AfDB and partners drive data transformation in Africa with SDMX and Open Data Platform 2.0 training

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Scarcity of data has greatly limited the pace of African economic development as long as it stands against quality research on the African economic space. Researchers have groaned under this burden over the years with limited attention. Of course, research is key if progress must be made on innovation, informed decision-making, challenging assumptions and fostering critical thinking. These are the wheels that drives economic development.

It is relieving to know that African strategic economic development organizations such as AfDB, are forging ahead in effort to bridge data gap for African development.

The Statistics Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the African Union Institute of Statistics (STATAFRIC), the Africa Centre for Statistics of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and other international partners held a week-long Regional Workshop on Statistical Data and Metadata exchange (SDMX) and the Bank’s Open Data Platform 2.0 (ODP 2.0).

The workshop, held in Addis Ababa from 21 to 25 July 2025, brought together more than 40 participants from 16 countries, alongside delegates from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, Paris21, and four regional institutions. Participants engaged in hands-on training on leveraging SDMX to enhance data management and dissemination in support of evidence-based policymaking.

SDMX has emerged as a leading global standard for statistical data exchange, enabling greater efficiency, automation, and integration across national, regional, and global statistical systems. Its adoption by African countries is set to boost the reliability and comparability of official statistics across the continent.

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The workshop also offered in-depth technical sessions on ODP 2.0, the upgraded SDMX-native version of the African Development Bank’s Open Data Platform, developed under the Africa Information Highway initiative. ODP 2.0 enables countries to make their data systems more interoperable, accessible, and ready for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

In their opening remarks, representatives from AfDB, UNECA, and STATAFRIC reaffirmed their commitment to accelerate the adoption of SDMX in Africa, pledging closer collaboration with Regional Economic Communities to ensure efficient implementation across member countries.

The event also highlighted Africa’s progress in advancing open data practices with the support of the AfDB, as reflected in the latest Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024-2025 report, covering 197 countries and published in April 2025:

Ten African countries scored above 60 out of 100, up from just two in 2020.

For the first time, three African countries — Morocco (77.3), Burkina Faso (76.8), and Senegal (75.3) — exceeded 70 out of 100, placing them among the world’s top 35 performers.

Between 2022 and 2024, all regions showed improvements, with Africa recording the highest regional increase of 23% in average ODIN scores.

The milestone workshop demonstrates the growing momentum among African countries and institutions to modernize data ecosystems, strengthen statistical capacity, and drive inclusive development through better, more accessible data.