Post Covid Africa is dealing with saving lives and livelihood. Inequality in income has further widened due to pandemic. Consequences of digital divide impacts socio economic development. Digital inclusion is the means to reduce inequality.

1. Bridging the Digital Divide
in Sub Saharan Africa
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2. 21st Feb 2021 Author : VG Somasekhar 2
Globally 3.2 Billion people
yet to be connected…

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Nearly two thirds ( 66% )
in Africa not connected
to the internet…

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Wide disparity in internet
penetration in Africa ...

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Kenya 87%
tops the continent
Nigeria > 62%
with highest no. of users
Ghana > 38%
Mozambique ~ 20% DR Congo < 9%
Internet penetration from >80% to 8% ..

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What is digital divide?

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The gap between those who
have ready access to
computers and the internet,
and those who do not

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Why solving for digital divide
is critical?

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Effects of digital divide
Increasing chasm between
developed and developing
countries.. leads to digital
hegemony..
Widens the wealth gap..
increases the polarization
of the rich and the poor
Hinders socio-eco
development & Gender
discrimination
Negatively impacts delivery
of education, healthcare,
governance and emergency
response
Lack of ICT leads to lack
of opportunities..
Causing social conflicts

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What causes digital divide?

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Digital
Divide
Causes
Coverage gap
Usage gap Affordability
Digital literacy
Rural - Urban
Policy
- Narrowing coverage gap
- Scale Up of 4G roll out
- Towerco sharing
- 4G Catch up of 3G
- Access = Population
- Usage gap is the No.1
factor for digital divide
- Usage gap is 6 times
higher than coverage gap
- Cost of smartphone
- Cost of data plans
- Cost of PCs and devices
- Low income economies
- Awareness of mobile
internet is not universal
- Digital skills gap barrier to
use
- local & natural language
content
- Urban areas fully covered
- Gap in rural areas / density
- Difficult to reach terrain
- Financially unviable
- Spectrum allocation and pricing
- Taxes on devices and data plans
- Industry structure and policy
- Inadequate resources and PPP
- Digitization Maturity
- Internet shutdowns

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What is
the Digital
landscape
in Africa?

16. 21st Feb 2021 Author : VG Somasekhar Source: GSMA Intelligence
Sub Saharan Africa – Mobile Internet Connectivity Index
Connected
26%
Usage Gap
49%
Coverage gap
25%

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Africa is a mobile only continent
- Networks: 4G LTE catching up with 3G
- Coverage: Urban markets fully covered, gaps in rural
Smartphone: prices still high, barrier to digital inclusion
- Mobile data: bundles increasingly becoming affordable
- Data usage: constrained due to daily and low value bundles
- Data use cases: led by IM, social media, video chat & video content
Online: shopping early days, high velocity in digital payments
- Online education & online working driven by lockdown and WFH
- Mobile money usage migrating from USSD to Digital App
Landscape and consumer behavior..

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Actions for Digital Inclusion

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Coverage gap:
1. Spectrum pricing and availability in sub one Ghz band for rural coverage
2. Towerco model to ‘Fiberco’ for rolling out shared fiber networks
3. WiFi deployment in universities, libraries, markets, malls and public spaces
Affordability
4. Smartphone manufacturing in Africa for scale and affordability
5. Innovative smartphone financing models similar to off grid solar power
6. Review of government taxes on phones and data plans
Policy
7. USO Funds to be aligned to achieve rural roll out
8. Digitalization of service delivery to be led by Government - MDAs
9. Promote e- education, e-health, local content, natural language processing
10. Shutdown of internet and social media to be avoided

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Sources and Credits:
https://www.gsma.com/r/somic/
https://www.gsma.com/betterfuture/2020sdgimpactreport/
https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/gsma-intelligence-shares-global-mobile-trends-2021/
https://www.itu.int/en/myitu/Publications/2020/08/31/09/09/Digital-Regulation-Handbook
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/02/07/shooting-for-the-moon-an-agenda-to-bridge-
africas-digital-divide/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1176654/internet-penetration-rate-africa-compared-to-global-average/
https://wearesocial.com/blog/2020/01/digital-2020-3-8-billion-people-use-social-media

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Asante - Thank You - Merci