WHO WE ARE
WHAT WE DO
MEDIA CENTER
PUBLICATIONS
EVENTS
WORK WITH US
Subscribe
WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO MEDIA CENTER PUBLICATIONS EVENTS WORK WITH US
Overview Governance Our Donors Our Team Frequently Asked Questions back
Overview Portfolio Snapshot Project Preparation Capacity Building Information Sharing back
News MCDF Brief Videos Photo Galleries MCDF Photo Contest Features Corporate Communications Hub back
Annual Report MCDF Impact MCDF Independent Evaluation Report MCDF PPP Hot Topics Report Series MCDF Connectivity Infrastructure Report Series Report on Climate-Smart Connectivity Infrastructure Handbook on Sustainable Financing of Development and Infrastructure Event Reports back
Upcoming Events Past Events back
Opportunities back
Subscribe
Event Background
EVENT
Workshop 2: Institutional and Regulatory Setup
Digital Infrastructure Introductory Workshop Series
Workshop 2: Institutional and Regulatory Setup
4 March

2026

TIME: 4 March 2026, 22:00 - 00:00 (GMT+8)

LOCATION: Virtual

VIEW RECORDINGS
DOWNLOAD PRESENTATIONS
SUMMARY

Workshop Series

The digital economy, the fastest growing sector worldwide and a crucial driver inclusive and sustainable development, depends on digital infrastructure to support it. However, there is limited knowledge of digital infrastructure and how governments in developing countries can best support its development to gain a competitive advantage.

The four-part virtual Digital Infrastructure Introductory Workshop Series examined digital infrastructure’s role in economic development strategies, how to prioritize and finance it, and keys to managing associated risks. Workshops in the series featured high-level speakers, including ministers from emerging markets, distinguished scholars, private sector representatives, and development practitioners, and helped participants:

  • Understand the critical role of digital infrastructure in driving economic opportunities, growth, and job creation
  • Learn the core foundational elements of digital infrastructure and digital public infrastructure to bridge digital divides in project development and financing
  • Gain insights from experts on effectively managing data governance and cybersecurity risks
  • Enhance their understanding of innovative financing mechanisms for digital infrastructure, drawing on best practices
  • Explore opportunities to leverage artificial intelligence for improved market efficiency and competitive advantage, and advancing sustainable development priorities
  • Network with experts from International Financial Institutions (IFIs), government ministries and agencies, and the private sector to foster partnerships for future digital infrastructure projects
  • Receive support in developing project ideas for multilateral financing

Certificate

Participants attending the workshop series received a certificate for each session.

Workshop Two: Institutional and Regulatory Setup

This session addressed different institutional and regulatory setups, including the management of data governance and cybersecurity, the lack of best practices in this field, and what has and has not worked across countries based on lessons learned. It drew upon insights from the Digital Infrastructure Risk Forum and its multilateral development bank participants.

