Sub Saharan Africa Resources

Monday 13 Mar 2023 |

The development of the mobile money market has been the catalyst of huge improvements in financial inclusion in Ghana, with the proportion of unbanked population falling from almost 60% in 2014 to 32% in 2021. The GSMA has produced ...

Friday 11 Nov 2022 |

The GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund aims to promote innovation in using mobile technology to address humanitarian challenges. The second round of the Fund focused on providing support to test new technical solutions; ...

Thursday 27 Oct 2022 |

Telecoms infrastructure is fundamental to the economy and widely recognised as the backbone of the digital transformation of society. Telecoms networks enable the provision of vital services that improve lives by supporting the ...

Tuesday 25 Oct 2022 |

5G in Africa is a matter of when, not if. The decision on when to launch 5G is often based on a number of factors in the local market that reflect the readiness of operators to roll out 5G networks and readiness of customers (consumers ...

Thursday 5 May 2022 |

Access to mobile technology can be life changing for persons with disabilities. Mobile phones, particularly smartphones, can cluster multiple assistive technologies into one device, enabling more autonomous living. More than a billion ...

Wednesday 6 Apr 2022 |

Around the word, 3.4 billion people are not using mobile internet despite living in areas with mobile broadband coverage. The affordability of internet-enabled handsets is a key barrier to ...

Friday 18 Mar 2022 |

Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technologies, combined with mobile payments have enabled a new wave of consumer asset financing for low-income customers. PAYG solar energy has emerged as one of the strongest use cases for this technology and the ...

Tuesday 8 Mar 2022 |

Findings from Bangladesh and Ghana With over half the world’s population now using mobile internet, stakeholders have a growing interest in understanding the extent to which it affects the well-being of men and ...

Tuesday 25 Jan 2022 |

In 2020, despite a severe global economic downturn more than $2 billion was transacted every day through mobile money. With more people than ever using these services, mobile money providers (MMP) have highlighted that enabling robust ...

Monday 3 Jan 2022 |

Mobile devices and services offer life-changing benefits to persons with disabilities, enabling more independent living. However, GSMA research shows that despite this potential, many persons with disabilities remain unconnected and ...

Thursday 11 Nov 2021 |

Digital and mobile-enabled services have a key role to play in addressing the climate crisis. Not only can they help vulnerable communities prepare for and become more resilient to climate risks, but they can also support humanitarian ...

Thursday 21 Oct 2021 |

Establishing an enabling regulatory framework can unlock the full potential of mobile money services helping to drive financial inclusion, reduce economic inequalities and improve employment and economic growth. Close public-private ...

Monday 26 Jul 2021 |

Cameroon’s economy was the hardest hit by COVID-19 in Central Africa. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been identified as a key driver of jobs and economic growth and a pathway for Cameroon to recover from the effects ...

Tuesday 6 Jul 2021 |

In this report we explore how mobile devices and applications can be leveraged to strengthen participatory forest management (PFM) efforts in Kenya. Although Kenya presents its own highly-contextualised challenges and opportunities, ...

Tuesday 20 Apr 2021 |

A holistic approach to address the barriers preventing Kenyan women from using mobile internet In Kenya, affordability of mobile-internet enabled handsets, lack of knowledge and digital skills and relevance of ...

Tuesday 6 Apr 2021 |

Globally, more than 5 billion people are using mobile technology to access life-enhancing services such as financial services, e-government platforms and digital health services. Mobile is an important driver of economic growth across ...

Tuesday 9 Mar 2021 |

This report, in partnership with the Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) Network, explores the context and capability of the mobile money ecosystem in Ethiopia. With a focus on humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) programming, ...

Thursday 18 Feb 2021 |

This report documents the progress of the M4H programme and partners in 2020, highlighting the key trends impacting the humanitarian sector in this unprecedented year, and summarising the activities and outcomes of research, the M4H ...

