AI 4 Startups project - Enabling Data Innovation: Legal Support for Regulatory Approaches and Data Sharing Frameworks

Lot 1 - Regulatory Insights from Startup Experience The provider will be responsible for: 1. Designing a survey tool or structured interview guide to identify regulatory needs and challenges faced by African startups around data access, use, and sharing (e.g., legal frameworks, contract clauses, consent, data sovereignty). 2. Disseminating the survey to a minimum of 20 startups across different African countries and sectors (a focus on agritech is welcome but not essential). 3. Analysing the responses and producing a regulatory needs analysis, including:Key trends and patterns, Illustrative quotes or case examples, At least 3 recurring regulatory challenge areas 4. Providing good practices, identifying legal or policy mechanisms that facilitate responsible data use in the target countries. The provider should highlight existing initiatives, frameworks, or precedents, with a particular focus on cross-border data sharing practices where applicable. 5. Providing actionable recommendations to inform public-private dialogue, regulatory experimentation, or future support interventions. This analysis shall be consolidated in an overall report. Eligible geographical scope for the study: Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana. It is possible to extend this scope to other African countries in order to deepen the cross-border issues and/or provide inspirations that can be adapted to priority scope countries and/or if the priority scope is fully covered. The methodology shall include : Conducting at least 10-15 qualitative interviews or focus groups (remote or in-person) with ecosystem stakeholders - may it be startups, regulators, institutions, etc. Facilitating a validation workshop (virtual or hybrid) to present findings and collect feedback. Digital Africa may facilitate the introduction to relevant startups from its portfolio.

The provider will be responsible for: 1. Drafting a template legal agreement for data sharing between startups and third parties (e.g., partners, platforms, competition participants, etc.).Ensuring alignment with relevant African and regional data protection frameworks (AU Data Policy Framework, national data protection laws, GDPR where relevant). The agreement shall be both in French and English 2. Testing the draft agreement with startups participating in AI 4 Startups hackathon activities. Producing a user guidance note (max. 5 pages) that explains the clauses of the agreement in simple terms and provides usage scenarios for non-lawyers. Supporting each startup in understanding and adapting the agreement to their own context (language, legal interpretation, negotiation points) and check data-sharing clauses in partnership agreements with startups as part of the AI 4 Startups hackathon program