South Africa, Feb. 4 -- So says Alex Okosi, the managing director at Google Africa, who while he takes great pride in the fact that Google has trained over 6,500,000 Africans over the last four to five years in digital skills, is very aware of the many unique challenges the continent faces, from the high cost of data and infrastructure investments as well as the cost of handsets down.

That said the next three to four years excite him.

"Over the next three to four years, over 50% of Africans will be online and this will open up a world of opportunity for our young people."

With Africa's youthful population, he says accessibility is critical because the digital divide is still vast.

"At the same time, accessibility is meaningless if the...