Universal access to connectivity key for digital inclusion

Strategic expansion of the ICT sector will open up wealth-generation opportunities for all. [iStockphoto]

The Internet is now acknowledged as the anchor of digitisation. However, there remains a gap between those who have meaningful access to the resource, know how to use it, and those who do not.

A report by the European Union – African Union Digital Economy Task Force released in 2019 highlighted the opportunities Africa has if it is to harness the digital economy as a driver of sustainable and inclusive growth, with the potential to positively impact the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through ICTs.

The report further said with adequate investment in connectivity, suitable reforms, support to policy dialogue, and technical assistance, Africa may accelerate growth models, allowing the digital economy to influence all sectors of society.

This would result in newfound inclusiveness, sustainability, growth, and poverty reduction. The report however cautioned that if the continent fails to harness those opportunities, its economies risk isolation, stagnation, and an increasing digital divide.

In Africa, Internet connectivity remains the lowest. According to data from Global System for Mobile Communications Association, only 33 per cent of Africans were using the Internet in 2021, translating to about 515 million subscribed to a service.

Anchoring this exposition to Kenya, there are approximately 12 million homes. Of these, only about 1 million are connected to meaningful Internet. At Mawingu, we are on a mission to progressively bridge this digital divide and meet our customers at their connectivity point of need, especially in underserved or completely unserved areas.

The Internet is now a basic human right and a critical tool for inclusion that can have tremendous impact on equity, innovation, and economic development. Therefore, strategic and progressive investment, growth, and expansion of the ICT sector will consequently open up employment and wealth-generation opportunities for all, particularly the youth.

The digital divide and inequality are fundamentally linked to an area’s growth pattern and contribute to income inequality, low productivity, and low economic growth. The divide should not only be looked at through the lens of a connectivity split between urban and rural areas or even just within an intra-city context, particularly in low-income areas where there may potentially be lower rates of Internet adoption.

To fully appreciate the impact and import of the digital divide, we have to be aware of its dimensions. The divide’s other more popular dimensions are linked to infrastructural and socio-economic challenges, coupled with the lack of resources needed to acquire digital literacy skills.

While contexts may vary, the ongoing discourse on the digital divide highlights existing socio-economic as well as cultural disparities. The government’s initiative of laying the groundwork intended to bring public services closer to the people through the digital super highway and through other initiatives such as the Universal Service Fund is commendable.

Our role as sector players is to compliment these initiatives and efforts towards a more impactful digital inclusion.

-The writer is the Chief Executive Officer of Mawingu Networks