Ubuntuverse Institute

Ubuntuverse Institute

Research, strategy, and frameworks for building sovereign, human-centred digital ecosystems across Africa and the Global South.
Africa's Digital Sovereignty Strategy — From Extraction to Empowerment
Ubuntuverse Institute
The PlayBook

The PlayBook

Inaugural Publication — 2025

The PlayBook
2025

A comprehensive framework for building resilient, sovereign digital ecosystems. Research, data, and actionable strategy for the next era of human-centered technology.

PublishedFebruary 2025
Pages186
LicenseOpen Access
Ubuntuverse Institute
2025 Inaugural Report
The
PlayBook
First Edition

Key Findings at a Glance

Data-driven insights from across the global digital sovereignty landscape

0%
of organizations lack sovereign data infrastructure strategies
0T
estimated market value of decentralized digital ecosystems by 2030
0
countries with active digital sovereignty legislation in development
0×
productivity gain for teams using human-centered AI integration

Explore the Report

Six chapters covering the full landscape of digital sovereignty, AI integration, and human-centered systems design.

Chapter 1

The Extraction Economy

How Africa’s digital infrastructure became a site of value extraction, and why sovereignty demands new architectural thinking.

Chapter 2

Sovereign Architecture

The CAMPS framework: Community-owned infrastructure, African protocols, Mesh governance, Pan-continental standards, and Sovereign data.

Chapter 3

The IREZ Model

Innovation & Research Economic Zones: special jurisdictions designed to incubate sovereign digital ecosystems at continental scale.

Chapter 4

Governance Architecture

New models for value creation, distribution, and governance that center collective prosperity over extraction.

Chapter 5

Sovereign Economics

Transparent research methodology, data sources, investment frameworks, and analytical models used throughout the PlayBook.

Appendices

Implementation Playbooks

Step-by-step guides, templates, and decision frameworks for organizations ready to act on the report’s findings.

Executive Summary
“The question is no longer whether we build sovereign digital infrastructure — it is whether we build it fast enough, equitably enough, and with sufficient wisdom to serve the generations that follow.”
AO
AOFounder, Ubuntuverse Institute

Africa stands at a crossroads. The continent’s digital economy is projected to reach $2.4 trillion by 2035, yet 87% of its digital infrastructure remains owned, operated, or controlled by entities headquartered outside the continent. This structural dependency — what we term the digital extraction economy — represents both the defining challenge and the generational opportunity of our era.

The PlayBook presents a comprehensive framework for reversing this trajectory. Drawing on 142 policy recommendations across six thematic chapters, it proposes a new architecture for Africa’s digital future: one built on community ownership, sovereign data governance, and pan-continental interoperability.

At its core is the CAMPS framework — a five-pillar model for constructing digital ecosystems that serve African communities rather than extracting from them. Complementing this is the IREZ model: Innovation & Research Economic Zones designed to provide the jurisdictional, financial, and technical infrastructure for sovereign digital development at scale.

This is not a manifesto. It is a blueprint — tested, refined, and offered freely to anyone committed to building a more resilient digital future.

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Media & Press

Resources for journalists, researchers, and publishers covering the PlayBook and Ubuntuverse Institute’s work.

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Ready to explore the full framework?

Download The PlayBook to access all six chapters, 142 policy recommendations, and the complete CAMPS + IREZ technical architecture.