{"id":21145,"date":"2024-02-27T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=21145"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:23:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:23:16","slug":"asisat-oshoala-calls-on-governments-to-improve-digital-literacy-initiatives-and-close-the-usage-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/asisat-oshoala-calls-on-governments-to-improve-digital-literacy-initiatives-and-close-the-usage-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Asisat Oshoala Calls on Governments to Improve Digital Literacy Initiatives and Close the Usage Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Six-time and reigning African Women’s Footballer of the Year uses MWC Barcelona 2024 to urge all telecoms stakeholders to help the GSMA break usage barriers and get more people online<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 27, 2024, Barcelona<\/strong>: Governments must do more to ensure their citizens are armed with the crucial digital skills needed to access the online opportunities available to them, according to leading footballer Asisat Oshoala and global telecoms trade body the GSMA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oshoala, capped 61 times by Nigeria and founder of the Asisat Oshoala Foundation in Lagos, used MWC Barcelona 2024 to draw attention to the Usage Gap, an issue that affects 3 billion people worldwide and is especially prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, in her new role as the GSMA\u2019s ambassador for the Breaking Barriers campaign<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Usage Gap is when people are not using mobile broadband networks despite living in areas with coverage available to them. As infrastructure has improved and mobile coverage has expanded to cover 95% of the world\u2019s population, the greater challenge for the telecoms industry is now to help more people to make use of this connectivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While 38% of people globally do not use mobile internet despite living in areas covered by mobile, this Usage Gap rises to 59% across Sub-Saharan Africa. Among the main barriers causing the Usage Gap is a lack of digital literacy and skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Asisat Oshoala Foundation works with marginalised young women in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa and aims to provide them with the skills they need to be successful in life. This includes the transformative impact digital literacy can have in opening vital avenues for social mobility, economic success, improved access to education, healthcare, e-commerce, and financial services.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asisat Oshoala, Founder of the Asisat Oshoala Foundation, comments: \u201cGrowing up, I saw the effects of the Usage Gap with my own eyes. This is why I use my Foundation to help the younger generation learn how to use the internet, and why I am working with the GSMA to help close the Usage Gap<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccess to the internet, and the skills required to do so, should be universal and therefore needs to be prioritised by governments worldwide. We need more than individual efforts \u2013 we need policymakers to focus on uniting with the communications industry to overcome the barriers to digital inclusion and encourage digital literacy to help more people around the world access life-changing opportunities<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GSMA\u2019s State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report<\/a> outlines the five key barriers that continue to directly fuel the Usage Gap: affordability of handset devices and data services; digital literacy and skills; lack of relevant content or services; online safety; and access-related issues. Despite significant strides in expanding mobile broadband coverage, the Usage Gap persists, with the vast majority of people unconnected due to issues other than a lack of coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MWC Barcelona, the telecoms industry\u2019s flagship event, convenes not only key industry leaders but also global policy makers and regulators, offering a rare opportunity to debate crucial issues such as the Usage Gap, and to outline solutions \u2013 such as collaboration between public and private bodies in improving access to digital literacy programmes in the most affected regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lara Dewar, Chief Marketing Officer of the GSMA, comments:<\/strong> \u201cThe Usage Gap is a major barrier to achieving digital inclusion, and the longer the issue fails to be addressed, the less likely it is that the UN\u2019s Social Development Goals for digital inclusion will be reached.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAsisat Oshoala\u2019s message could not be more timely or important. Collaborative action by all stakeholders \u2013 governments, regulators and the telecoms industry \u2013 is imperative if we\u2019re to reduce and remove the barriers to connectivity, accelerate digital inclusion, and ensure we are not leaving anyone behind in an increasingly connected world<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on the Breaking Barriers campaign and efforts to close the Usage Gap, visit https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/breakingbarriers\/<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-END-\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About GSMA<\/strong>\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.\u202f <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six-time and reigning African Women’s Footballer of the Year uses MWC Barcelona 2024 to urge all telecoms stakeholders to help the GSMA break usage barriers and get more people online  February 27, 2024, Barcelona: Governments must do more to ensure their citizens are armed with the crucial digital skills needed to access the online opportunities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":21148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_type":[6627],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsisat Oshoala Calls on Governments to Improve Digital Literacy Initiatives and Close the Usage Gap - 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