"Across Africa, the Internet is creating social and economic value, supporting entrepreneurialism and driving innovation, says David Dean. To close the remaining digital divide, he explains what actions policymakers should take to maximise the public impact."
Africa is going digital. Be it mobile
money transactions, Uber-style delivery services, or e-commerce platforms,
countless African examples can be found where consumers and businesses are
benefiting from the digital economy. In five of the continent’s largest
countries – Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Morocco – Internet
penetration is now close to the global average. With examples like these, it’s
not hard to imagine Africa’s future being digital.
But the future is not evenly
distributed. More than 800 million Africans do not have Internet access. Many
live in rural areas, without access to infrastructure, or they simply cannot afford
access it where available. The young and the urban are twice likely to have Internet access
than the old and the rural. The richest 60 per cent are three times more likely
to be connected than the bottom 40 per cent; women are only half are likely to
have Internet access than men and others simply do not see the benefits of
using the Internet. Lack of basic literacy or digital literacy is a big drag on
usage.
Benefits of
connectivity:
Reducing poverty, hunger and
inequalities, or improving health and education as well as achieving many of
the United Nation (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals; depend on having an
accessible, affordable Internet and citizens with the skills to use it. The
economic rationale for the necessary investments is clear too: In work
commissioned by ICANN, The Boston
Consulting Group estimated that countries can – conservatively – increase GDP
by 2-3 per cent by reducing the barriers holding back their Internet economy.
So what needs
to be done?:
Four areas need concerted attention:
more widespread Internet infrastructure, more affordable services, relevant
local digital content, and higher digital literacy skills. Successful countries
have taken a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to addressing these
challenges.
Infrastructure
access is a prerequisite. Governments can leverage the successful practices of
other countries starting by defining a long-term digital strategy, including a national
broadband plan and establish a transparent, independent, regulatory framework.
Policymakers also need to promote competition as this tends to encourage
investment, drive innovation and reduce prices while incentivising collaboration
between network providers through support for network sharing.
Underpinning such priorities should be
a drive for cross-border collaboration in areas such as regulatory policy,
spectrum allocation and trade. For example, In East Africa the removal of
mobile roaming charges resulted in a 950 per cent increase in traffic between
Rwanda and Kenya within weeks.
Affordability
is a significant challenge. According
to A4AI
not a single emerging or developing country can claim to meet the UN’s broadband affordability benchmark. But
several initiatives can bring costs down. Reducing taxes on devices and access
can lead to significant progress. Côte d’Ivoire is leading the
way with its government's decision in 2015 to slash taxes on mobile phones from
27 per cent to less than 7 per cent, is one positive example. And while spectrum auctions should be seen as opportunities to attract
infrastructure investment, rather than major revenue-generating opportunities,
governments should also promote the deployment of DNS root
server instances and
Internet eXchange Points (IXPs) to enhance local connectivity and resiliency,
and reduce costs. Of roughly 500 IXPs worldwide, only about 30 are in Africa.
Local digital content also needs
encouragment. Making the Internet a relevant resource requires local-language
content, applications and services. Proven steps include removing the hurdles
facing small businesses in areas such as trade, tax and the recruitment of
skilled employees. Policymakers can also seek to digitise government services
to increase citizen involvement, improve the quality of services and raise
efficiency. Nigeria’s electronic identification (ID) system revealed 62,000 ghost workers
in the public sector, while Nairobi’s water utility was able to significantly
cut the time to fix outages based on customer feedback.
Alternatively, they can also encourage
technology hubs to provide the infrastructure and entrepreneurial environment
for new business creation. Similarly,
promoting local hosting of websites and registration under local country
domains to improve website performance offers significant potential.
But they
also need to remember that skills need building. Basic literacy often holds
back Internet adoption and use. In Sub-Saharan Africa over 40 per
cent of adults, half of women, and more than 30 per cent of young people are
illiterate. Actions that can make a
difference include a drive for full
school enrolment, especially for girls; create digital literacy programmes
for those no longer in the formal
education system; and promote shared facilities to help expose communities to
the benefits of Internet access, particularly in remote areas.
Conclusion:
Each country needs to identify which
problems affect it most severely and develop relevant solutions. A
multi-stakeholder approach involving governments, the private sector, civil
society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can be very effective in
building consensus on the most effective policies and actions to adopt.
Significant and lasting investments
are needed to deliver the Internet for all Africans. Some may baulk at the
magnitudes involved, but government leaders should ask themselves what the
costs of inaction are. These are high
too – fewer jobs and slower economic development, a bigger digital divide,
poorer education, worse healthcare and lower life expectancy.
For farsighted leaders, the answer
will be clear.
*David is a senior advisor in the
Munich office of The Boston Consulting Group and a former senior partner and
managing director. He has published widely and spoken often on the impact of
the Internet on business, government, and society.
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