GSMA says 5G will contribute $26 billion to Africa’s economy by 2030. Manufacturing, retail and agriculture sectors will see the most impact.
Additionally, 5G will account for 20 percent of mobile connections in Africa by 2030. Today, there are commercial 5G networks in more than 10 countries and many more countries are expected to launch commercial 5G by 2025, GSMA said at its MWC Africa event in Kigali, Rwanda.

GSMA MWC Africa event marks the release of Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2022 report that said that closing the mobile internet usage gap is crucial to realising the potential of mobile connectivity, with 5G-related activities beginning to pick up across the region.

“46 percent of the population is connected and subscribed to mobile services, rising to 50 percent by 2025. In 2021, mobile technologies and services generated around 8 percent of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting 3.2 million jobs,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA.

“We anticipate welcoming attendees from nearly 90 countries across Africa and around the world who will gather this week to convene and hear from over 60 speakers, 45 percent of whom are female,” said Angela Wamola, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA.

40 percent of the adult population is now connected to mobile internet services. However, the usage gap remains a challenge: 44 percent live in areas covered by mobile broadband networks, but do not yet use mobile internet services.

In 2021, the mobile ecosystem supported more than 3.2 million jobs (directly and indirectly) and made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with $16 billion raised through taxes on the sector.

By 2025, mobile’s contribution to the GDP of Sub-Sahara Africa will grow by $65 billion (to almost $155 billion), as the countries in the region increasingly benefit from increased take-up of mobile services

By 2025, 4G will account for a third of mobile connections in the region, compared to under a fifth of connections in 2021.