AGENDA
SPEAKERS
Panelists
David Satola
David Satola
Chief Counsel, Legal Advisory Services and Knowledge, World Bank Group
<p>David Satola is the Chief Counsel, Legal Advisory Services and Knowledge at the World Bank. He has global responsibility for legal aspects of reforms in information and communications technologies, including telecommunications, the Internet, e-commerce, cybersecurity, data protection and open source software. He leads the World Bank’s initiative to build capacity to combat cybercrime (www.combattingcybercrime.org) and represents the Bank at GFCE’s Working Group C on Cybercrime. He also leads the Bank’s Observer delegation to the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) at ICANN. &nbsp;Prior to joining the Bank, David worked in human rights law in Geneva, and later was involved in communications investments in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, both as in-house legal counsel and in private law practice based in Brussels, London and Atlanta. &nbsp;David received his BA (1982) and MA (1984) in History from Johns Hopkins University. &nbsp;He also received a JD (1986) from the University of Wisconsin and studied at the London School of Economics and the Hague Academy of International Law.</p>
Irene Kaggwa
Irene Kaggwa
Program Manager, International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
<p>Irene Kaggwa is the Programme Manager at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for Giga, a joint ITU-UNICEF initiative that seeks to support governments to connect all schools to the Internet by 2030. Prior to that, she worked in different roles within Uganda Communications Commission - the regulator in the communications sector in Uganda, for a period of 25 years.</p> <p>Irene was appointed Executive Director of the Uganda Communications Commission in February 2020.  Irene also substantively served as the Director of Engineering and Communications Infrastructure at the Commission. Her experience spans policy development, research, strategy, communications/ICT regulation, radio spectrum management, cyber security and implementation of the various aspects of fostering ICT and ICT enabled socio-economic development. A registered engineer, Irene holds a Master of Science in Communications Systems and Signal Processing from the University of Bristol and a Master of Science in Economic Management and Policy (Business Economic Pathway) from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom. She did a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering at Makerere University in Uganda.</p>
Chetan Gupta
Chetan Gupta
Assistant General Counsel and Head of Privacy Legal, Toast
<p>Chetan Gupta is&nbsp;a privacy lawyer with over a decade of experience advising on privacy related matters in various contexts, including with respect to GDPR and CCPA compliance. At Toast he leads the privacy legal team and program and manages a team of talented attorneys and program managers. Their mandate includes privacy counseling, developing and scaling a program that works globally, and interacting with regulators. Prior to this, at Google, he acted as a privacy subject matter expert for the product team, and advised teams on compliance solutions that can address global regulatory requirements, including potential impacts from proposed legislation. He worked closely with Twitter's regulators, including regulators in the US and the EU, helping respond to regulatory inquiries, and negotiated Twitter's 2022 FTC Consent Decree. Chetan is the recipient of the Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award from the Future of Privacy Forum. He has law degrees from Oxford and Berkeley and is licensed to practice in California and in India.</p>
Engr. Mohammad Alzeer
Engr. Mohammad Alzeer
General Manager of Infrastructure Quality, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia
<p>Dr. Mohammad Alzeer is an ICT professional and policy practitioner with over 15 years of experience across the telecommunications industry and the public sector. Throughout his career, he has contributed to strategic initiatives aimed at improving digital infrastructure performance and supporting sector development.</p> <p>He holds a PhD in Public Administration, which informs his interest in governance, institutional effectiveness, and the role of public policy in enabling sustainable digital transformation.</p> <p>In his role at the Ministry of Communications and Information, Dr. Alzeer contributes to national ICT strategy development and digital transformation initiatives, working to align technology policies with broader economic and competitiveness goals.</p> <p>He values cross-sector collaboration and is particularly interested in strengthening coordination between public and private stakeholders to support resilient digital ecosystems and long-term economic growth.</p>
Samm Sacks
Samm Sacks
Research Scholar in Law and Senior Fellow, Yale Law School
<p>Samm Sacks is a research scholar in law and senior fellow at Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center. She is concurrently a senior fellow at New America in Washington, DC. Her research focuses on global technology policy with a focus on data and AI governance. Previously, she launched the industrial cybersecurity business for Siemens in Asia, led technology sector for the consulting firm Eurasia Group, and was a senior analyst with Booz Allen Hamilton. She has lived and traveled to China extensively over the last twenty-five years, beginning her career as a Fulbright Scholar in Beijing. She is a senior commentator on technology and data regulatory systems, and her publications have appeared in outlets including <em>Foreign Affairs, Bloomberg</em>, and <em>MIT Tech Review</em>.&nbsp;She is writing a book on data in a fractious world (University of Chicago Press; 2027).</p>
Welcome Remarks
Nicholas Williams
Nicholas Williams
Head of ICT Operations, African Development Bank
<p>Nick Williams is Head of the ICT Operations division of the African Development Bank (AfDB) where he is responsible for all financing to Governments and Regional Economic Communities for ICT projects in Africa. Areas of investment include broadband infrastructure, eGovernment, technology parks, the creation of data markets, as well as services and applications.&nbsp; He also reviews all private sector deals in ICT, including data centres.&nbsp; Prior to joining the AfDB in 2013 he worked on the liberalisation of telecoms markets in Asia and as a regulator in the Pacific.&nbsp; He has worked for Ericsson in Africa, for Vodafone in global public policy functions and for the UK Government.</p>
Moderator and Strategic Lead
Ivan Rossignol
Ivan Rossignol
Senior Advisor on Digital Infrastructure, MCDF
<p>Ivan Rossignol works as a senior advisor to multilateral banks, governments, and consulting firms. He focuses on digital infrastructure, competitiveness and growth strategies, cities and cluster approaches. Ivan’s recent consulting assignments include defining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Digital infrastructure strategy, chairing the global working group on digital infrastructure risks, and providing expert advice on digital infrastructure financing at the G20 under the Indonesia and India presidencies in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Ivan is a former director at the World Bank, where he spent 24 years advising governments on economic development, growth opportunities, and competitiveness, mostly in South Asia and Africa. He helped found the World Bank competitiveness practice and was its first Chief Technical Specialist (Director). While at the World Bank, Ivan also worked as Country Director of Sri Lanka and Maldives, was selected (not appointed) as Country Director for Afghanistan, worked as Acting Global Director of Practice for Trade and Competitiveness, manager of the Trade and Competitiveness practice in South Asia, and managed the World Bank country office in Egypt (2006). Ivan also worked for COMESA as a World Bank secondee (2000). He has lived in several African countries as well as in India. He has taught development economics as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, the University of Edinburgh, and as a Honorary Professor at Heriot-Watt University. He has delivered lectures at Harvard University and Cambridge University. Ivan published several articles on competitiveness. More recently, he published a financial method to evaluate the cost of natural capital (2022) and a Compendium on Digital Infrastructure Financing (2022 @G20).</p>
Close
Profile Image
AUDIENCE

The workshop was tailored for officials of ministries of information and communications technology, digital economy, digital infrastructure, finance, planning, agriculture, and rural development and relevant regulatory authorities, particularly those from developing countries. Staff from International Financial Institutions (IFIs), digital infrastructure companies, project developers, and developing country financiers working in the sector, as well as other interested stakeholders, were also encouraged to participate.

FORMAT

The workshop was held virtually. Presentations, case studies, and discussions were conducted in English, with simultaneous translation in Spanish and French.

Participants engaged through small group discussions, quick-answer apps, and question and answer sessions at the end of each panel discussion.

ORGANIZING PARTNERS

Jointly organized by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF), African Development Bank, CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and World Bank Group.

CONTACT

If you would like to learn more about the Digital Infrastructure Introductory Workshop Series or get in touch with the IFI co-organizers, please contact MCDF’s Ms. Jenny Lou Fernandez jenny.fernandez@themcdf.org