In late August, the quiet campus of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Rabat became the epicenter of a new kind of leadership conversation. Around forty young senior civil servants from 24 African nations gathered for the inaugural retreat of the LEAD program, an initiative by the Africa CEO Forum aimed at shaping a new generation of policymakers committed to excellence in governance and transformative public policy.
For five days, the air buzzed with the urgency of a continent on the brink of digital reinvention. The cohort — economists, technologists, and reform-minded public servants — converged to address one of Africa’s most strategic priorities: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). These systems — encompassing digital identity, instant payment platforms, and data interoperability frameworks — are now seen as vital public goods that can unlock economic growth and social inclusion across Africa.
“Digital Public Infrastructure today represents for Africa what roads and ports were a century ago: a fundamental lever of transformation,” said Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum. “LEAD is proud to support a new generation of African policymakers by giving them access to the best practices of the Global South to accelerate the development of tailored and sovereign DPI.”
The program, Leadership, Excellence, and Advancement for Development (LEAD), was conceived with a resolutely pan-African and Global South-oriented vision — one that rejects one-size-fits-all reforms and instead draws inspiration from the most impactful public policy experiments in emerging economies.
Consider Brazil’s PIX system, a state-backed digital payment infrastructure launched by the Central Bank in 2020. It has already brought 71.5 million previously unbanked citizens into the formal financial system and is projected to boost the country’s GDP by $52 billion by 2028. Or India’s Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric identity database, covering more than 1.3 billion people and credited with saving $28 billion in public expenditure through improved efficiency and fraud reduction.
For Africa, the lesson is clear: when designed as public goods, digital infrastructures can democratize access, cut inefficiencies, and strengthen state capacity — all while nurturing innovation and inclusion.
The timing of the LEAD program’s launch is significant. South Africa’s G20 presidency and the unveiling of its Digital Transformation Roadmap have rekindled momentum for a continental approach to digital governance. Across African capitals, governments are recognizing that secure, interoperable, and citizen-centric DPI systems are no longer optional — they are foundational to building resilient economies in the 21st century.
The Rabat retreat, hosted at UM6P, offered not just a venue for policy dialogue but a symbolic home for Africa’s technological awakening. High-level figures including Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance; Carlos Lopes, Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings and Coronation Group; Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank; Mostafa Terrab, CEO of OCP; and Amir Ben Yahmed himself all participated, underscoring the stakes.
Their collective message was unmistakable: Africa’s future competitiveness depends on its capacity to build sovereign, scalable, and secure digital systems that serve citizens, not just markets.
“We cannot outsource our digital destiny,” said one participant from Kenya’s National Treasury. “If we get DPI right, we can bridge inequality faster than any development program has done before.”
Throughout the year, LEAD participants will deepen their collaboration through joint publications, webinars, and policy dialogues with national governments. The goal is to move beyond theory — to shape concrete, actionable reforms that help African states deploy inclusive DPI frameworks and avoid dependency on imported solutions.
The initiative itself is backed by a formidable alliance of institutions — the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), and Afreximbank. Supporting partners like BOAD, the ARISE Foundation, Africa Re, and ASAFO & CO have also lent expertise and funding to strengthen the program’s reach.
For the Africa CEO Forum, the LEAD program represents more than a leadership academy. It is an investment in Africa’s sovereign digital future, one led by technocratic leaders who understand that the infrastructure of tomorrow is not made of steel and concrete — but of data, algorithms, and trust.