Harris announces plans to double internet access in Africa

Vice-President of the United States Kamala Harris announced on Friday the formation of a new partnership to help provide internet access to 80 per cent of Africa by 2030, up from roughly 40 per cent now.

The announcement comes as follow-through on Harris’ visit to the continent last year and in conjunction with this week’s visit to Washington by Kenyan President William Ruto. Harris and the Kenyan leader had a public chat on Friday at the US Chamber of Commerce about how public-private partnerships can increase economic growth.

“Many could rightly argue that the future is on the continent of Africa,” said Harris, noting that the median age in Africa is 19, a sign of the potential for economic growth. “It is not about, and simply about aid, but about investment and understanding the capacity that exists.”

Africa has struggled to obtain the capital needed to build up its industrial and technological sectors. The United Nations reported last year that foreign direct investment in the continent fell to US$45 billion in 2022, from a record-high US$80 billion in 2021. Africa accounted for only 3.5 per cent of foreign direct investment worldwide, even though it makes up roughly 18 per cent of the global population.

Besides launching the non-profit Partnership for Digital Access in Africa, Harris announced an initiative geared towards giving 100 million African people and businesses in the agricultural sector access to the digital economy.

The African Development Bank Group along with Mastercard, among other organisations, will help form the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy Alliance, or MADE. The alliance will start a pilot programme to give digital access to three million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, before expanding elsewhere.

Harris, a Democrat and the first female US vice-president, also announced that the Women in the Digital Economy efforts to address the gender divide in technology access have now generated more than US$1 billion in public and private commitments, with some federal commitments pending congressional approval.

AP