This brief, Advancing Digital Social Protection in Africa through Inclusion and Data Protection, explores strategies to develop inclusive and secure digital social protection (DSP) systems across Africa. DSP systems, which leverage digital tools to deliver social services, present transformative opportunities to address the needs of marginalized populations, including women, informal workers, youth, and migrants. However, barriers such as the digital divide, limited literacy, and inadequate data protection threaten their inclusivity and effectiveness. The brief underscores the critical role of trade unions in advocating for gender-sensitive, equitable DSP policies and robust data protection measures aligned with international standards. It highlights examples from Kenya and Ghana to examine opportunities and challenges in implementing DSP systems. Recommendations include investing in digital infrastructure, fostering digital literacy, enforcing robust data protection frameworks, and ensuring multi-stakeholder collaboration. These measures aim to create DSP systems that uphold the rights, dignity, and inclusion of all, leaving no one behind in Africa’s digital transformation.
