The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is strengthening harmonised national broadband mapping systems in beneficiary of countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.
This is through a five-day Africa Broadband Maps Intermediate Geographic Information System (GIS) and Data Management for Broadband Mapping Training that began in Malawi on Monday.
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is hosting the workshop in the capital, Lilongwe, organised by the ITU, with support from the European Union and delivered by Esri South Africa College.
Building on foundational GIS skills, participants will gain hands-on experience in enterprise GIS architecture, multi-user geodatabases, data governance, access control, advanced editing, data integrity, database management and geospatial service publishing.
The training in Lilongwe is part of ongoing regional efforts to strengthen data-driven approaches to digital infrastructure planning.
“Broadband mapping allows countries to see their connectivity landscape clearly, identifying where coverage is strong, exposing where gaps remain, and enabling evidence-based planning for a more connected future,” Patrick Musiyapo, MACRA's Acting Director of Telecoms, explained.
Opening the training, he underscored that this work went beyond technical training.
Musiyapo said: "It is building the evidence base that will guide policy, direct investment, and connect the unconnected."
The programme has convened practitioners from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia to strengthen their capacity to build, manage, and maintain enterprise GIS environments for national broadband mapping.
The ITU Africa-BB-Maps project (2025–2028) aims to establish or strengthen harmonised national broadband mapping systems in 11 Sub-Saharan national regulatory authorities.
These are in Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The project will work with national and regional stakeholders to implement effective and sustainable systems, ensuring national ownership and alignment with the region’s evolving digital landscape.
A key pillar of the project is the transfer of knowledge from Europe to Africa, drawing on European regulatory and technical expertise.
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