Solly Malatsi has called for stronger partnerships to expand high-speed internet access across the continent
The BRICS group can play a key role in helping expand high-speed internet across Africa, the South African minister of communications and digital technologies, Solly Malatsi, has told TASS.
Speaking at the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) in Cape Town, Malatsi stated that Africa is committed to advancing the BRICS objective of widening internet access “not only in BRICS member states, but across the entire continent.”
The minister emphasized that government-led initiatives alone are insufficient to achieve digital transformation on the continent. “Public-private partnerships are particularly desirable, as they can help unlock Africa’s potential through the rapid rollout of high-speed internet across the continent,” Malatsi noted.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Malatsi pointed out that millions of people in South Africa and across the continent remain disconnected. As quoted by TASS, 23 million out of 63 million citizens have no internet access in South Africa, while across Africa the number reaches into the hundreds of millions.
“This growing gap represents lost opportunities not only for Africa, but for the world as a whole, as it prevents people from escaping poverty and gaining economic opportunities,” he said.
Malatsi noted that Africa also needs affordable devices, stable electricity, accessible networks, digital literacy, and trust in online security.
According to the 2024 ‘State of Digital Development in Africa’ report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only 38% of Africa’s population uses the internet. The share is 57% in urban areas, compared to 23% in rural areas.
In 2023, Mactar Seck, an economic affairs officer at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, said only 37% of Africans had internet access, with just over 20% in rural areas.
At the Global Digital Forum in June, African participants called for more cooperative and locally relevant approaches to digital transformation and showed interest in stronger tech ties with Russia. Mozambique’s ICT official, Eugenio Alberto Macumbe, told RT that his country is pursuing digital and AI strategies, adding that Russia’s advanced progress in these fields will offer valuable expertise.
