Smart Africa Partners Ascend Digital Solutions to Pilot Cross-Border Data Exchange Platform

Smart Africa  has announced a new partnership with Ascend Digital Solutions Ltd.  to pilot the Smart Africa Data Exchange (SADX), a continental platform designed to enable secure and trusted cross-border data sharing and digital identity verification. The initiative represents a significant step toward building a Single Digital Market for Africa.

The SADX platform is built on open standards and is designed to be scalable and interoperable, allowing countries to exchange data safely while respecting trust, security, and sovereignty requirements. By enabling seamless cross-border digital interactions, the platform aims to support regional integration and the delivery of digital public and private services across Africa.

The pilot phase will be implemented in Benin, Ghana, and Rwanda under the Smart Africa Trust Alliance (SATA). These countries will test how SADX can support cross-border digital services, including identity verification and data exchange, creating practical use cases that can be replicated across the continent.

The partnership agreement was signed at Transform Africa Summit (TAS) 2025. Smart Africa said the pilot lays critical groundwork for achieving Africa’s vision of a Single Digital Market by 2030, strengthening digital trust and accelerating the continent’s digital transformation agenda.