Bridging the Africa-Europe digital divide by strengthening European and inter-continental cooperation and developing the TeamEurope approach
The D4D Hub (https://d4dhub.eu/fr/a-notre-sujet) is a European cooperation platform that aims to reduce the digital bill and foster a stronger and more strategic engagement of the European Union in international digital partnerships.
Digital4Development, a new digital platform for European cooperation
The Digital4Development Hub (D4D Hub) is the new European platform for digital cooperation. Launched on 8 December 2020 at a high-level event, it brings together key European Union (EU) stakeholders, Member States, private sector, civil society and financial institutions around a Team Europe approach.
The D4D Hub serves several purposes:
1) increase digital investment;
2) accompany the digital transformation of partner countries;
3) promote a global approach based on European values;
4) establish a comprehensive value-based rulebook for a digital economy and society worldwide;
5) foster a stronger and more strategic EU engagement in international digital partnerships.
The first operational regional component, the African Union-European Union D4D Hub (AU-EU D4D Hub), started its activities in Africa in January 2021.
Strengthening the TeamEurope approach to digital programming
The D4D Hub Secretariat supported EU Delegations in programming the European Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) at the country level, including establishing connections at the local level with D4D Hub counterparts for the identification of synergies and the development of joint contributions. At the regional level, the secretariat coordinated weekly meetings to bring together the various contributions and strategic interests of the eleven Member States and the European Investment Bank around the regional D4D TeamEurope initiatives in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South-East Asia and Central Asia.
At the global level, the D4D mechanism will become the entry point for all projects supporting the digital transition for the European Commission. By centralising digital cooperation projects and initiatives from European States for emerging regions, the Hub will give “Team Europe” greater visibility and will serve to establish long-term public and private partnerships in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Team France at the heart of the system
Alongside the French Development Agency (AFD), Expertise France is involved and a full member of the European consortium and the AU-EU D4D Hub secretariat. As a founding member, Team France has fully participated in the formulation and structuring of the project. Today, it has a strategic position at the heart of the initiative, which makes it an active member of the European and African partners of the project, the European Commission and the actors of the current European programming in the D4D Hub regions (Africa, Latin America, Asia).