Africa’s Revenue Mobilisation Agenda Must Also Address Debt Justice. With more than half of low-income African countries in or near debt distress, strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation cannot be separated from addressing the continent’s growing debt burden. At the #ATAF2026 Annual Meetings in Cairo, AFRODAD, through our Executive Director @jayznotes, is advancing the case for fairer and more progressive tax systems, stronger domestic resource mobilisation and debt justice. Mobilising domestic resources is essential, but how revenue is raised, how public resources are managed and how much is absorbed by debt servicing matter just as much. Africa needs sustainable financing systems that expand fiscal space, strengthen public accountability and ensure that domestic resources support development priorities rather than perpetuate cycles of debt dependence. Financing Africa’s future requires both tax justice and debt justice. #AfricaEconomicJustice #DebtJustice #AFRODADat30

📢We're in Cairo, Egypt for #ATAF2026🇪🇬 AFRODAD is contributing to the @ATAFtax Annual Meetings 2026. Our Executive Director, @jayznotes, is representing the organisation. 🔹Organised by ATAF and hosted by the Egyptian Tax Authority, the meetings are held under the theme “The Revenue Imperative: Africa’s Path to Financing its Own Development.” The gathering brings together tax commissioners, finance ministers, regional institutions, development partners and civil society to explore how the Compromiso de Sevilla can translate into concrete action on domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) across Africa. 🔸For AFRODAD, strengthening DRM is inseparable from addressing Africa’s public debt challenges. Effective and equitable tax systems can expand domestic revenues, reduce excessive reliance on external borrowing and create greater fiscal space for development. However, this must go hand in hand with responsible borrowing, transparent debt management and accountability in the use of public resources. Africa’s ability to finance its own development depends not only on how much revenue it mobilises, but also on how public resources are managed and how debt is sustained. #AfricaEconomicJustice #AFRODADat30 #DebtJustice

Last week, the @Afidep, under the Africa Integrity Indicators, convened the High-Level Dialogue on Public Institutions and Oversight in Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. The dialogue brought together voices from across the continent to discuss how stronger institutions can advance accountability and democratic governance. AFRODAD was represented by @CMithia, Lead of our Sovereign Debt Management Portfolio, who joined the conversation as a speaker. Her participation underscores AFRODAD’s commitment to strengthening public debt transparency, accountability, and oversight, while advancing responsible sovereign borrowing and debt management across Africa. #AfricanBorrowingCharter #AfricaEconomicJustice

#FridayVibes 🎤 African governments, are you listening? When citizens raise their voices about the rising cost of debt and its impact on everyday lives, governments cannot afford to turn a deaf ear. Too often, debt repayments take priority while essential public services such as healthcare, education and job creation remain underfunded. Africa needs borrowing decisions that put people first, protect public resources and deliver meaningful development. The African Borrowing Charter provides an important framework for advancing responsible, transparent and accountable borrowing. The question is not just how much Africa borrows, but who benefits from the borrowing and who bears the cost. #AfricanBorrowingCharter #AfricaEconomicJustice @Gov_Kenya , @MalawiGovt , @EthiopiaGov, @Zambia, @Zimbabwe, @Mozambique, @governodeangola , @ghanagov , @EgyptGovernment, @DRC, @Senegal, @GOVEritrea , @GovNigeria

That’s a wrap on Day 2 at #Afrotellers2026! 🌍 From the official opening to the plenary on who owns the data shaping how Africa is seen, today’s conversations challenged us to rethink AI, power, and who gets to tell Africa’s story. For AFRODAD, one message stands out: control over data, digital infrastructure, and finance shapes narrative power. Rising public debt-servicing obligations and constrained fiscal space limit African governments’ ability to invest in digital infrastructure, AI innovation, and homegrown solutions, risking continued dependence on externally controlled technologies. Africa’s narrative sovereignty requires digital sovereignty, and that means addressing debt and financing inequalities that constrain the continent’s ability to shape its own digital future. 🔜 Tomorrow: policy conversations and the cultural economy. Stay with us! #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty

