A Beginner’s Guide to Smart Cities – Rethinking Urban Africa Through Technology
By Rebecca Aboagyewah Oppong | Veebeckz Tech Media | Published on 10th February, 2024
Picture this: a traffic light in Accra changes not on a timer, but in response to real-time traffic data. Waste bins in Osu send alerts when full, prompting timely pickups. Streetlights in Kumasi brighten only when movement is detected, conserving energy. Citizens in Tamale use a mobile app to report potholes or water leaks, which are geo-tagged and scheduled for repairs. This isn’t the premise of a future documentary. These are glimpses of the smart city concept—applied through an African lens.
A smart city uses digital technologies, data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to manage infrastructure, resources, and public services more efficiently. But in Africa, smart cities cannot merely be carbon copies of Dubai or Singapore. Instead, they must evolve from a grounded understanding of local needs, constraints, and cultural nuances. Smart cities in Africa must be inclusive, adaptive, and human-centered—not just tech-driven.
In recent years, governments across the continent have announced smart city ambitions. Ghana, for instance, has engaged in discussions around developing smart satellite towns around Accra and Kumasi, with the Hope City and Appolonia City concepts once touted as part of this vision. Elsewhere, Konza Technopolis in Kenya, Vision City in Rwanda, and Eko Atlantic in Nigeria have made international headlines. But what separates real smart cities from marketing hype is implementation rooted in service delivery and urban problem-solving.
To understand what a smart city really means in the African context, we must start with the problems it aims to solve. African cities are growing faster than infrastructure can keep up. Accra’s population, for example, has nearly doubled over the past 15 years, putting immense pressure on roads, sanitation, housing, water, and energy. Informality dominates—over 60% of urban dwellers live in unplanned or under-serviced areas. Pollution, traffic congestion, flooding, and poor waste management are everyday concerns. Any vision of a smart city must address these first—not through glossy tech, but practical digital solutions that work for the majority.
So what do these solutions look like?
Smart mobility is one of the most immediate entry points. In Accra and Lagos, traffic congestion eats hours from the daily lives of millions. Startups like Swoove, Swiftly, and Kenya’s Ma3Route are experimenting with real-time transit mapping and crowd-sourced transport data. If integrated with public transport authorities, these platforms can optimize routes, reduce wait times, and improve commuter safety. In the near future, adding intelligent traffic lights, bike-sharing apps, and even AI-driven ride-sharing pricing could radically change urban movement.
Waste management is another challenge ripe for transformation. Ghana generates over 12,000 tons of solid waste daily, with Accra accounting for a significant portion. A smart city approach would involve waste bins fitted with fill-level sensors, route optimization software for collection trucks, and citizen reporting tools for illegal dumping. CleanApp Ghana is one example trying to link users to pickup services and recycling partners. When scaled, such innovations can help municipalities track hotspots and reduce health hazards.
In water and sanitation, smart meters can detect leaks and track consumption patterns, reducing both waste and costs. Cities like Cape Town and Kigali have piloted smart water grids with real-time monitoring. In Ghana, expanding such technologies to water boards and community taps could help conserve resources and improve billing transparency, especially in drier northern zones.
Energy use is another frontier. Urban Ghana still faces periodic blackouts, especially during high-demand seasons. Smart cities leverage smart grids—systems that adjust electricity flow based on real-time demand. Solar-powered microgrids, already emerging in parts of East Africa, can be managed remotely through IoT dashboards. Accra’s solar streetlights with motion sensors are a first step; next could be smart homes with energy-efficient appliances and prepaid apps that monitor consumption in real time.
Perhaps the most overlooked pillar of smart cities is citizen engagement. Technology should not only automate—it should empower. Imagine if citizens in Kumasi could report streetlight outages or unsafe areas via a WhatsApp bot. Or if single mothers in Madina could register for public daycare via a USSD code. Smart cities thrive not on high-end sensors, but on simple digital tools that widen civic access.
That said, the journey to smart African cities is not without its obstacles. Connectivity and infrastructure remain core barriers. While mobile penetration is high, internet speeds, data costs, and electricity supply remain unreliable—especially in poorer neighborhoods. Urban inequality also threatens to digitize the divide, making services more accessible to the already-privileged while leaving behind informal communities.
Another risk is over-centralization. When smart city projects are run by governments or foreign contractors without community consultation, they risk becoming exclusive, surveillant, or irrelevant. Ghana must avoid what critics call “imported urbanism”—projects that don’t match local realities, languages, or governance systems.
To counter this, cities need inclusive urban planning policies, data governance frameworks, and local innovation ecosystems. Smart cities should prioritize open data, interoperability, and modularity—allowing local developers, startups, and civic tech actors to build atop public platforms. Initiatives like Veebeckz Tech Hub can play a vital role in creating homegrown applications that serve low-income communities, streamline service delivery, and support local governments with usable tech.
More importantly, smart cities must not be seen as a final product—but as an evolving process. Even something as basic as digitizing property records, installing traffic sensors at key intersections, or building an interactive public service portal can make a city smarter. It’s not about becoming “the Dubai of West Africa.” It’s about building a digitally empowered, citizen-centric Accra, Tamale, Takoradi, and beyond.
As urban populations continue to grow, the decisions we make today about how we design, govern, and connect our cities will shape the lives of millions for decades. Smart cities, when done right, are not futuristic—they are equitable, efficient, and human. Africa has the opportunity not to follow, but to lead with a model that is responsive, grounded, and inclusive. And Ghana, with its rising tech talent, policy appetite, and community-driven innovation hubs, is ready to light the way.
“Smart cities aren’t about more tech—they’re about smarter service to the people who need it most.”