Despite the great potential of mobile data to support the delivery of the sustainable development agenda across Africa, access to the data remains a great challenge due to real or perceived barriers.

The Mobile Data for Social Impact: Summary Report (PDF, 3MB) recaps the discussions and outcomes from a two-day regional mobile data workshop held in Nairobi from 20-21 February 2019.

In order to address gaps in timely data that provide information on the SDGs, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, in partnership with the Government of Kenya, through the Office of the Deputy President, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), GIZ Kenya, and Safaricom Kenya Limited hosted the two-day workshop, which aimed to achieve the following three objectives:

  1. Connect key actors, innovators, and initiatives that have technical expertise in the use of mobile data for sustainable development with country-level demand, to facilitate learning and explore ways to work together.
  2. Identify opportunities to strengthen the enabling environment at the country level, through engagements on partnership frameworks and models for public private sharing of mobile data for timely monitoring of specific SDG indicators
  3. Explore opportunities to foster collaboration amongst different actors in ways that equip changemakers (government officials, researchers, mobile data producers, politicians, civil society organizations, and technology partners) with the right technical expertise, infrastructure, tools, and methodologies for unlocking and effectively using privately-held mobile data for policy and decision-making.

Learn more about the discussions and outcomes in the Mobile Data for Social Impact: Summary Report (PDF, 3MB).