Digital Economy, E-Commerce, E-Payments and Public E-Services Programme (EU-EAC DEEP)

East Africa is one of the continent’s most dynamic regions in terms of digital transformation, which is being driven by one of the highest mobile phone adoption rates in the world and pioneering innovations such as mobile money.

However, the eight partner States of the East African Community (EAC) face common structural challenges such as fragmented regulatory frameworks, poor payment system interoperability, insufficient cross-border digital public services, and growing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

At the 2024 EAC Summit, the Heads of State adopted digital transformation as a strategic priority of the 7th Development Strategy, paving the way for ambitious and structured regional cooperation. The EU-EAC DEEP programme is playing a concrete role in helping to organise this cooperation.

The EU-EAC DEEP programme falls within the framework of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy and the Team Europe Initiatives for sub-Saharan Africa. It covers five complementary areas:

1. The EAC’s digital transformation strategy and bankable projects 
2. Cross-border e-commerce
3. Interoperable payments 
4. E-governance
5. Cybersecurity 

The programme is being implemented by GIZ, Expertise France, and the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV). It covers Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania for a period of 48 months.

Expertise France is implementing two strategic components of the programme: cybersecurity and e-governance.

In cybersecurity, we are helping to:

• develop harmonised regional frameworks for the protection of critical infrastructures,
• strengthen national Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs),
• promote operational cooperation between cyber authorities of partner States, 
• increase awareness of digital threats.

As for the e-governance component, implemented jointly with EstDev, the programme works to implement interoperable cross-border digital public services – particularly in the fields of health, education, and trade facilitation – by fostering the exchange of data and digital certificates stored in an electronic wallet between partner States.