As the African continent continues to strives to bridge the digital divide, connectivity advancements are pivotal in driving economic growth, innovation, and digital and social inclusion. With a youthful population and burgeoning tech ecosystems in hubs like Nairobi and Lagos, Africa’s digital economy has been projected to contribute significantly to GDP growth, potentially reaching $180 billion by 2025 according to various industry reports.
However, while internet penetration has surged over the past two years, the rollout of 5G capability on networks has been uneven, raising questions about whether it is delivering the transformative impact initially anticipated.
Internet Expansion: The Foundation of Digital Growth
Internet expansion in Africa has been a cornerstone of the continent’s digital evolution, primarily driven by expanding mobile broadband and the introduction of affordable smartphones. As of February 2025, internet penetration across Africa stood at approximately 39-40%, and while this is a significant increase from the 28% internet connectivity level in 2019, it lags far behind a global average of 66%.
Regional disparities within Africa are also massive: The Southern Africa region boasts a 66% penetration rate, while Central Africa hovers at just 24%. Morocco leads the continent with over 92% penetration, followed by countries like South Africa at 78.9% and Nigeria at around 50%.
With Fixed line fibre a rarity in Africa, mobile internet has been the primary driver, with unique mobile subscribers expected to reach 50% of the population by 2025, equating to about 614 million connections. Sub-Saharan Africa, home to over 80% of the continent’s population, has seen mobile penetration rise to 44%, with mobile internet adoption at 27%. This growth has been bolstered by investments in 3G and 4G networks, which cover 82% of the population (49% for 4G).
Broadband expansion, including fixed wireless access (FWA), has enabled e-commerce, fintech, and education platforms to flourish. For instance, Nigeria alone has 107 million internet users in 2025, powering startups like Flutterwave and Paystack.
Affordability will be the Key to Widespread 5G Adoption
The economic ripple effects are evident. Mobile technologies contributed $170 billion to Africa’s GDP in 2023, with projections for further growth as internet access empowers small businesses and remote workers.
Other connectivity initiatives like Google’s Equiano subsea cable and Starlink’s satellite internet have extended connectivity to rural areas, reducing the coverage gap from 25% in 2017 to around 18% today.
However, challenges persist: affordability remains a barrier, with data costs consuming up to 10% of monthly income in low-income households, and usage gaps—where coverage exists but adoption is low—stand at 59% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite these hurdles, internet expansion has helped to grow digital literacy and is enabling sectors like education, healthcare and agriculture through multiple apps for crop monitoring and market pricing to health diagnosing and virtual classrooms.
As 5G evolves into 5G Advanced and eventually to 6G, it will increasingly cater for new device types (such as wearables, augmented reality, drones), including both standards and more cost-effective technology options, leading to new business opportunities for service providers and enterprises. This means that service providers can and will redistribute network workloads with a more disaggregated, edge-based design according to cost, performance, and business requirements.
The increase in edge capabilities in combination with the availability of ultra-low latency connectivity represents both new opportunity and a change in how networks and associated supporting applications are built and deployed.
This will however depend on 5G network penetration and costs modulating to a point where high scale adoption can take place.
5G Rollout: Coverage Breakdown Across Africa
While 4G remains the dominant connectivity platform, 5G is emerging as the next frontier. As of mid-2025, 5G networks are operational in about 20 African countries, far short of the pre-2020 projections that anticipated adoption in two-thirds of nations by now.
Commercial 5G services launched in leading markets like South Africa (2019), Nigeria (2021), and Kenya (2022), but coverage is limited. GSMA Intelligence reports that by the end of 2025, there will be 28 million 5G connections, representing just 3% of total mobile connections continent-wide. Ericsson forecasts this to grow to 180 million (16%) by 2029, but current penetration is low, with Sub-Saharan Africa expected to remain below 20% adoption by 2030.
Breaking down by country: South Africa leads with 41% population coverage as of late 2023, though actual adoption is around 10-15% due to device costs. Nigeria’s 5G covers 11.3% of the population, primarily in urban centers like Lagos and Abuja. Other nations like Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco have pockets of coverage, but rural areas are largely underserved.
Overall, 5G penetration across Africa is estimated at 11.8%, with only 4% of connections in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025. North Africa fares better, with countries like Tunisia and Algeria achieving 20-30% coverage in cities. Challenges include spectrum allocation delays, high infrastructure costs (estimated at $20-30 billion needed for full rollout), and power shortages. Only seven markets had commercial 5G by early 2025, missing earlier GSMA targets.
Is 5G Meeting Expectations? Expected vs. Actual Impact
Pre-rollout hype positioned 5G as a game-changer for Africa’s digital growth, promising ultra-fast speeds (up to 10 Gbps), low latency for IoT applications, and economic boosts in agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing. GSMA projected 5G to add $26 billion to Africa’s economy by 2030, comprising 6% of the mobile sector’s impact, with benefits like smart farming drones and telemedicine. Early adopters like MTN in West Africa report improved network performance, with 5G enabling faster downloads and supporting fintech innovations.
Yet, the actual impact has fallen short of expectations. Adoption is slower than forecasted—GSMA’s 2021 prediction of 3% by 2025 has held, but broader economic transformation is limited by low coverage and affordability. Device prices (5G phones cost 20-50% more) and data tariffs deter mass uptake, resulting in a “limited real impact” as per industry analyses.
While 5G has spurred some growth in urban e-commerce and remote work, rural digital divides persist, hindering Agenda 2063 goals. Compared to Asia’s rapid 5G scaling, Africa’s rollout is hampered by regulatory hurdles and investment gaps, with only $10 billion in projected contributions by 2030 materializing gradually. Positive signs include 5G FWA subscriptions surging to nearly four million by 2028, but overall, it’s not yet the revolutionary force envisioned.
Toward a Connected Future
Internet expansion has laid a solid foundation for Africa’s digital growth, empowering millions and fostering innovation. However, 5G’s role, while promising, has not fully met expectations due to patchy coverage and adoption barriers. With only 3-4% of connections by 2025 and significant regional disparities, concerted efforts in policy, investment, and affordability are essential.
As Africa pushes forward, integrating 5G with broader internet initiatives could unlock its potential, driving sustainable development and positioning the continent as a global digital player and helping to build economic growth on the continent.
