Inability to pay for digital technologies is denying Sub-Saharan countries full benefits including job creation and fighting poverty, World Bank now says.
This comes even as countries such as Kenya continue to invest heavily in infrastructure both by the government and the private sector, which has seen the East African nation remain among the top 10 in the continent on internet penetration.
Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) latest data (second quarter 2022-23) shows the total mobile data/internet subscriptions stood at 47.7 million during the reference period, out of which 66.8 percent were on mobile broadband.
Of the total connectivity, about 20.5 million users are on 4G, followed by 2G at 15.9 million, 3G at 11.1 million while 5G had 299,904 subscribers as of December.
The number of mobile subscriptions increased from 65.5 million in September, to 65.7 million in Q2, representing a penetration rate of 133.1 per cent.
During the quarter under review, Safaricom PLC recorded the highest market shares in fixed data subscriptions at 46.1 percent followed by Wananchi Group at 31.1 percent.
The total utilised undersea bandwidth capacity grew by 5.5 per cent to 6.5 million out of which, 4,361.54Gbps was used in the country and 2,105.82Gbps sold outside the country.
“The government is strongly committed to the advancement of the digital superhighway and infrastructure expansion in its digital transformation agenda,” CA says in its report.
World Bank however notes the key digital technologies (DTs) related issue for African enterprises is still low productive use.
Market data shows Kenya is seventh overall in the continent on internet penetration with a 42 per cent rate.
Morocco leads with an 84.1 per cent penetration followed by Egypt(71.9%), South Africa(68.25), Algeria (60.6%), Ghana(53%) and Nigeria(51%).
Others on the top ten list are Tanzania and Ethiopia both at 25 per cent and DR Congo(17.6%).
The main factors affecting enterprise use of smart phones and computers, and of more sophisticated DTs, are the lack of ability to pay for them and willingness to use them.
For example, 1.5 GB of data over 30 days, a package that covers about a few hours of daily use, amounts to about one third of the income for the 40 per cent of Africans who fall below the extreme poverty line.
“In this regard, women tend to be at a disadvantage: Only two per cent of micro-sized firms owned by young women and eight of micro-firms owned by young men use a computer,” World Bank notes in its report.
To change this, the report recommends better access to credit, targeted regulations, and market-induced price reductions to help address affordability.
“Additionally, internet use should be viewed as a means of increasing household earnings and reducing poverty, so the policy goal is to increase the productive use of the internet to increase household earnings, and thus, the ability to pay,” the global lender says.
Sophisticated, creative, and simple-to-use apps with touch screen and voice, and videos in the many languages Africans speak, can also drive greater adoption of these technologies.
Development of these kinds of apps and new DTs requires public-private investment and programs with business advisory services and worker training programs.
“DTs are necessary but insufficient on their own. Electricity, road access, education, and skills as well as attainable financing are all part of the solution,” World Bank says.
Finally, national strategies and related policies to ensure affordability, infrastructure availability, and data infrastructure should be implemented, it advices.
Investments can include common access facilities for all and hubs for entrepreneurial training and support.
Bold policy actions that create a conducive DT environment will lead to positive impacts visible to governments, enterprises, and households.
“Governments should prioritize policies and investments that increase internet coverage, foster productive internet use, and enhance skills, jobs, and earnings,” World Bank says, “Generating good jobs is essential for the more than 22 million Africans joining the workforce each year.”
Digital technologies, from computers to apps to machine learning, offer new opportunities for people, businesses, and jobs.
Evidence presented in the report demonstrates that internet availability increases jobs and reduced poverty in African countries.
To fully realize their potential, digital technologies need to become more affordable and easier to use, World Bank says in the report dubbed:Digital Africa, Technological Transformation for Jobs.
