WATRA attended the European phase of the 2025D project cycle of the iPRIS program, which held from the 16th of November to the 3rd of December 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. The two and a half weeks Europe phase was organized as a training program for participating representatives from African telecoms regulatory agencies (NRAs) and the regional regulatory organizations (RROs) designated to support the participants from their respective regions.
iPRIS (ICT Policy & Regulation – Institutional Strengthening) is an international digital development project designed to strengthen the capacities of African telecom regulators through peer-to-peer learning with African and European counterparts. The project, implemented by the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER), the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), and the Luxembourg Regulatory Institute (ILR), works to bridge the digital divide by enhancing digital connectivity across Sub-Saharan Africa, and by creating opportunities for knowledge exchange amongst African countries, and between the EU and Africa.
Each project cycle of the iPRIS program runs for a year, during which NRAs, with the support of their RROs (WATRA, CRASA, and EACO), will work to undertake Change Initiatives: strategic projects undertaken to bridge the digital divide by addressing challenges and opportunities within the ICT sector. The change initiatives focus on policy development and implementation linked to key issues within the ICT sector, such as infrastructure gaps, regulatory inefficiencies, or digital inclusion barriers.
WATRA’s Programs and Communications Officer, Ms. Anuoluwapo Atte, attended the 2025D Europe phase program as the RRO representative for the West African region, and was present to support the work of the participating West African NRAs, NCA-Ghana and PURA-The Gambia. Both Team NCA and Team PURA’s Change Initiatives center around creating spectrum policies to ensure the effective, efficient, and sustainable management of their countries’ spectrum resources by the end of the project cycle. WATRA will continue to support the participants in the implementation of their CIs, meeting with them regularly to ensure that they get all the resources they require for the success of their projects.
