South Africa hosting the G20 summit is a rare opportunity to hard-wire Africa’s digital transformation into the world’s most influential economic agenda, writes Sunil Geness, director: Global Government Affairs & CSR Africa, Global Sustainability lead Africa at SAP.
For the continent’s telecommunications industry, in particular, it is a chance to convert political momentum into the practical investments, policies, and partnerships needed to accelerate inclusive connectivity.
The G20 unites the world’s leading economies, multilateral development banks (MDBs), and technology leaders. With South Africa in the chair, Africa can elevate wireless broadband – especially 4G and 5G – as a cornerstone of sustainable growth. By advocating for the expansion of the G20’s Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative and embedding broadband priorities into MDB country platforms, African governments can channel global capital and technical expertise into both urban and rural deployments.
The urgency is clear. Mobile Internet penetration in sub-Saharan Africa stood at only 27% at the end of 2023, compared to a global average of 69%, leaving more than 800-million people without meaningful Internet access despite network availability. This represents one of the largest digital divides in the world and underscores why G20-level action is so critical.
Catalysing investment and innovation
International digital and wireless infrastructure investments, championed at the G20, can unlock precisely the kind of large-scale financing Africa needs. MDB reforms have already increased lending capacity and encouraged blended finance structures that spread risk across public and private partners. By presenting bankable, data-driven proposals – backed by case studies in education, healthcare, and commerce – African leaders can ensure that broadband projects rise to the top of G20 infrastructure finance discussions.
The investment case is compelling. The mobile industry contributed $140-billion to sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP in 2023 and is projected to reach $170-billion by 2030. At the same time, ITU modelling shows that a 10% increase in mobile broadband penetration can boost GDP per capita by 2,5%. These figures make wireless connectivity a growth engine as well as a development imperative.
Global partnerships can also speed technology transfer. Innovative models such as fixed wireless access, already accounting for about 62% of fixed broadband subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa, and low-earth-orbit satellite links lower deployment costs, making it commercially viable to connect rural schools, community health clinics, and small businesses.
Driving fair, future-proof regulation
Connectivity alone is not enough. The policy environment must encourage competition and innovation while protecting sovereignty. Rising techno-nationalism threatens to fragment digital markets and raise costs. Africa can counter these risks at the G20 by championing transparent, competitive spectrum allocation and liberalised cross-border data flows.
A regionally unified spectrum policy is critical. Drawing on South Africa’s Next Generation Radio Frequency Spectrum Policy, African regulators can present a continent-wide approach to spectrum management that promotes open access, supports secondary markets, and ensures technology-neutral licensing. This would lower barriers for new entrants including community networks, and stimulate rural investment.
Of equal importance is the need to build a unified digital ecosystem that creates an enabling environment to close Africa’s digital divide. To deliver seamless, affordable connectivity across borders, Africa needs not only more towers and fibre, but also harmonised standards and interoperable digital public infrastructure. The G20’s Digital Economy Working Group, together with the International Telecommunication Union and 3GPP, provides the ideal forum for African nations to influence emerging global standards including those shaping 6G/IMT-2030.
By speaking with one voice through the African Union and regional blocs such as SADC and ECOWAS, Africa can embed its priorities – universal service, energy efficiency, multilingual support – into the technical and regulatory blueprints of next-generation networks. Pan-African technical bodies, supported by G20 knowledge-sharing and pilot funds, can further accelerate standardisation and cross-border interoperability.
Bold action needed for the 5G and 6G eras
Africa is already on the move. As of 2024, 35 telecom operators across 21 African countries have launched commercial 5G networks serving some 26-million subscribers. This number is projected to rise to 400-million by 2030 when 5G will account for about 31% of all mobile subscriptions. At the same time, mobile data consumption is set to soar: average usage per smartphone is expected to nearly triple from 5GB a month in 2024 to 14GB by 2030, driving total regional data traffic from 2.3 exabytes to 11 exabytes per month.
G20 cooperation on research and development, spectrum harmonisation, and cybersecurity will help African countries test 6G technologies early, attract investment, and avoid the adoption lags that have historically left the continent behind new technology cycles.
However, Africa’s digital transformation will not happen by chance. It requires intentional policy advocacy, coordinated investment, and decisive leadership. As G20 host, South Africa can help the continent:
- Put wireless broadband at the heart of G20 infrastructure finance and sustainable development priorities.
- Secure commitments from MDBs and technology partners to fund large-scale rural and sector-specific projects.
- Promote spectrum and data-flow policies that encourage innovation and fair competition.
- Drive pan-African cooperation on standards and interoperability to create a single, vibrant digital market.
If Africa can achieve these goals, the G20 summit will be remembered not just as a diplomatic milestone, but as the moment the continent took a decisive leap toward universal connectivity and digital prosperity.
The opportunity is historic. With the right strategy and united action, Africa can transform a single year of G20 leadership into decades of inclusive digital growth.