US VP Kamala Harris plans to ensure internet access for 80% of Africa by 2030
US VP Kamala Harris plans to ensure internet access for 80% of Africa by 2030
US VP Kamala Harris is declaring the creation of a new alliance to assist in bringing internet connectivity to 80% of Africa by 2030, an increase from the current 40%.
The statement on Friday is a follow-up to Harris’s trip to the continent in the previous year, which coincided with Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to Washington this week. At the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Harris was supposed to speak with the Kenyan leader over a fireside conversation about how public-private partnerships may boost economic growth.
Africa has struggled to secure the capital needed to grow its industrial and technological industries. According to a UN report from the previous year, foreign direct investment on the continent fell to $45 billion in 2022 from a record high of $80 billion in 2021. Despite having over 18% of the world’s population, just 3.5% of foreign direct investment went to Africa.
Democratic Congressman Martin Harris is launching a new program aimed at giving 100 million Africans access to the digital economy, especially those in the agriculture sector, in addition to establishing the nonprofit Partnership for Digital Access in Africa to improve internet connectivity.
Together with Mastercard and other organizations, the African Development Bank Group will support the creation of the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy Alliance, or MADE. The partnership plans to start a trial program to connect 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria to the internet before expanding nationwide.
Furthermore, as part of the Women in the Digital Economy initiative to close the gender gap in technology access, Harris—the first female vice president of the United States—announces that over $1 billion in public and private commitments have been made, with certain U.S. contributions still awaiting congressional approval.
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