- Critics say Smart Africa’s vision masks deep institutional failures and avoids accountability for Africa’s internet governance crisis
- ICANN and CAIGA are increasingly viewed as external or elite-driven projects that weaken regional autonomy rather than strengthen it
What happened: Grand digital agendas advance while governance collapses
Smart Africa was launched with the promise of accelerating Africa’s digital transformation through policy alignment, public–private partnerships and cross-border cooperation, as outlined by the Smart Africa Alliance. Over time, however, critics argue that the initiative has become increasingly detached from the realities of Africa’s internet governance failures.
The most striking example is the collapse of AFRINIC, the regional internet registry responsible for managing Africa’s IP address resources. After years of governance disputes, legal battles and contested board processes, AFRINIC is widely regarded by stakeholders as a failed registry. The annulment of its June 23 board election, triggered by a single unverified proxy dispute and resulting in the discarding of valid votes, reinforced perceptions that democratic governance within AFRINIC has become unworkable.
Rather than confronting this institutional breakdown directly, Smart Africa has continued to advance high-level digital frameworks, raising questions about priorities. Critics argue that digital strategies built on unstable foundations risk becoming policy theatre, offering impressive language without functional institutions to support them.
At the same time, CAIGA, the proposed Continental Africa Internet Governance Architecture, has emerged as another source of concern. Promoted as a coordination mechanism, CAIGA lacks clarity on decision-making authority, accountability and oversight. Observers warn that it risks centralising power among political and elite actors while sidelining the technical community that underpins Africa’s internet.
Also Read: Will CAIGA Improve Cross-Border Internet Cooperation?
Also Read: CAIGA’s arrival: A threat to Africa’s multistakeholder governance
Also read: CAIGA is not reform, it is a rewrite of who controls Africa’s internet
External influence and elite governance fuel mistrust
Scepticism is further sharpened by the role of ICANN. Once seen as a neutral coordinator, ICANN is increasingly portrayed as losing control of its own processes while over-extending its reach into regional governance. Its attempted intervention in AFRINIC’s affairs, following court-approved processes, sparked backlash and fears that Africa’s bottom-up internet governance model is being undermined.
Concerns have also centred on ICANN’s ICP-2 compliance framework, adopted without a full multistakeholder process. Critics describe it as a quiet power grab that grants ICANN unprecedented authority to threaten the de-recognition of regional internet registries. Although ICANN has since moderated its language around AFRINIC, many see this as strategic repositioning rather than genuine respect for regional autonomy.
Until Africa’s digital agenda confronts institutional failure, restores trust in governance and resists external overreach, scepticism is likely to persist. Without that reset, promises of digital transformation risk remaining aspirational slogans rather than meaningful change.
