Policy Brief PROMOTING INNOVATION AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Yet, the real potential for large-scale job creation and inclusive growth lies in the diffusion of digital innovations from the lead firms to the rest of the economy. [...] The African Union’s (AU) Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the Smart Africa Alliance have initiated several projects to accelerate the development of infrastructure that can be expanded and scaled. [...] The Quality Infrastructure for Africa (QI4A) project, a partnership between AUDA-NEPAD, the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and the OECD Development Centre seeks to address this issue through the development of a Community of Practice that facilitates peer-to-peer learning, and which provides industry-tested templates and examples to practitioners. [...] These include the developer’s own resource planning (time capability and capital), interactions with the government for permits, raising equity, raising debt and establishing commercial viability for the project in terms of construction, operations and revenue generation for the life of the project. [...] The G20 can therefore take the lead in supporting investment in the digital economy starting with the proposed areas for development: (i) Regional and local approaches to the expansion of infrastructure There should be greater efforts to align initiatives such as the G20 CwA, the Quality Infrastructure for Africa (QI4A) program, EU and Chinese investment schemes, and PIDA PAP2.