This is the aim the Data Economy Flagship (GIZ) set out to achieve between 2024 and 2026, together with local innovation ecosystems in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, where two agricultural data spaces were designed and implemented under the “Data Governance in Africa” Team Europe Action — a Global Gateway flagship co-funded by the European Commission and five EU Member States. Here’s what we learned along the way.
Why data spaces could be a gamechanger for the Global South
Across many resource-constrained settings in the Global South, limited data and statistical coverage hold back political decision-making, business insights, and data-driven innovation. Data spaces can help solve that. As a brownfield solution, they don’t replace legacy systems but build on what already exists, keeping entry costs low. Its interoperability layer makes it easy to integrate any type of stakeholder at very little cost but great benefit: each contributes much-needed data to build a more complete and reliable picture of the national economic ecosystem. The result is better data for sharper policymaking, stronger business insights, and innovations like AI applications or digital twins.
However, none of this happens automatically. For data spaces to deliver on this potential in the Global South, the following insights should guide the design.
Success starts with a committed public sector anchor
While many data spaces in Europe emerge from associations of leading enterprises, such coalitions are often absent or too thin in the Global South. A public sector entity, such as a ministry, can instead take on this anchor role. Doing so lends legitimacy to the initiative, improves its long-term sustainability, and strengthens the business case, since public sector data is often highly valuable in its own right. But this responsibility should not be taken on lightly: the anchor institution needs a thorough understanding of how data spaces function and what they can deliver. At the same time, it must build high-level political alignment with other institutions to move the design and development process forward together.
Building an inclusive community sustains momentum
A data space flourishes around its community. In the Global South, that community should reflect the reality of the (data) ecosystem and include small and big players alike, spanning very different degrees of digital maturity and digital capabilities. Accommodating precisely this diversity is what allows a data space to attract the broad base of participants needed to gain traction and sustain momentum over time. This starts with governance, not technology: an inclusive governance setup, one that gives smaller or less advanced actors a genuine voice alongside larger, more established ones, is what makes a data space accessible and attractive in the first place. Technology can then reinforce this inclusivity. In-built AI tools, for instance, can make data analytics accessible even to those without technical expertise. And targeted data and AI training can help build the skills participants need to engage meaningfully and benefit from what the data space has to offer.
A sound financing model secures the future
Public sector leadership and a diverse, engaged community are essential — but neither is enough if the data space cannot sustain itself financially over time. In a resource-constrained context, sustainability cannot be left to a few well-resourced association members. Too often, initial funding covers the “capex”, the upfront investment needed to build the infrastructure, but overlooks the “opex”, the ongoing running costs of keeping it operational: maintenance, staffing, updates, support. Governance structures and data sharing agreements need to be designed with this in mind from day one, building in cost-recovery mechanisms together with the community. Marketplace transaction fees, subscription models, or public-private cost-sharing need to reflect the needs and expectations of the ecosystem in order to sustain day-to-day operations well beyond the initial investment.
Ultimately, our two years of implementation in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal point to a single overarching takeaway. Every design choice — from the public sector anchor to the sustainability model — should be guided by this principle: the data space exists to serve people, not the other way around. Technology remains the means; people are always the end.