Monday 15 Feb 2021 |

This policy note discusses the main findings of new GSMA research on the relationship between mobile money regulation and usage. The analysis combines data from the Mobile Money Regulatory Index and the Global Findex Database 2017 and ...

Tuesday 26 Jan 2021 |

This research unpacks the health systems and digital health solutions in six developing countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Benin, Nigeria and Rwanda. This report expands on another GSMA report published in June 2020,

Monday 21 Dec 2020 |

Mobile is increasingly becoming a powerful tool and a way of life in emerging economies. At the end of 2020, half a billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa subscribed to mobile services. This accounts for over 45% of the population. Thus, ...

Thursday 3 Dec 2020 |

In Sub-Saharan Africa, just under 25 per cent of urban households have access to piped water. Inequalities in service provision mean that many people in low-income areas rely on informal service providers, and often pay more for water ...

Tuesday 1 Dec 2020 |

More than five billion people globally are mobile subscribers. As we move towards a more digital society, it is critical that digital technologies are inclusive of everyone, including persons with disabilities. However, research ...

Wednesday 4 Nov 2020 |

The GSMA’s latest spectrum pricing report takes a look at this important topic in Africa. Spectrum licensing and pricing, in particular, can play a crucial role in accelerating the adoption of mobile services and providing better ...

Friday 30 Oct 2020 |

Around the world, artificial intelligence (AI) is automating functions and making new services possible with breakthroughs in low-cost computing power, cloud computing services, growth in big data and advancements in machine learning ...

Thursday 1 Oct 2020 |

La réglementation de la Qualité de Service (QoS) est au coeur des efforts visant à atteindre l'objectif d’offrir des niveaux de qualité de service élevés. La majorité des pays en Afrique subsaharienne suivent une approche réglementaire ...

Thursday 1 Oct 2020 |

Quality of service (QoS) regulation is at the heart of efforts to realise the goal of high service quality levels. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most countries follow a direct regulatory approach, which involves the regulator setting QoS ...

Thursday 30 Jul 2020 |

There are a variety of approaches that mobile money providers could potentially use to deliver open APIs to their ecosystem partners, such as creating their own bespoke APIs or utilising an existing API standard aimed at Digital ...

Tuesday 14 Jul 2020 |

Mobile has superseded other communication methods to become the primary form of connectivity in Uganda. Across Uganda, start-ups are seizing the opportunity provided by mobile technology to offer fresh thinking and potential solutions ...

Thursday 18 Jun 2020 |

Mobile money taxation is a controversial subject. On the one hand mobile money has been ...

Friday 12 Jun 2020 |

While the growth of mobile money interoperability indicates that the service is becoming increasingly relevant in both national and international payment ecosystems, the journey has been complex. There are different approaches to ...

Friday 29 May 2020 |

In Ghana, mobile money has opened access to financial services for millions of people for the first time, strengthening the payment ecosystem and deepening financial inclusion. To encourage the digitisation of merchant payments in ...

Tuesday 19 May 2020 |

In May 2018, the Mobile for Development (M4D) Utilities Programme awarded EDM a grant to test the commercial viability of providing electricity to off-grid villages in northern Madagascar. EDM constructed solar-hybrid mini-grids in ...

Tuesday 28 Apr 2020 |

The ubiquity and scale of mobile networks has made mobile an attractive delivery channel for many types of humanitarian assistance, and recent evidence shows that humanitarian stakeholders and the private sector are recognising the ...

Monday 27 Apr 2020 |

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented challenges for the global economy. It has affected global health systems, affected peoples’ livelihoods and will leave long-lasting economic effects. Many countries have adopted ...

Wednesday 22 Apr 2020 |

We share investment trends in Nigerian agritech, identifying possible opportunities for agritech companies to grow further and how investment could “crowd in” additional resources.

Monday 20 Apr 2020 |

The IPN Hub has processed notifications for over 4.7 million unique payment transactions and there are indications that it has played a role in impacting approximately 230,000 households with improved access to energy services. In this ...

