The initiative is part of a digital transformation programme by Japan International Cooperation Agency and Accenture to pilot projects in six countries across Asia and Africa.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has announced pilot programmes to support digital transformation (DX) in six countries across Asia and Africa.
As Japan’s central governmental organisation providing economic and social aid for developing nations, Jica is prioritising the application of digital technologies to address development challenges.
Read more: Digital transformation initiative will pilot smart city OS in Mauritius
The urbanisation plan for Port-Louis, the capital of Mauritius, launched in 2016, is proving successful. Two years later, the smart city was ranked as the first African city where life is good.
“By 2020, Port-Louis will be a model to replicate in other cities and villages across the country, and even on the African continent.” This wish expressed on January 16 2016 by Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, the then Mauritian Minister of Finance and Economic Development, seems to be coming true. The urbanisation plan, entitled Port-Louis Smart City, did not wait until 2020 to get its first awards. For the year 2018, the Mauritian capital, with a population of around 150,000, is the first African city where life is good. This is what emerges from the 21st ranking of the world’s cities carried out by the French firm Mercer.
Read more: MU: Smart city Port-Louis, first African city where life’s good
Mauritius' focus on legislation and innovation has positioned the country as one of only a few outside Europe to feature data protection laws in line with the recently enacted GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations).
This is according to the island nation's Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation Yogida Sawmynaden, who spoke at the inaugural Africa Cyber Defense Summit held recently in Nairobi.
Read more: Mauritius champions a single cyber law for Africa
Located in the Indian Ocean 500 miles off the coast of Madagascar, the country of Mauritius is barely 10 times the size of Washington DC. Despite its size, but the country is attempting something big: creating an environment for potential investors and new jobs with its Smart City Scheme. Mauritius has already found success in moving from an economy based primarily on sugar exports and tourism to one based on finance, business and banking outsourcing. The island nation now boasts one of the most successful economies on the continent. If this Smart City Scheme project proves successful, it could provide a blueprint for more African smart cities to follow their own path to prosperity.
Read more: Mauritius Launches Smart City Aimed at Economic Transformation
Mauritius and Estonia will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Cooperation in the margins of the fifth Africa-European Union Summit 2017 scheduled on 28-29 November 2017 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Both the Mauritian Prime Minister and the Estonian Prime Minister will sign the accord.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, made this announcement yesterday while launching a seminar on Digitalisation at Paul Octave Wiéhé auditorium in Réduit.
Read more: ICT - Mauritius and Estonia to Sign Digital Cooperation Agreement