Industry - Information & Communication Technology

An overview of the Information & Communication Technology Sector in Africa.

The efforts deployed by Africa to extend Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) access are bearing fruit, with more and more African nations embracing full-scale regulatory reform. Market liberalization and regulatory reform are designed to attract a surge of investment in the ICT sector and exploit the potential of low-cost technologies to provide affordable access to ICTs. A glance at the ICT policy landscape across Africa shows real signs of pioneering and innovation. For many African policy-makers it is clear that market reform will take the leading role in the continent's development. Africa is the fastest growing region for mobile communications and may well present one of the most fertile grounds for ICT investment anywhere in the world.

The number of voice telephony subscribers (fixed and mobile combined) in Africa has more than doubled in the last three years. In 2003, Africa had 73 million total voice telephony subscribers (22 million fixed and 51 million mobile, up from a total of 35.4 million in 2000 (19.7 million fixed and 15.7 million mobile).The liberalisation of the telecommunications sector has created vast opportunities for investment in this market. International investors have had a strong positive influence over the growth of the industry. The greatest challenge is the rural areas that have less than 20% of the total communications infrastructure to serve close to 80% of the population.

 

Click here to learn more about our Funding Process.