KUBATANA MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2022
AFR I LABS
The following lessons – which can help stakeholders executing similar programs around the world – have been learned: • Set up and use an adequate quality control system that ensures top-level review, feedback and recommendations on all relevant activities and outputs. • Leverage internal and external stakeholder experience and influence in providing adequate support for the fellows. • Provide technical support to the fellows to ensure that they prioritise the solutions that will make the most impact in the shortest possible time. Next, the fellows will conduct a product demonstration of their respective technology solutions. We expect that the stakeholders in attendance will provide quality feedback that will help the fellows improve the product for the benefit of their units.
According to AU’s Head, Youth Development, Ms. Prudence Ngwenya, this Fellowship is in line with the AU Commission’s Youth Charter and commitment to fully achieving 50/50 gender parity and 35% youth quota by 2025 across the AU. The AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program is a vision of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Similarly, Mr. Ademola Adesina has added that the fellowship directly falls under the GIZ DataCipation project which supports the AU and its organs to enhance its mandate on citizens’ engagement. To date, thirteen fellows have been identified and deployed to units within the commission. The fellows have identified and validated data management gaps in each unit and conceptualised effective solutions that are either leveraging existing systems to improve business outcomes or replacing outdated systems with more modern ones. THE AU YOUTH DIGITAL AND INNOVATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM LEVERAGES THE SKILLS OF YOUNG TECH TALENTS IN AFRICA TO ENABLE THEM ADDRESS DATA MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION.
INNOVATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION
BY AFRILABS AU FELLOWSHIP TEAM
Africa has been called the youngest continent in the world because its population consists mainly of youths. Despite this, the dearth of opportunities for this demographic is a huge gap which, if filled adequately, will foster sustainable, continent- wide development. African youth have been known to possess great potential with which they have excelled in all sectors – and the continent’s innovation
economy is no exception. This is why AfriLabs continues to partner with pan-African stakeholders such as the African Union (AU) to create growth opportunities for Africa’s youth. The AU Youth Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program, one of such opportunities, leverages the skills of young tech talents in Africa to enable them address data management challenges in the African Union Commission.
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