ASToN: Financing an african smart towns network making the digital transition

ongoing

ASToN (African Smart Towns Network) is a network of 12 African cities that want to use digital tools to address local and global challenges. The aim of creating an alliance and partnership between the participating cities is for them to rapidly become leading digital players in their respective local contexts, in an appropriate and sustainable manner.The project provides technical assistance to these 12 local authorities. It will be conducted in four phases: the preparation and launch of the network will be followed by an assessment of the issue in each city and the implementation of a working method on a case-by-case basis. Integrated action plans will subsequently be prepared with local groups and an experimental prototype will be implemented. The National Urban Renewal Agency (ANRU), which has been inspired by the European URBACT program, is responsible for the management and has set up a project management unit (PMU) to coordinate the activities with the cities and experts.