South Africa opens continental hub for digital entrepreneurship in Pretoria

The African Digital Transformation Centre will offer ICT startups access to mentorship, business development support and funding pathways, operating under a partnership with the United Nations' telecommunications agency

South Africa's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has launched the African Digital Transformation Centre (ADTC), a facility designed to support technology startups and small businesses across the continent. The centre was opened by deputy minister Mondli Gungubele at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria.

The ADTC was established in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency responsible for global telecommunications standards and development. It operates as part of the ITU's Network of Acceleration Centres, a global programme that connects digital entrepreneurs with resources, training and market access through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development.

According to the department, the centre will provide ICT small and medium enterprises with access to physical facilities, mentorship programmes, business development services and potential funding connections. It will also work to link startups with local and international markets to support the scaling of their products and services.

The initiative targets entrepreneurs working across sectors where digital tools are increasingly relevant, including financial services, agriculture and healthcare. Government framing positions the centre as infrastructure for inclusive economic growth, with a particular focus on reducing barriers for early-stage technology businesses in developing markets.

The ADTC is intended to function as a shared space for collaboration between government, private sector companies, academic institutions and civil society organisations. It sits within a broader set of policy efforts by South Africa to develop its digital economy, including the Digital Economy Masterplan, a fourth industrial revolution roadmap and a draft national artificial intelligence policy framework currently under development.

The centre also aligns with the African Union Digital Transformation Strategy 2020–2030, a continental framework that sets out goals for using technology to support economic and social development across member states.

Gungubele described ICT small businesses as central to job creation and economic transformation, and said the centre was intended to address gaps in support available to digital entrepreneurs. He acknowledged The Innovation Hub's role in hosting the facility, citing the arrangement as a model for public-private collaboration in innovation infrastructure.