Cloud platforms have become the primary building block for how organisations build, scale and operate digital services. But as data flows across geographical boundaries, questions of where it lives, who can access it and which laws govern it have moved from niche compliance concerns to central architectural decisions. For organisations spanning Europe and South Africa,…
Shanaaz Moosa, Sales Director: Public Sector and Cybersecurity, OpenText. Data sovereignty is often framed as a question of location, but increasingly, it is a question of control. This is according to Shanaaz Moosa, Sales Director for public sector and cyber security at OpenText,who notes that where and how data is stored impacts trust, which in…
United Nations — From data embassies to AI “factories,” policymakers say control over data will define the continent’s economic future. African leaders are sharpening their focus on digital sovereignty, warning that the continent’s economic future will depend not just on connectivity, but on who controls its data–and where it is stored. At a high-level roundtable…
For generations, Africa has exported its wealth and imported its future. From copper and cobalt to crude oil and natural gas, the continent has supplied the raw materials that power global industries while receiving only a fraction of the value generated from them. The result has been a paradox that has defined Africa’s economic story…
Didier Ongena, VP for global government and EMEA public sector. Today, businesses are being asked to navigate profound disruption on two fronts. On the one end, there is artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI), which have already had an intense impact on industries, economies and society at large. On the other, widespread geopolitical uncertainty…
Siya Madyibi, executive director for Microsoft’s corporate, external and legal affairs in South Africa. As a lawyer for Microsoft, Siya Madyibi, executive director for Microsoft’s corporate, external and legal affairs in South Africa, has a keen interest in geopolitics. One of the situations he is watching closely is the deterioration in relations between South Africa…
African leaders have called for a major rethink of how the continent finances development, manages natural resources and positions itself within the global economy, saying Africa must strengthen economic sovereignty and reduce dependence on fragmented financing systems and raw commodity exports. Speaking during the ongoing African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Annual Meetings 2026 in Brazzaville,…
Physicists have a term for systems that look simple but behave badly: the three-body problem. With two bodies in space, gravity is predictable. Add a third, and the system turns chaotic. Tiny changes cause big swings. Stability becomes rare and fragile. That is exactly where Africa’s health sovereignty agenda sits today. The African Union Strategic…
Africa has to make a critical shift towards self-sufficiency in addressing its HIV challenges, emphasising the need for ownership, sustainable financing and strengthened health infrastructure for lasting impact. The recent Second Global Edition of the African Public Square (APS) open debate, convened during King’s Africa Week at Bush House, King’s College London, on 2 March…
Bramley Maetsa, IT digital and innovation enablement lead at Sasol. South Africa’s first draft AI policy did more than stumble over a credibility problem. Even before it was withdrawn, it exposed a deeper national question: can a country govern AI responsibly if it does not have sufficient control over the layers on which scaled AI…