#Afrotellers2026: What Is Data Sovereignty? 🔐 AFRODAD’s @johnoduk11 explains data sovereignty as the authority of nations and communities to control how their data is collected, stored, processed, and shared under their own laws and governance systems. ‼️But sovereignty also has a debt and development dimension. When public debt servicing squeezes national budgets, investment in digital infrastructure, AI capacity, and data governance suffers, leaving African countries more dependent on externally controlled technologies. 📚 Explore AFRODAD’s knowledge on AI ➡️tinyurl.com/43sy69du #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty

Data Sovereignty or Data Colonialism? 🌍 At the #Afrotellers2026 panel on AI, Power & Narrative Sovereignty, AFRODAD’s @johnoduk11 highlights two competing ideas at the heart of the struggle for power, control, and ownership in the digital age. 📌Data sovereignty asserts the right of countries and communities to govern their data and determine how it is accessed, used, and protected. 📌Data colonialism describes how data extraction and exploitation can reproduce colonial patterns of control, concentrating power and economic value in the hands of external actors. For Africa, this debate extends to public debt, which constrains fiscal space for digital infrastructure and AI investment. Who controls digital infrastructure, profits from African data, and shapes the continent’s AI future remains a question of power and economic justice. Who controls Africa’s data influences who shapes Africa’s story, and who benefits from it. 📚 Explore AFRODAD’s knowledge on AI ➡️tinyurl.com/43sy69du #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty

Day 2 at #Afrotellers2026 in Mombasa! 🌍 AFRODAD joins the high-level panel at the official opening of the conference: 🎤AI, Power & Narrative Sovereignty: Who Sets the Rules for Africa’s Stories? Bringing together voices from technology, research, the creative sector and government, the discussion examines who controls the systems, platforms and policies shaping Africa’s narratives and digital future. For AFRODAD, narrative sovereignty cannot be separated from Africa’s debt and development financing challenges. Rising debt-service obligations constrain public investment in digital infrastructure, innovation and AI capabilities, while foreign ownership of critical technologies raises questions about control and economic value. Africa’s narrative sovereignty requires digital sovereignty, supported by sustainable debt governance, fair financing and collective African action. 🔴 Follow the conversation live: piped.video/watch?v=eXJmFKwC… Check out AFRODAD's knowledge on AI➡️tinyurl.com/43sy69du #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty @johnoduk11 @mukundajenice

Day 1 at #Afrotellers2026 in Mombasa: done! 🌍 AFRODAD presented on the “Political Economy of AI and Digitalisation in Africa” under the AI, Algorithmic Colonialism & Narrative Futures track, highlighting a critical message: Africa’s narrative sovereignty depends on #DigitalSovereignty, and digital sovereignty requires economic justice, sustainable financing and collective African action. Africa’s debt challenges are central to this conversation. Rising debt-service obligations and constrained public budgets limit governments’ capacity to invest in digital infrastructure, computing power, AI research, skills development and locally driven innovation. Without adequate fiscal space and fair access to financing, African countries risk remaining consumers of technologies developed elsewhere, while their data and resources generate value beyond the continent. Building Africa’s digital future therefore requires debt governance that safeguards development priorities, financing systems that enable long-term investment, and collective action to ensure that African resources translate into African technological capacity and economic value. 🔜 Day 2: AFRODAD joins the high-level panel: “AI, Power & Narrative Sovereignty: Who Sets the Rules for Africa’s Stories?” #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty

