The disparity in the gender divide across
digital platforms is not only an equality and social issue, but also a
critical challenge to growing economic sustainability, financial
inclusion, and a truly connected Africa. Despite significant mobile
penetration progress over the last few years in sub-Saharan Africa, the
region is home to more than 300-million unconnected women.The latest GSMA research shows that the mobile sector makes a substantial contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), with approximately $100bn raised in 2014, and it is set to rise to $166bn by 2020. They report that by closing the gender gap in mobile phone access and ownership we could add an additional $170bn to the entire industry by 2020.
Not only will this increase GDP but if we can work towards increasing the number of women that have access to mobile services this will have a trickle-down effect on numerous industries that are critical for growth including agriculture, health, financial services and across the board innovation.
