According to a research released this week by the Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), 76 percent of Ethiopians still lack access to mobile Internet.
The results showed that the majority of people without mobile Internet access reside in places where mobile networks are available. According to the report, closing the gap is essential for “Ethiopia’s digital future.”
According to GSMA, a global organisation whose mission is “to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive,” the GDP of the digital economy might rise by more than ETB 1.3 trillion by 2028. Additionally, it predicted that by 2028, more than 50 million Ethiopians would have access to mobile Internet.
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Reforms in Ethiopia’s telecom industry as a “catalysing growth” to other sectors
Reforms in the telecom industry and investments in mobile technology were highlighted in its most recent study, “Digital Economy Ethiopia Report: Opportunities, Policy Reforms, and the Role of Mobile.” In industries like manufacturing, public services, and agriculture, they “are catalysing growth.” By 2028, these developments are anticipated to produce an extra ETB 57 billion in tax revenues and more than 1 million new employment, the report stated.
Until the government sold a telecom licence to Safaricom, which began operations in the nation in 2022, Ethiopia’s telecom industry was controlled by Ethio Telecom.
GSMA made five major recommendations which could significantly fast track Ethiopia’s digital transformation. They are service affordability, expediting telecom changes, enhancing device affordability, growing mobile money services, and advancing digital skills and government services.
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What you should know about Ethiopia’s internet usage
At the beginning of 2024, when Internet penetration was 19.4 percent of the population, there were 24.83 million Internet users in Ethiopia, according to a report published in February by DataReportal. During the same time period, the total population of Ethiopia was 128.1 million.
In January 2024, there were 7.05 million social media users in Ethiopia, which is equivalent to 5.5 percent of the country’s total population.
In early 2024, there were 77.39 million active cellular mobile connections in Ethiopia, which is equal to 60.4 percent of the country’s entire population.
According to a Kepios investigation, Ethiopia’s internet user base grew by 616 thousand (+2.5 percent) between January 2023 and January 2024.
According to these user statistics, 103.3 million Ethiopians were not online at the beginning of 2024, meaning that 80.6 percent of the country’s population was offline at the start of the year.