GSMA and PDAA launch a practical plan to bring fast mobile internet and simple smartphones to 1 billion people across Africa by 2030.
GSMA and an organization named Partnership for Digital Access in Africa came together in New York to start a new plan.
Their simple goal is to help one billion people across the African continent get connected to the internet by the year 2030.
Right now, many people live in places where phone signals exist, but they still cannot use the internet. Around 906 million people in Africa have network coverage near their homes, but they do not use internet services.
Many people still use basic old phones that only make calls and send simple text messages. Buying a good smartphone is too expensive for millions of families, and internet data costs too much money.
In many places, power supply is weak, making it hard to charge phones or run internet towers reliably.
To fix this problem, leaders gathered at a special meeting during the United Nations General Assembly in New York at the Rockefeller Foundation.
They studied how people use phones in eleven African nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda.
They found out that expanding network poles alone is not enough. Governments and phone companies must work together to bring down the cost of smartphones so everyday citizens can afford them.
They also need to teach people simple skills on how to use the internet safely for daily work, health, and school.
Talking about this big mission, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is a former President of Liberia and Co-Chair of the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa, said, “The goal is ambitious, but it is achievable. If we bring together connectivity, electrification, affordable devices and digital skills, and if we match Africa’s many promising programmes with the power of genuine public private partnership, we can ensure that the continent’s digital transformation leaves no community behind.”
Another leader, John Giusti, who is the GSMA Chief Regulatory Officer and President of the GSMA Foundation, noted that the work must focus on everyday needs. He said, “Africa has already built much of the network foundation for its digital future. The urgent task now is to close the usage gap by making smartphones and services affordable, equipping people with practical skills, building trust and ensuring connectivity delivers visible value in people’s daily lives. This roadmap shows how governments, industry and development partners can align investment and accountability around the outcomes that matter. Reaching one billion meaningfully connected Africans will require coordinated action across infrastructure, energy, devices, skills and digital services.”
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Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou, the Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa, also explained that building network towers is only the first step. He said, “Africa cannot build its digital future on connectivity alone. A network can reach a community, but meaningful participation depends on the conditions around it: reliable energy, affordable devices, digital skills and services people have a reason to use. This roadmap gives us a practical framework for bringing those conditions together and turning access into opportunity at scale.”
The new plan focuses on helping more than 600 million people switch from old 2G and 3G networks to fast 4G and 5G internet connections.
By sharing towers, using solar power, and making smartphones cheaper, leaders believe millions of families will come online for the first time.
Reports from top global tech observers and African media groups highlight that cutting the internet usage gap in half across the main focus countries could bring about 245 million additional people online very quickly.
This will help farmers check crop prices, help market women receive money safely on their phones, and allow children to learn new things online without leaving their villages.
