A legal think tank for African technology policy.
ACTPOL produces legal research, policy analysis, and convenings on how technology should be governed across the African continent.
ACTPOL was established by its founder and President, Major Selasie Atuwo (Rtd), Esq, to address the widening gap between technology deployment and legal frameworks on the African continent. It was incorporated in Ghana on 17 June 2025 as a company limited by guarantee.
Closing the gap between technology and the law
Technology is never neutral. Every system that arrives on the continent, from identity platforms to surveillance infrastructure and from fintech architectures to content moderation algorithms, embeds choices about who it serves and at what cost.
Yet the rules governing technology on the continent are too often borrowed wholesale from other jurisdictions, drafted in haste under donor timelines, or enacted without the depth of legal analysis that their consequences demand.
ACTPOL exists to close that gap. We produce the rigorous, Africa-centred legal research that governments, regulators, and courts need to govern technology well.
Vision & mission
“An Africa where technology, and the laws that govern it, are shaped by African realities, priorities, and values.”
ACTPOL is an independent legal think tank. We research and shape the rules that govern technology in the African context, working to bring emerging technology, from digital governance to national security, in line with the needs, culture, and priorities of the continent.
What we aim to achieve
Shape legislation
Provide the legal research that parliaments and regulators need to write technology law rooted in African conditions.
Build capacity
Train the next generation of African technology law scholars and practitioners through fellowships and convenings.
Publish openly
Make rigorous legal analysis freely available so that civil society, media, and citizens can hold power to account.
Advise institutions
Support governments, courts, and multilateral bodies with expert guidance on technology governance.
Research that reaches the statute book
We do not produce research for its own sake. Every project is designed to reach the hands of the people who write, interpret, or challenge the law: legislators, regulators, judges, and advocates.
Our work is organised around four programmes: technology law and policy, innovation policy, realigning technology to the African context, and surveillance and national security. Each is led by lawyers and policy specialists who publish research and engage directly with government.
We convene closed-door roundtables with decision-makers, file formal submissions to parliamentary committees, and publish openly so that civil society can hold institutions accountable.
Explore our researchWhat guides our work
Independent
Analysis follows the evidence, not any government or donor.
Rigorous
Every position is researched, sourced, and tested before publication.
African-rooted
We begin from African realities, culture, and priorities.
Forward-looking
We engage emerging technology early, before the policy gap widens.
The team
ACTPOL’s leadership team combines legal expertise, military discipline, technology insight, and academic rigour to govern the Centre’s mission.
Major Selasie Atuwo (Rtd), Esq
Founder and President of ACTPOL. A retired military officer turned legal researcher, Major Atuwo established the Centre in 2025 to address the widening gap between technology deployment and legal frameworks on the African continent.
[email protected]Senior officers
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Johnson Nuviadenu
Leads ACTPOL’s technology strategy and innovation programmes, bringing deep expertise in digital transformation and emerging technology governance across African markets.
[email protected]Portfolio
Innovation Policy, Emerging Tech Scanning, Technical Advisory, Standards and Data.
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Prof. Malusi Sibiya
Directs ACTPOL’s research agenda across all four programmes, ensuring methodological rigour and academic excellence in all publications and policy outputs.
[email protected]Portfolio
Realigning Technology, Fellows Programme, Methods and Ethics, Peer Review.
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Lt. Col. Carlin Tawiah Martins
Oversees operational effectiveness and strategic direction of the Centre, drawing on extensive experience in institutional leadership and security sector governance.
[email protected]Portfolio
Institutional Strategy, Executive Training, Convenings and Roundtables, Partnerships and Growth.
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Gideon Osabutey
[email protected]Portfolio
Technology Law and Policy, Surveillance and Security, Parliamentary Affairs and Regulatory Engagement.
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Kobina Hughes, Esq
[email protected]Portfolio
Technology Law and Policy, Surveillance and Security, Parliamentary Affairs and Regulatory Engagement.
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Lily Oblie, Esq
Manages institutional coordination, stakeholder relations, and administrative operations of the Centre with precision and legal expertise.
[email protected] -
Chrispin Tshiani
[email protected]Portfolio
Supports the works of the Vice President for Technology and Innovation and leads implementation in Francophone Africa.
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Selase Herman-Condobrey
[email protected]
Governance
The Centre is led by its President and Vice Presidents.
Funding
ACTPOL accepts funding only on terms that protect the editorial independence of its research and publications.
We work alongside firms and institutions whose expertise strengthens our research.
Registration
- Registered name
- Africa Center for Technology Policy and Law LBG
- Registration number
- CG041610625
- Registered body
- Office of the Registrar of Companies, Ghana
- Legal form
- Company limited by guarantee, under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992)
- Incorporated
- 17 June 2025
- Headquarters
- Accra, Ghana
- Primary remit
- The African continent
Work with us
We periodically recruit researchers, fellows and advisers, and we work with funders, governments, multilateral bodies, universities and civil society organisations on research partnerships, commissioned work, fellowships and grant support. Send a covering note and CV, or a short description of what you have in mind, to [email protected].