Regulatory sandboxes are gaining traction across Africa’s tech sector, offering controlled environments to test data and AI innovations, according to the Datasphere Initiative’s inaugural “Africa Sandboxes Outlook,” launched at the East Africa Data Governance Conference 2025 in Nairobi.
The report defines sandboxes as “time-bound and multistakeholder collaborative environments that test innovative technologies and practices against regulatory frameworks or experiment with new uses, capabilities, resources, or business models.”
According to the report, “They have emerged as key mechanisms for experimentation, providing a safe environment and enabling regulatory and technical innovation.”
It highlights 25 national sandboxes in 15 African countries, with early implementations in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique.
Regional sandboxes include Ecobank’s pan-African banking sandbox and Digital Earth Africa’s analysis sandbox.
Morine Amutorine, Datasphere Initiative’s report lead, stated, “The growing landscape of sandboxes in Africa is proof of their usefulness and success. Our report highlights their expanding role as a valuable resource for responsible technological growth while ensuring that regulation evolves alongside rapid advancements in AI and data sciences.”
Fintech leads sandbox adoption with successful implementations in Mozambique, Mauritius, Zambia, Rwanda, and South Africa. Notably, 99% of mapped sandboxes operate at the national level.
“Notably, 99% of the mapped sandboxes are at national level focused on generating a national impact in the fintech innovation ecosystems,” the report states.
Kenya’s Communications Authority and Capital Markets Authority also utilize sandboxes.
The report calls for expanding sandbox use to sectors like health and climate.
While Africa recognizes AI’s potential, challenges persist.
“The region is also significantly lagging behind regarding the availability of skilled workforce, as the education sector has not yet incorporated digital and AI competencies in curriculum development, and still faces historic systemic issues to ensure attendance, coverage and quality,” the report indicates.
Further challenges include limited data access and infrastructure gaps.
The report highlights policy challenges, including fragmented national efforts and reliance on traditional regulatory approaches.
It advocates for greater regional coordination, stating, “The early stages of data and AI governance in Africa presents an opportunity for a regional approach which puts the continent at the forefront of innovation, ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth for all its nations.”
The Africa Sandboxes Forum, launched in 2022, promotes sandbox adoption through training and policy engagement, aiming to foster responsible AI and data governance.”
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