Twenty African countries are now part of the Africa Information Highway after the African Development Bank (AfDB) launched open data platforms across the continent.
The countries include South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Zimbabwe, with the platforms aimed at “significantly improving data management and dissemination in Africa”.
The open data platform is described as a user-friendly tool which can be used for extracting data, creating and sharing reports and visualising data across themes, sectors and countries in tables, charts and maps.
In a release today, the AfDB said: “The platform offers a unique opportunity for various users, such as policymakers, analysts, researchers, business leaders and investors around the world, to gain access to reliable and timely data on Africa.
“Users can visualize time series development indicators over a period of time, perform comprehensive analysis at country and regional levels, utilize presentation-ready graphics or create their own, blog, and share their views and work with others, thereby creating an informed community of users.”
The AfDB are aiming to include every African country by July 2013 and the initiative will allow countries to share data with international development partners, as well as among each other.
The 20 countries are Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