#Afrotellers2026 Africa’s 1.4 billion people, youthful population, critical mineral wealth, and track record of mobile-led innovation offer significant opportunities to shape the future of artificial intelligence. Through collective action under the @_AfricanUnion and Regional Economic Communities, including @ecowas_cedeao, @jumuiya and @SADC_News, the continent can strengthen its bargaining power and move from consuming AI technologies to co-creating them. Recommendations: ➡️ Minerals-for-technology bargaining: Leverage critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium to negotiate investments in local processing, component assembly, technology transfer, and research and development (R&D). ➡️ Pooling public resources: Mobilise resources across Regional Economic Communities to finance green computing hubs and expand Africa’s AI infrastructure. Africa’s innovation ecosystem already demonstrates what is possible. From mobile money to machine-learning applications for fraud prevention, agriculture and healthcare, homegrown solutions are addressing real challenges. Kenya’s regulatory sandbox also provides a mechanism to explore financial innovation while addressing risks such as over-indebtedness. #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty @johnoduk11

#Afrotellers2026 Who controls Africa’s digital data, AI systems, and computing infrastructure also shapes who tells Africa’s story—and who profits from it. African digital traces are processed and monetised on foreign cloud platforms, while AI models trained predominantly on Western data often perform less effectively in African languages and contexts. This reinforces digital colonialism, limiting Africa’s control over its own narratives and digital wealth. Achieving AI sovereignty requires more than data ownership. It rests on 8 interconnected pillars: compute, models, data, governance, energy, applications, skills & labour, and capital & finance. Weakness in any one undermines the continent’s ability to shape the entire AI ecosystem. 4 critical challenges demand urgent attention: ✅ Skills gap: Fewer than 15% of Africa’s 828,000 software developers have specialised AI competencies. ✅ Algorithmic bias and exclusion: Models trained on predominantly Western datasets risk misrepresenting African realities and performing poorly in local languages. ✅ Data extraction: African data is harvested and monetised without sufficient local value creation or capture. ✅ Exploitative digital labour: Underpaid platform workers undertake demanding content moderation and data labelling with inadequate protections. Africa’s narrative sovereignty depends on its ability to own, govern and benefit from the digital infrastructure shaping its future. Building this sovereignty is essential to advancing digital justice, economic transformation and Africa’s power to define its own story. #AfricaEconomicJustice #NarrativeSovereignty @johnoduk11 @mukundajenice

#Afrotellers2026 AFRODAD is presenting on “Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence & Digitalisation in Africa.” We are discussing why Africa sits on the margins of the global AI economy, with about 0.3% of global AI investment, and what that means for who tells Africa’s story. It covers: 🔹 The infrastructure, data, and debt barriers holding back digital sovereignty. 🔹 The risks of algorithmic bias and “digital colonialism.” 🔹 Africa’s strategic levers: its young population, critical minerals, and mobile innovation. 🔹 What it will take to close the gap: shared data infrastructure, fair financing, and coordinated African policy. Africa’s narrative sovereignty depends on its digital sovereignty, and that needs fair financing and collective action. #AfricaEconomicJustice

AFRODAD is at the @afrotellers Conference 2026 in Mombasa, Kenya! 🌍 The conference is asking who controls Africa's story in the age of AI and shifting global power. For us at AFRODAD, that question is also about debt, financing and who owns the digital infrastructure. We are joining storytellers, researchers, activists and policymakers from across the continent to push for an AI future that is inclusive, sovereign and fairly financed. Represented by @johnoduk11 and @mukundajenice

#FridayVibes 🎙️ #AFRODEBTPodcast |Series with African Futures Lab | EPISODE 4 OF 6 The “Decolonising Africa’s Debt and Reclaiming Her Future: A Reparative Approach” episode with Dr. @hp_gichana of @katibainstitute, explores the legal case for debt justice and the trajectory towards African economic sovereignty. 🎧 Listen in & engage: o2o.to/i/LX0mVq #AfricaEconomicJustice

