African Innovation Expert Calls for Digital Sovereignty and Intra Continental Trade at Addis Ababa Summit

African Innovation Expert Calls for Digital Sovereignty and IntraContinental Trade at Addis Ababa Summit Speaking to Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the Innovation Africa 2025 Ministerial Summit, Dr. Poncelet O. Ileleji, CEO of Jokkolabs Banjul (Gambia) and advisor to NEPAD, emphasized the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to benefit Africa s service industry. He stressed the need for digital sovereignty, allowing Africa to control its own data through independent payment gateways. Dr. Ileleji envisioned a panAfrican data center facilitating transactions in local currencies based on realtime exchange rates, bypassing reliance on the dollar, euro, or pound. As long as we are able to do trading from a bank in Ethiopia to go to a bank in The Gambia without going through an intermediary, then that s the best way, he told Sputnik Africa. I think AfCFTA is going to do Referencing the African Union s Agenda 2063, Dr. Ileleji Source: Sputnik Africa t. me, sputnikafrica