WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICAN RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK

Their core work

WACREN is the regional research and education network (RREN) serving West and Central Africa, connecting national research and education networks (NRENs) across the region to enable scientific collaboration and data exchange. They build and operate the communication infrastructure that allows African universities and research institutions to connect with each other and with global research networks like GÉANT. Their work focuses on deploying e-infrastructures, science gateways, and middleware that make it possible for African researchers to participate in international scientific projects and access shared computing resources.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

WACREN's H2020 participation is concentrated in a single period (2015-2017), so a clear temporal evolution is hard to establish. Their early keywords emphasize foundational network infrastructure — NRENs, communication networks, AfricaConnect, GÉANT connectivity — while later keywords shift toward higher-level services like science gateways and e-science platforms. This suggests a natural progression from building the physical/logical network layer toward enabling actual scientific use of that infrastructure.

WACREN appears to be moving up the stack from raw connectivity toward application-layer services that help researchers actually use the network for science — a natural next step for any maturing RREN.

How they like to work

WACREN participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a regional network operator contributing African connectivity expertise to European-led infrastructure projects. They have worked with 28 unique partners across 20 countries, indicating broad international reach despite only three projects. This suggests they are a well-connected node in the global research networking community, valued for providing the African regional perspective and infrastructure link.

Despite only three H2020 projects, WACREN has collaborated with 28 partners across 20 countries, reflecting their position as a bridge organization connecting African research networks to European and global infrastructure initiatives.

What sets them apart

WACREN is the gateway to West and Central African research networks — if your project needs African connectivity, NREN partnerships, or deployment of e-infrastructure in the region, they are the organization to call. Based in Accra, Ghana, they are one of very few African RRENs with direct H2020 participation experience, making them a natural bridge between EU-funded infrastructure projects and the African research community. For consortium builders targeting EU-Africa research cooperation, WACREN provides both technical infrastructure and institutional relationships across the region.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TANDEM
  Largest project by funding (EUR 437K) — focused on trans-African network development, representing WACREN's core mission of building regional research connectivity.
• Sci-GaIA
  Represents WACREN's evolution from infrastructure operator toward enabling actual scientific use through science gateways and e-science platforms in Africa.