The World Bank Group has become co-chair of the Mobilizing Access to Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance, joining the African Development Bank Group and Mastercard in a drive to expand digital access to essential services across Africa.
The alliance aims to connect 100 million individuals and businesses to the digital economy by 2034. The World Bank Group affirmed its commitment to contribute its expertise, data driven insights, and experience to the initiative.
The objective aligns with the three institutions’ focus on accelerating digitalization by expanding access to secure, affordable, high-quality broadband and data connectivity, and ensuring that different digital services work together seamlessly to benefit users.
Speaking on the collaboration, Sangbu Kim, vice president for digital at the World Bank, said:
“The World Bank Group is deeply committed to expanding inclusive digital access across Africa, and joining the MADE Alliance will help accelerate efforts to improve livelihoods, empower communities, and drive economic growth across the continent.”
Highlighting the significance of the alliance to the African Development Bank(AfDB), Dr. Beth Dunford, vice president for agriculture, human and social development at AfDB stated that it aligned with the group’s two priority areas – Feed Africa and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa, bringing the Group closer to achieving its goals by connecting smallholder farmers to digital services that lead to greater food production.
The MADE Alliance was launched in May 2024 and had since executed significant projects such as the provision of payment tools to 50,000 sunflower farmers in Tanzania and the deployment of affordable high-speed internet digital skills training for farmers cooperatives in Kenya.
Other members of the MADE alliance include Equity Bank Group, Microsoft, Heifer International, Shell Foundation, Tanzania’s CRDB Bank, Syngenta Foundation in Kenya, Nigeria, Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, Unconnected.org, Yara, and Kenya National Farmers’ Federation.
