The Future in a Sandbox: Africa’s Path to Smarter Data Governance

Datasphere Initiative has announced the launch of The Africa Sandboxes Report, ‘Africa Sandboxes Outlook’

The Africa Sandboxes Outlook Report explores the growing use of sandboxes as tools for fostering innovation and enabling responsible regulatory experimentation. As these controlled environments facilitate the testing of data-driven innovations such as AI, the report highlights how their expanded and responsible use can drive data governance innovation across the continent. It also provides a detailed analysis of existing sandbox initiatives, emphasizing their potential to support agile policymaking and responsible technological experimentation.

As Africa advances its digital transformation, sandboxes have emerged as a practical tool for navigating complex regulatory and technical challenges. They offer a structured, interactive space for testing both physical and digital systems—such as Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—to ensure services are inclusive, interoperable, and secure. While not a one-size-fits-all solution, sandboxes enable cross-border and cross-sector collaboration, enhance transparency, and provide a safe environment for experimenting with new technologies and regulatory approaches.

Through Phases 1 and 2 of the Africa Sandboxes Forum, the Datasphere Initiative conducted regulatory roundtables and sectoral working groups to assess how sandboxes are—or could be—leveraged to drive responsible innovation in key policy areas including AI, healthcare, climate, and sustainability. The team also mapped 25 national sandboxes across 15 countries, along with two regional initiatives: the Ecobank Pan-African Banking Sandbox and the Digital Earth Africa Analysis Sandbox. This report examines these sandboxes to extract key insights into their current state in Africa, highlighting successes, challenges, and critical policy recommendations for scaling their impact to the next level.

The report also emphasizes the opportunity for a regional approach to data and AI governance, positioning Africa at the forefront of sustainable and inclusive digital growth. However, it acknowledges key challenges, such as the need for strong regulatory capacity and adequate resources, and provides targeted recommendations in policy areas like AI, healthcare, climate, and sustainability. Ultimately, it serves as a guide for policymakers and stakeholders, offering strategies to leverage sandboxes for balancing technological progress with regulatory oversight, ensuring responsible innovation in Africa’s evolving digital ecosystem.