Friday 17 Apr 2020 |

We’d like to present the newest issue in our updated quarterly publication — the Ecosystem Accelerator Compass. This publication helps our stakeholders navigate the world of start-ups and mobile technology in emerging markets. The ...

Monday 6 Apr 2020 |

This report is a practical guide for mobile operators seeking to reach women with mobile across low- and middle-income countries. For the last 10 years, our GSMA Connected Women programme has been dedicated to this challenge.

Friday 3 Apr 2020 |

This paper looks at fraud typologies that significantly impact mobile money users, such as identity theft, SIM swap and SMS fraud to understand some of the most common and impactful frauds within mobile money.

Tuesday 31 Mar 2020 |

The objective of this report is to demystify the regulatory concerns regarding the use of cloud computing in the mobile money industry and to explain how restrictions associated with these concerns can be addressed without prohibiting the use of the cloud.

Wednesday 11 Mar 2020 |

The ability to prove one’s identity is essential to securing both rights and access to a number of life-enhancing services including healthcare, voting, education, financial services, employment and social protections. As we continue ...

Wednesday 4 Mar 2020 |

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 examines how the mobile gender gap is changing quickly in low- and middle-income countries, revealing how the main factors preventing women's equal mobile ownership and internet use are evolving over time.

Thursday 27 Feb 2020 |

The internet is connecting people to new opportunities and life enhancing services, driving economic growth and advancing progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. For most of the world’s population, mobile is the ...

Thursday 27 Feb 2020 |

This case study explores how this policy change led to the activation of SIM-enabled services by MNOs and the impact this has had on the lives of refugees in Uganda.

Thursday 13 Feb 2020 |

This report outlines the key elements of the MEL framework. It is unique in its approach and it is hoped that other organisations may benefit from using the thinking to adapt their own approach to generating evidence regarding humanitarian innovation.

Thursday 30 Jan 2020 |

Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest growing youth population in the world. This increasingly educated but inadequately skilled workforce poses a challenge for economies that must not only generate more jobs, but also support youth in ...

Thursday 23 Jan 2020 |

This report explores the potential revenue opportunity of digitising agricultural payments for mobile money providers.

Monday 13 Jan 2020 |

This case study explores the opportunities for mobile money-enabled CVA, some of the challenges that humanitarian organisations and MNOs have faced implementing mobile money in Uganda to date, and presents strategies being explored to overcome challenges.

Monday 16 Dec 2019 |

This study provides recommendations for a path forward. with regards to digital inclusion.

Thursday 21 Nov 2019 |

This RFI is issued as a joint effort by the participating parties in the working group, which has joined forces to address the need for an affordable smartphone and collect information from responding parties to decide on the way forward.

Thursday 17 Oct 2019 |

This report brings together existing evidence to explore the ways in which mobile money is contributing to the digitalisation of finance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Friday 18 Oct 2019 |

We’d like to present the newest issue in our updated quarterly publication — the Ecosystem Accelerator Compass. This publication helps our stakeholders navigate the world of start-ups and mobile technology in emerging markets.

Wednesday 2 Oct 2019 |

In this report, we look at the emerging opportunity to use mobile operator data and assets to strengthen the climate resilience of smallholder farmers in developing countries.

Friday 25 Oct 2019 |

The ongoing uptake of mobile and mobile-enabled services around the world has seen the mobile industry increase its contribution to all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the last year.

Wednesday 25 Sep 2019 |

The aim of this case study is to highlight refugees with disabilities’ access to mobile services and the benefits and challenges associated with using these services in three different humanitarian contexts.

Tuesday 24 Sep 2019 |

This fourth edition highlights the role mobile technology and connectivity in meeting the targets of the SDGs.

Monday 23 Sep 2019 |

In this report, you will find some invaluable insights to consider when implementing projects that aim to increase women’s access to and use of the internet.

Wednesday 11 Sep 2019 |

This briefing note details the different responsibilities of MMPs who participate in digital credit offerings, and provides guidance on addressing the risks that might arise with such services.

