The GSM Association (GSMA) said nearly one billion people live within mobile Internet coverage in Africa , but they are not connected, held back by the cost of devices, the cost of data, limited digital skills and, in many cases, deep-rooted social barriers that determine who is permitted or encouraged to go online.

The GSMA said closing this gap is the defining digital inclusion challenge in Africa. The association, however, noted that mobile operators are becoming increasingly central to addressing this challenge.

According to it, affordability is the primary constraint in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), stressing that the cost of an entry-level Internet-enabled handset in the region represents 24 per cent of monthly income in low- and middle-income countries on average (rising to up to 80 per cent).

The telecom advocacy body said digital skills and literacy are the second major barrier, particularly for those who are aware of mobile Internet but have not yet adopted it. It stressed that safety and security concerns, including the risk of online harassment, further discourage adoption among women.

It added that social norms, particularly in more conservative communities, continue to affect who in a household has access to and control over a connected device.

The GSMA observed that across Africa, operators are acting on digital inclusion. The most effective interventions combine device affordability measures with targeted digital skills programmes, online safety education and community-based outreach designed to address demand-side barriers that price reductions alone cannot resolve.

The following are examples of such initiatives by operators across Africa: “In Ghana, MTN Ghana partnered with Infinix in March 2026 to launch the Note 60 Series on flexible six-month credit terms with 2GB of monthly data per device for free.

“In Ethiopia, Ethio Telecom pursued device affordability through parallel initiatives in 2025.

The operator partnered with local banks to deliver smartphone financing through the Telebirr platform, targeting up to two million devices yearly via instalment plans with no collateral required. It also launched the Znexus line of cloud-powered 4G devices. Starting from approximately $17, the devices are purpose-built for low-income and rural users, with cloud storage removing the need for large on-device memory.

“In South Africa, MTN MoMo launched Handset Rent to Own, which allows prepaid customers to acquire 4G and 5G smartphones from as little as ZAR10 per day through the MoMo app, with no credit check or payslip required. Affordability is assessed using an AI-driven model based on mobile money usage history – a method specifically designed for South Africa’s large informal and unbanked economy.”

“In Kenya, Safaricom launched Maisha Poa Ni Digital, a nationwide campaign to accelerate the migration from 2G feature phones to affordable 4G smartphones, bundling each device with 5.5GB of free data and offering flexible daily payment plans. By May 2025, the programme had crossed two million devices sold, lifting smartphone ownership on Safaricom’s network from 44 per cent to 50 per cent of connections.This tackles the usage gap from both ends simultaneously: reducing the effective cost of device ownership while bundling data to lower the barrier to Internet use.”