In 2024, 2.6 billion people remained offline, not by choice but by circumstance. Across Africa, only around 40% of the population is connected to the internet. Even among those who are online, much of their digital activity is hosted elsewhere, on servers and in data centres located far beyond the continent’s borders.
The global distribution of digital infrastructure highlights the imbalance. Of the world’s 10,807 data centres as of early 2026, the United States accounts for 3,960, roughly 37% of global capacity. The United Kingdom hosts 498, Germany 470, and China 365. By contrast, Africa’s leading hub, South Africa, has just 61. Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and most populous nation, has 23, while Kenya, a key regional technology centre, has 19.
This is not a failure of ambition. It is a structural gap in infrastructure, with significant implications for where economic value is created and retained.
What weak connectivity really costs
The consequences of inadequate infrastructure extend far beyond inconvenience. They impose a structural ceiling on growth and development.
Businesses remain constrained, unable to scale beyond local markets without reliable digital access. Trade slows, as cross-border commerce increasingly depends on real-time data, logistics platforms, and digital payment systems. Financial inclusion is undermined when transactions rely on fragile networks. Talent is left behind, excluded from remote work, digital education, and participation in the global knowledge economy.
These constraints are interconnected and reinforcing. Connectivity is not just another input. It is the foundation upon which modern economic participation is built.
Access is only the beginning
For years, the focus of Africa’s digital agenda has been on access: expanding mobile coverage, lowering data costs, and bringing more people online. These remain critical priorities. However, access alone does not determine outcomes.
The more important question is what happens once users are connected, and who captures the value generated by their participation. When African consumers and businesses rely on platforms hosted in Europe or North America, the economic benefits flow outward. Data is processed abroad, revenues accrue abroad, and the most valuable jobs in engineering, cloud computing, and infrastructure management are created abroad.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply to connect Africa to the digital economy, but to ensure that Africa owns a meaningful share of it.
This requires building the full digital stack: from subsea cables and terrestrial fibre networks to internet exchange points and data centres, as well as affordable devices, accessible data pricing, digital payments systems, and skills development.
Two principles that change the equation
Two ideas help clarify the path forward. First, connectivity determines participation. Without it, individuals and businesses are excluded from the digital economy entirely. Expanding access through fibre, satellite, and mobile broadband is essential.
Second, hosting determines value capture. A region that is connected but lacks local infrastructure will remain dependent on external platforms and providers. The economic surplus will continue to accrue wherever that infrastructure resides.
Africa’s digital future depends on addressing both dimensions simultaneously. The continent has already demonstrated its capacity for innovation through mobile money, fintech, and e-commerce platforms. The next phase is to extend that success to the infrastructure layer.
Building resilient, locally anchored digital systems will ensure not only that Africa is connected, but that it retains the value generated by its growing digital economy.