Wednesday 11 Sep 2019 |

This report presents a holistic framework that mobile money providers can use to improve security and provide safeguards against cybercrime.

Tuesday 9 Jul 2019 |

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has one of the widest mobile gender gaps of any region. Addressing these gender gaps in Africa is important in order to deliver the significant benefits of mobile and the internet to women, their families, communities and the econo

Tuesday 16 Jul 2019 |

As digital trends in Sub-Saharan Africa point to growing demand for enhanced connectivity, what role will 5G play in the future connectivity landscape?

Tuesday 16 Jul 2019 |

Sub-Saharan Africa will remain the fastest growing region, with a CAGR of 4.6% and an additional 167 million subscribers over the period to 2025. This will take the total subscriber base to just over 600 million, representing around half the population.

Wednesday 17 Jul 2019 |

The mobile industry has made phenomenal progress in providing mobile broadband connectivity to billions of people. Despite this progress, more than 750 million people around the world do not have mobile broadband.

Tuesday 16 Jul 2019 |

This report accompanies the 4th annual update of the Mobile Connectivity Index – a tool that measures the performance of 165 countries against key enablers of mobile internet adoption: infrastructure; affordability; consumer readiness; content & services.

Tuesday 16 Jul 2019 |

The research identifies key trends and insights from Bidi Bidi settlement (Uganda), Kiziba camp (Rwanda) and urban settings in Jordan.

Wednesday 10 Jul 2019 |

Recent end-user research conducted by the GSMA DI programme highlighted that informal business owners in Nigeria – many of which are women – often struggle to demonstrate their personal and business credentials to service providers and customers.

Thursday 27 Jun 2019 |

This report looks at the rise of digital agriculture tools in Kenya and the use of digital farm and farmer data generated by these tools to facilitate financial inclusion.

Monday 17 Jun 2019 |

Understanding end-user attitudes towards mobile services linked to their digital identity

Monday 3 Jun 2019 |

This case study reveals the promise of mobile money-enabled cash and voucher assistance (CVA) programmes in Somaliland. It documents the innovative steps that ZAAD and humanitarian organisations have already taken to meet the needs of ...

Friday 31 May 2019 |

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2019 is part of an annual series ...

Wednesday 29 May 2019 |

Drawing on in-country qualitative research, this study explores the specific incentives, challenges, preferences and benefits that women and girls will encounter, compared to men, when engaging with digital identity systems or ...

Wednesday 29 May 2019 |

Selling produce through online channels enables farmers to bypass intermediaries, leading to improved income for the farmers, reduced wastage and fresher produce for customers. These benefits are particularly important in developing ...

Wednesday 29 May 2019 |

Fundamentally, Capture and Validate systems are dependent on the availability of a verifiable identity scheme (a digital government registry holding the identity data of its citizens), and the ability of individuals to access the ...

Thursday 16 May 2019 |

We’d like to introduce our updated quarterly publication — the Ecosystem Accelerator Compass. It is a fresh take on our existing Start-ups and Mobile in Emerging Markets series.

Tuesday 16 Apr 2019 |

The commercial case for mobile-enabled digital identity solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Monday 25 Mar 2019 |

This case study highlights the experiences of refugee women (compared to men) with mobile technology in Bidi Bidi settlement in Uganda and Kiziba camp in Rwanda to demonstrate the value of closing the mobile gender gap.

Tuesday 27 Nov 2018 |

At an industry workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, we launched the Spotlight on Nigeria: Delivering a Digital Future report. Held in conjunction with the Nigerian Communications Commission, the workshop brought together leaders from across the ...

Wednesday 24 Oct 2018 |

This report is a study of six content services in the mNutrition Initiative portfolio and provides analysis and key findings on the set-up and implementation of the project and the design and impact of the services. 

Wednesday 24 Oct 2018 |

The mAgri Design Toolkit is a collection of instructions, tools, and stories to help develop and scale mobile agriculture products by applying a user-centered design approach.