.

In centring African agency vis-à-vis the development of digital technologies, the context in which said innovative technologies are used ultimately influences whether the impact of the digital economy is seen as a net-positive or negative. From American and European perspectives, Africa’s digital economy is considered another realm in a great-power competition, of which China is a prime rival. The US stands to lose a chance to align itself with Africa’s youth-driven culture, innovation and technology unless concerted effort is made to support Africa’s digital infrastructure—a position that China is already taking advantage of. The geo-strategic competition between Beijing and Washington is also expressed in seeking dominance of undersea cables and satellites, telecommunications and internet service providers, smartphones, data networks, operating systems and applications.

These confrontations between geopolitical competitors routinely influence trade patterns and global value chains. Such hostile interactions also produce dilemmas for African countries, as they are urged to pick sides when considering their development paths. For instance, as countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria look to develop their industrial relationships with Huawei, the US’s ban on the use of Huawei’s technology can adversely affect the adoption of 5G technology in Africa’s drive to build digital economies. This is because the US government views Chinese technology as a threat to its national security and thereby gives restrictive conditions to potential economic partners in relation to the widgets for developing digital economies.

Amidst this competition, it is critical that African countries avoid over-reliance on Euro-American or Chinese technologies but work to develop their own systems while exploring alternatives. Furthermore, it is very important that Africa participates actively in developing global ICT standards at organizations like the International Telecommunications Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization. This mode of operation or governance can allow African countries to fully gain the benefits of potentially transformative technologies like the vaunted 5G.

Seeing how important digital technologies are to development in the fourth industrial revolution, Africa’s policymakers must ensure that these technologies are not politicized for geopolitical ends. Moreover, the geopolitical role of digital technology in supporting or constraining development goals must be studied and incorporated into diplomatic strategies.

In Nigeria, for example, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) unveiled the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 (NBP) as an acknowledgement of the importance of ICT to economic diversification. It was also a foreign policy signal that Nigeria intends to play a larger role in the global digital economy. The main objective of the NBP was to boost broadband penetration in the country from 38.49 per cent as of 2020 to an ambitious 70 per cent by 2025. As of January 2025, Nigeria’s broadband penetration stands at 45.61 per cent, well below the 70 per cent target. While the NCC reports increases in broadband usage and general internet usage, analysts argue that the increases are due to the adoption of digital services in already connected areas, as opposed to broadband connection reaching new regions in the country. This is an expression of the gaps between digital economy goals and the quality of available infrastructure. Regardless of foreign policy aims, if local conditions are subpar, Nigeria and Africa in general cannot play any meaningful role in developing global digital standards.