African countries have been challenged to commit to a united strategy that will ensure the continent builds a sovereign digital infrastructure to guarantee seamless connectivity.
According to speakers at the Connected Africa Summit 2026 currently underway in Nairobi, the prevailing fragmentation of policies, infrastructure and data protection has locked out many people in the continent from enjoying digital services.
“Despite massive strides, there are still communities where fibre has not reached, there are regions where connectivity remains unreliable and citizens who remain digitally excluded and we have also witnessed moments where infrastructure damage cause some regions to be in darkness,” said John Tanui, ICT and the Digital Economy Principal Secretary.
For instance according to data by GSMA, despite growing investment in infrastructure in Africa, out of an estimated 1.4 billion people in the continent, 75pc of the population are not connected to mobile internet.
Additionally, 64pc of the people in Africa equivalent to 960 million are not using mobile internet despite living in an area where coverage is available.
“As digital transformation accelerates globally, Africa stands at a very critical inflection point. The decision we make today and over this period of summit will determine our continent’s position in the future global economy,” added Tanui,
A unified strategy Under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol is backed to help African countries unlock cross border commerce, simply market access, accelerate regional trade for sectors such as banking and telecommunications.
“Investing in Africa’s digital infrastructure, digital services, innovation and research and development is essential to leapfrog traditional development, fostering a unified digital market, economic resilience, prioritizing public private partnerships, cloud first policies and artificial intelligence skills for youth will close the digital divide and drive a sustainable growth across the continent, “ said Lily Ng’ok, Chair ICT Authority.
The continent is also expected to unlock billion of investment from private sector through the deployment of sovereign digital infrastructure as well as enacting unified data governance framework and ensuring critical infrastructure and computational power are hosted within the continent.
“The choices we make today will shape Africa digital future for generations to come. Let us therefore move forward with unity, resolve and with shared commitment to building an inclusive digital market for our continent,” added Jessy Mavuti, Chief Executive Officer, ICT Authority.
This year’s connected summit which is the 15th and the third focusing on Africa brings together at least 1500 delegates from at least 47 countries.
