Nairobi, Feb. 28 -- Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong learning, and enhance financial inclusion.

But there are obstacles to realising these benefits. The backbone infrastructure needed to connect communities is missing in places. Technology and finance are lacking too.

In 2023, only 83 percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa was covered by at least a 3G mobile network. In all other regions the coverage was more than 95 percent. In the same year, less than half of Africa's population had an active mobile broadband subscription, lagging behind Arab states (75 percent) and the Asia-Pacific ...