SMART AFRICA
New Vodafone & UN Initiative to Give 3.4-Billion Access to a Smartphone by 2030
A new global initiative has been launched by Vodafone Group and ITU, the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies, to address the global digital divide. The initiative aims for an additional 3.4 billion people to have the ability to access and use the internet through a smartphone by 2030. The Digital Divide With mobile broadband (4G) networks now covering 82% of the population of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), the mobile usage gap is 6x larger than the mobile coverage gap (2) In line with the Broadband Commission Global Targets 2025 on affordability and connectivity, the new Working Group will identify policy, commercial and circular-economy interventions to increase smartphone access. Co-chaired by Vodafone Group CEO, Nick Read, and ITU ...
UN encourages Africa to invest on digital transformation
The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has encouraged African countries to make right investments toward developing a digitally transformed economy. Mr Jean-Paul Adam, Director, Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources at UNECA, made the call on Tuesday during a webinar monitored in Abuja. The webinar was organised by Africa Information and Communication Technology Alliance (AfICTA) in collaboration with UNECA with the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Digital Potential Amid COVID-19”. Adam said that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic had caused a disruption in activities, hence the need for a paradigm shift. “Africa needs to address issues that have limited their digital growth. There are issues of gender imbalance, speed of bandwidth, poor internet access. “When we get some of the...
