‘Mobile technology critical to connecting Africa’s unconnected’

Market research has shown that in terms of internet penetration rates, not only is Africa behind its global counterparts but there are still glaring gaps between countries on the continent.

Mr Kegan Peffer, Chief Executive Officer of tech start-up, Adoozy Power, said according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, more than 520 million Africans were connected to the internet by 2021 – that’s 40 per cent of all Africans, considerably less than global standards.

Additionally, Peffer said Statista reported in January this year that Morocco enjoys the highest internet penetration with 84.1 per cent of its population connected, while at the other end of the scale, just 7.1 per cent of the people in the Central African Republic can access the internet.

Only two Sub-Saharan countries feature in the top five countries – Seychelles with a 79 per cent penetration and South Africa with 68.2 per cent of its population connected.

“What is striking, however, is that in 2021, over 60 per cent of South Africans accessed the internet using mobile devices,” said Peffer.

“Considering the affordability and accessibility of mobile devices, this is not surprising. However, we also have to consider that mobile is leading the way due to the ever-increasing need for consumers to connect, work and transact on-the-go.

“Mobile technologies have the most critical role to play in connecting the unconnected. On a continent where 77 per cent of the population is under thirty-five years of age, the needs and preferences of the digital-native generations, who cannot be separated from their phones, will ensure the ongoing dominance of mobile internet penetration.”

The Adoozy Power executive added that as Africa’s trailblazing FinTech solutions have already proven, there’s limitless potential to solve intractable socio-economic problems.

The continent also has an opportunity to leapfrog costly infrastructural development and start providing services and products to non-consumers. But all of this depends on connectivity, added Peffer.

He explained the link between the issue of Africa’s connectivity and the World Wi-Fi Day.

“Connecting the unconnected is the charter of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, which celebrated World Wi-Fi Day, recently.

This worldwide initiative brings together countries and cities, government agencies and Big Tech, as well as fixed and mobile operators and technology solutions providers to address the digital divide, increase access to affordable internet and provide a robust digital ecosystem to support connected governments, businesses and consumers,” he added.

Peffer continued: “World Wi-Fi Day reminds us of the transformative power of digital and the way it shapes modern work and play. Our lives are on-the-go – students sit in the public park and participate in their ‘university tutorials; we consult our tele-health practitioner enroute to a business meeting; we increasingly shop online from anywhere, consume media while we are out and about and make bookings at any time that works for us. Every year, millions more Africans get connected through new mobile devices which rapidly become indispensable to them.”