On October 6, 2026, the Nigerian newspaper Punch published an item on the upcoming Global Digital Forum in Moscow. Punchng is the official website of one of the largest and most influential and respected dailies in Nigeria, with a monthly readership of 9 million.
At the end of September, the authorities in Lagos – one of the main economic centres of Nigeria and the whole of West Africa – convened an emergency meeting due to severe traffic congestion. Two of the city’s most important ports, Apapa and Lekki, found themselves blocked. An electronic system had been set up to organise queues for lorries to prevent them from crowding the terminals, but it unexpectedly malfunctioned. As a result, they became stuck and brought traffic to a standstill. [1]
For Lagos, this is not a local problem. The city is growing; huge flows of goods, money and people pass through it. The population is increasing, and new neighbourhoods are spreading further and further from the business centre. As a result, strain on roads and public transport is growing, and any traffic jam at the port terminals affects the entire metropolis.
Even on weekdays, getting around the city takes up a lot of local residents’ time. According to World Bank estimates, they spend up to four hours a day commuting to work. Accidents, downpours, or road closures due to refuse collection lead to major traffic jams. Convenient routes and up-to-date traffic information will therefore help people free up more time for their families, leisure and studies. [2]
In 2025, Lagos City Council developed the MyLagosApp to show users the traffic situation and offer various services. This significant step forward has partially eased traffic jams. In the next phase, city services – including ports, buses, the traffic police and public utilities – will need to establish a faster exchange of data. [3]
The situation is similar in the healthcare sector. The Lagos SHIP platform is designed to link hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies and insurance companies so that patients’ medical records are stored in one place, and doctors no longer have to order repeat tests simply because previous results have been lost. The project is also being rolled out in phases: by August 2026 by August 2026, 30 per cent of the projects have been implemented, with major hospitals and over 300 primary care centres connected to the system.
Lagos is one example of the challenges faced by all African urban areas. They are growing rapidly, whilst their infrastructure is lagging behind. According to OECD forecasts, Africa’s urban population will double by 2050 – from 700 million to 1.4 billion people. Existing methods are not designed to cope with such a large number of people. [4]
Public services already need tried-and-tested technologies and a direct line of communication with residents. If a street is flooded, the information must be relayed instantly to the emergency services and to those who manage bus routes. Most importantly, people need to be informed of this so they can plan their day. To achieve this, disparate services must be integrated into a single ecosystem.
African IT specialists do not necessarily need to build such a product from scratch. It is enough to assess technologies already in use in other countries and adapt them to local conditions. The EU and the African Union are developing the ‘Digital for Development’ programme to roll out e-services, China is supporting 5G projects, and the US is funding digital infrastructure through the ‘Digital Transformation with Africa’ initiative.
The second Global Digital Forum, to be held on October 8-10 in Moscow, will serve as an important platform for discussing ready-made IT solutions. The organisers are expecting 750 participants from 120 countries. In total, the event will bring together over a thousand guests – ministers, company executives, investors, academics and IT specialists. [5]
In Russia, digital systems have long been part of everyday life. Moscow City Council has created a precise 3D model of the city comprising 9,000 layers of data on buildings, roads, utility networks and other infrastructure. The model helps to understand what lies underground, how to improve transport links and where schools or health centres should be built as a priority. [6]
A dedicated portal offers more than 460 e-services: booking a doctor’s appointment, accessing an online medical record, paying utility bills, reserving books at the library and topping up a travel card. People do not need to visit government offices, collect certificates or queue – everything can be done in a single app. For Lagos and other African cities, the key principle of such a programme is crucial: different services promptly share information with one another, everything is automated, and everyone saves time.
The forum also offers the chance to explore other success stories. In China, the City Brain system has been launched, which regulates traffic lights via road cameras. According to the developer, thanks to this technology, traffic flow in the Xiaoshan pilot district of Hangzhou has increased by approximately 15%, whilst the waiting time for ambulances has been halved. [7] In São Paulo, Brazil, the SP156 service is in operation. Residents can report litter, potholes and other urban issues via the website, app, chat or telephone. Each report is assigned a reference number, which can be used to check its status at any time. In 2025, the system received over 2.1 million reports. Complaints do not get lost within a vast, abstract system – users can always see what stage their report is at. [8]
The discussion on the development of ‘smart’ cities will continue on 28-29 October, when Moscow hosts the third Russia-Africa Summit. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are among the priority topics for the meeting, and the African Union is already drawing up a plan for cooperation with the Russian leadership for the period 2027–2029. At the Global Digital Forum, experts will select the most promising projects for this initiative.
By 2030, one in two Africans will live in a city, so countries have little time left to fine-tune integrated digital services. Moscow shows how such ecosystems integrate into a modern metropolis. Russia and African countries must cooperate more closely in this area. Digitalisation itself must be measured in terms of specific services, models and algorithms. The ultimate goal is to give people back their time and make everyday life easier.
1. Lagos Unveils Plan To Address Apapa, Lekki-Epe Gridlock // URL: https://thewhistler.ng/lagos-unveils-plan-to-address-apapa-lekki-epe-gridlock/
2. Lagos Diagnostic Study and Pathway for Transformation // URL: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099062123034023646/pdf/P1750310c8d0390000afa70e5c583aa3b87.pdf
3. Lagos, MTN Nigeria launches MyLagosApp to revolutionise transportation // URL: https://guardian.ng/news/lagos-mtn-nigeria-launches-mylagosapp-to-revolutionise-transportation/
4. Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2025 // URL: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/africa-s-urbanisation-dynamics-2025_2a47845c-en.html
5. II Global Digital Forum to Bring Together Experts from 110 Countries // URL: https://gdfconf.com/news/ii-globalnyy-tsifrovoy-forum-soberet-ekspertov-iz-113-stran-dlya-obsuzhdeniya-tsifrovoy-transformats
6. Digital city model: how digital twins make the city comfortable // URL: https://www.mos.ru/en/news/item/167268073/
7. Hangzhou growing smarter thanks to AI technology // URL: http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1020/c90000-9282588.html
8. 2025 se destaca como ano de avanço para a tecnologia paulistana // URL: https://www2.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/web/inovacao/w/2025-se-destaca-como-ano-de-avan%C3%A7o-para-a-tecnologia-paulistana
