Africa is still poised to grow its digital economy. In recent times, the continent has seen steady and deliberate efforts from both the private and public sectors to actualize this charge.
These efforts, however, have been limited to consumer-facing products and have neglected the infrastructure that powers them.
Africa’s digital economy is approaching its S curve, and this growth has been driven by COVID and an increase in tech talent.
The report estimates that the market size of the digital economy is $115 billion now and is expected to be $712 billion by 2050.
The report also establishes that this charge is still in its infancy, with mobile penetration numbers hovering between 30% and 40%. Beyond having devices that can access the internet, the critical infrastructure that powers the transfer of information, such as data centres and fibre optic networks, is also necessary for actualising this charge