🚨 Africa’s natural resources should finance its development instead of deepening its debt burden. Drawing on AFRODAD’s research tracking approximately 30 resource-backed loans across 11 African countries, worth US$66 billion, the message is clear: “Debt has to be at the tail end of our development planning, not the starting point. Africa must move from borrowing against its resources to investing its resources in its future,” says AFRODAD's Executive Director Janet Zhou (@jayznotes). 🎥 Watch the full video to hear Janet’s insights on value addition, economic sovereignty, and a debt-free development path. #AfricaEconomicJustice #StopTheBleeding Read More: tinyurl.com/yc6zr5ps

👌🏾A top notch conversation! 🎙️#AFRODEBTPodcast Episode 4 of 6, partnering with African Futures Lab. 🌍⚖️Africa’s sovereign debt burden is deeply rooted in historical colonial extraction and an unequal global financial architecture. In this episode of "Decolonising Africa's Debt and Reclaiming Her Future," hosted by @AfshinNW the Policy Research & Advocacy Officer - Legal Analysis & Advocacy AFRODAD, @LNamdiero African Futures Lab, legal experts Dr. Henry Paul Gishana @katibainstitute and Ms. @chionesoSam @afronomicslaw - unpack how international legal principles can be reimagined to achieve economic sovereignty. Key discussions: ✅ Reconceptualising Odious Debt. ✅ The "Revolving Door" of Debt & Capital Flight. ✅ Multi-Tiered Solutions: Mobilising legal remedies from domestic constitutional litigation. ✅ An Expanded African Taxonomy: Debt acquired through fraud or misrepresentation. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to explore how Africa can challenge unjust debt and reclaim its economic agency! o2o.to/i/LX0mVq #AfricaEconomicJusti

🌎 At a breakfast meeting convened by @ZIMCODD1 and @FES Zimbabwe in Harare, stakeholders are examining the implications of Resource-Backed Loans (RBLs) for Zimbabwe’s debt sustainability, fiscal space, and development. ▶️ AFRODAD Executive Director Janet Zhou (@jaynotes) questioned the need for further resource-backed borrowing amid existing debt distress, calling for greater value addition and local mineral processing to help Zimbabwe capture more value from its natural resources and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation. 🔎 Research by AFRODAD and ZIMCODD highlights the risks associated with opaque resource-backed loans, including limited public disclosure, weak parliamentary oversight, and mineral revenues being committed to debt repayment outside normal budget scrutiny. The IMF has also identified collateralised mineral-export proceeds among the factors complicating Zimbabwe’s debt resolution. 📣 The discussion reinforces the need for transparent loan agreements, rigorous parliamentary scrutiny and accountable management of mineral revenues. Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth must support productive transformation, public services and sustainable development—not deepen debt vulnerabilities or constrain future generations. #AfricaEconomicJustice #StopTheBleeding AFRODAD research 👉 tinyurl.com/t76my5hr ZIMCODD policy brief 👉 tinyurl.com/5n6v8tk5

‼️NewPublication Africa’s debt crises are managed, not resolved because the existing global debt architecture itself doesn’t favor the continent’s sustainable debt & development. AFRODAD’s new policy paper, "The Political Economy of Debt and Reparation in Africa," exposes how international liquidity mechanisms and debt relief frameworks continue to prioritise creditor discretion over African economic sovereignty. 👇 Checkout the full publication for more on the decolonial trajectory to debt justice and economic reparations. tinyurl.com/yc26zks4

✊🏾Last week in London, AFRODAD joined the Global Day of Action, challenging the policies of the @IMFNews and @WorldBankGroup. As these institutions met in Bangkok to shape financial policies with far-reaching consequences for people across the world, movements and communities were mobilising to demand a fairer global financial system. ⚠️ Across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, Europe and North America, people are raising their voices against a system that too often places the burden of debt on citizens, undermines public services, and constrains countries’ development choices. ✳️ Our message is clear: Africa and the wider Global South need just and lasting debt solutions, including debt cancellation where necessary, to advance human rights, protect public resources, and finance sustainable, people-centred development. #AfricaEconomicJustice #DebtJustice #StopTheBleeding