The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT) of Ethiopia and the Internet Society (www.InternetSociety.org) announced a new collaboration agreement today that will help advance the digital economy and drive economic transformation.

Last year, the government of Ethiopia launched its digital transformation strategy with the goal of leveraging digital technologies to foster development and growth for every citizen.

The collaboration between the MINT and the Internet Society will support the implementation of this strategy to help the country develop digital services to advance key sectors that drive economic growth such as agriculture, manufacturing, services, and tourism.

The agreement will also help expand connectivity to rural areas, build Internet infrastructure, and strengthen Internet governance.

The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology during the Advanced Data Science and Visualization training by His Excellency Dr. Ahmedin Mohammed, State Minister for Innovation and Technology, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice President – Africa, Internet Society.

At the event Dr. Ahmedin said, “The Ethiopian Government has set the Digital Transformation of the national economy as one of its strategic priorities. For the realization of this, the government introduced the first ever Digital transformation strategy which is a visionary umbrella strategy from which sectors and institutions can then design or align their efforts.” The State Minister added, “The Digital 2025 strategy has a goal to see digital transformation playing a key role for inclusive prosperity; innovating and applying the culture, practices, processes and technologies of the digital era to respond to citizens raised expectations.”

He added, “This strategy shall be realized through collaboration and commitment of everyone including government, non-governmental, development partners and societies. The strategy demands aggressive commitment to increase infrastructure, enabling systems, digital applications, and enabling ecosystem.” 

“This collaboration comes at a time when Ethiopia is liberalizing its telecommunications sector which is in line with the increasing the infrastructure. We sign this agreement to increase rural connectivity and make sure that everyone in Ethiopia benefits from the digital transformation,” explained Dr. Dawit Bekele.

The Internet Society is committed to support Ethiopia in its vision to create an inclusive digital economy through the Digital Ethiopia 2025 Strategy. The partnership is in line with Internet Society’s efforts to promote the development and use of the Internet as a resource to enrich people’s lives.

Recently, it partnered with the Ministry to organize the country’s first ever Internet Development conference and the school of Internet Governance for Ethiopia. Currently, the internet society working with the Ministry in Ethiopia’s preparation to host the World Telecommunication Development Conference and organising trainings on advanced topics such as data science, blockchain and Internet of Things.

The Internet Society is also working with Ethiopia to support the development of community networks in the Awi zone, Amhara Regional State, and helping young men and women learn how to design, deploy, and maintain local area networks in Bahr Dar. The partnership will enable to have even more impactful work in Ethiopia and help the country leapfrog into the digital society.