Cooperation in action Good regulation lowers internet costs: Smart Africa Digital Academy

    Currently, only around a third of the population of sub-Saharan Africa uses the internet. The reasons for this include a lack of infrastructure and, in particular, the comparatively high cost of internet services. Resolving these issues requires political intervention – this can be used to regulate the market in order to create an enabling environment for inclusive, affordable internet access.

    Logo: Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA)

    Website Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA)

    The Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) shares the necessary expertise in the area of market regulation with decision-makers from the spheres of politics, business and civil society. To carry out the SADA courses, the BMZ partners with the Smart Africa Alliance, an association of 39 African states that act as pioneers of digital transformation on the continent. SADA offers courses that include programmes developed in collaboration with international organisations such as the World Bank.

    The example of Rwanda shows just how big an impact regulation can have on the cost of internet access. The price of broadband internet in Rwanda dropped by around 90 per cent between 2010 and 2017. Mobile data services also became significantly cheaper.

    This development was in part supported by the Agile Regulation for Digital Transformation (AReg4DT) programme, which was developed by the BMZ in collaboration with the World Bank.


    As at: 28/05/2024