This presentation to the UN Office for South South cooperation workshop discussion on women in tech covers the digital inequality and constraints of internet access in Africa focusing specifically on gender barriers.

The Internet is presented as a panacea for the challenges that young people face, but this is not necessarily the case. Despite being drivers of Internet take up, young people’s use of the Internet is not optimal, especially within contexts of deprivat …

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are recognised by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states as enablers of stronger economic development. Yet, these countries are still grappling with slow and unreliable broadban …

Affordability is cited as one of the biggest challenges to Internet uptake and use. Some service providers and users of over-the top (OTT) platforms and applications have devised strategies that allow the OTT services to be used as communication substi …

A fresh, public-interested assessment of the zero-rating of certain applications (apps) and platforms in the African mobile prepaid environment is overdue. This policy paper examines the issue of zero-rating within the contexts of the range of discount …

Pent up demand for internet service has driven strong growth in data revenues for operators throughout Africa. Traditional voice and SMS revenues have, in turn, been shrinking but have yet to lose their significance. Operators are launching promotional …

South Africa urgently needs innovative solutions to address the digital inequality facing the country. In modern economies and societies, these online inequalities mirror the social and economic inequalities that continue to plague the country 20 years …

Mobile broadband and declining smart phone prices have lead to a rapid increase in Internet use. Computer based Internet access was and still is the privilege of the few in Africa, mostly those with formal jobs, students and those that access it in Int …