Paradigm Initiative urges Ivorian gov’t to prioritize digital rights in 2026.

PIN has emphasised that the over 83 billion FCFA (approximately 146 million USD) adopted by the country’s Ministry of Digital Transition and Digitalisation, must extend beyond infrastructure to ensure privacy, freedom of expression, and equitable access for all Ivorians.

The recommendation of PIN is the content of a media note it issued on December 8, 2025, on Côte d’Ivoire’s 2026 digital budget. 

“As we look ahead to 2026, it is not enough to expand connectivity or invest in digital infrastructure. True digital transformation must ensure that people can access the internet affordably and safely, enjoy privacy and freedom of expression, and fully participate in public life. Without these protections, digital progress risks amplifying inequality instead of reducing it,” partly read the statement from Paradigm Initiative.

The call, the statement explained, is in line with PIN’s latest digital rights and inclusion report, Londa.

The report, it should be said, highlights key digital rights challenges across Francophone Africa, including insufficient data-protection safeguards, internet shutdowns and barriers that prevent women, rural populations, and marginalised communities from fully accessing digital spaces.

“As the Londa Report makes clear, failing to embed digital rights and inclusion into national strategies risks widening existing divides. We urge Ivorian policymakers, the media, civil society, and private-sector partners to champion human-rights‐centred digital policies in 2026, so that no one is left behind in the country’s digital future,” PIN emphasised.

About PIN

Paradigm Initiativevconnects under-served young Africans with digital opportunities and ensures digital rights for all. It worked in communities across Nigeria since 2007 and across Africa since 2017, building experience, community trust, and an organisational culture that positions it as a leading non-governmental organization in ICT for development and digital rights on the continent.

PIN promotes a rights-respecting continent through its team in subregional offices in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

Its interventions are spread across more than 27 African countries. PIN pushes for an internet that is open, accessible, and affordable to all.

The organisation’s programs include a Life Skills, ICTs, Financial Literacy, and Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Training Program, a digital readiness workshop for youth, and a Life at Schools Club Program. 

PIN has also built online platforms such as Ayeta and Ripoti that educate and serve as safe spaces for reporting digital rights violations.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3650 of Tuesday December 09, 2025