THE question of broadband internet infrastructure is at the core of Africa’s overall development. Panellists at the seminar on Connecting Africa Through Broadband which took place on the sidelines of the just concluded IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington D.C. USA, contend that the earlier the 54 nations on the continent are able to cue into the universal trend, the faster the pace of development of Africa.
With experts drawn from different fields and countries, the importance of broadband internet accessibility to Africans was dissected and projected as the panacea to its advancement in health, education, and technology.
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One of the panellists, Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou, Benin Republic’s Minister of Digital Technology, said that though her country is a small, it is propelled by a monumental vision to work towards digitalisation. She was optimistic that with the determination of the people and the unflinching support of the country’s policy makers, it’s just a matter of time before a functional broadband infrastructure becomes a reality in Benin Republic.
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The discussants were inspired by a report titled: Connecting Africa through Broadband: A Roadmap for Inclusive Growth. The report, one of the first to quantify the cost of bridging the broadband gap in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, calls for urgent action to close the internet gap while providing a roadmap and action plan for reaching universal broadband connectivity in Africa by 2030.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.