The World Bank estimates that improved internet access has led to a 7% reduction in extreme poverty in Nigeria and Tanzania over three years.
This was revealed in a new briefing paper entitled “Digital transformation drives development in Africa”, which notes that exposure has also led to an 8% increase in labor market participation and employment.
The World Bank said, “In 2023, a World Bank flagship report found that in Nigeria and Tanzania, extreme poverty declined by about seven per cent after three or more years of exposure to internet coverage, while labour force participation and wage employment increased by up to eight per cent.”
In a press brief, Andrew Dabalen, chief Africa economist at the World Bank, said: “The minimal penetration of mobile internet represents a missed opportunity for inclusive growth in Africa.”
Closing the absorption gap would increase the continent’s potential to provide jobs for a growing population and drive economic recovery in a highly digital world.”
The document also highlights that sub-Saharan Africa has seen a remarkable 115% increase in the number of internet users over the last five years (2016-2021), a development that has helped spur economic growth and innovation support and create employment opportunities.
The brief adds, “The region’s digital infrastructure coverage, access, and quality still lag other regions. At the end of 2021, while 84 per cent of people in SSA lived in areas where 3G service was available, and 63 per cent had access to 4G mobile coverage, only 22 per cent were using mobile internet services.
“The gap between coverage and usage is similarly large for broadband, with 61 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa living within the broadband range but not using it.”
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, recently noted that the cost of data in Nigeria was still one of the cheapest in the world, but lamented that many operators are not willing to lay fibre in many parts of the countries outside the major cities because it would be unprofitable.
