Poor Internet Connectivity Could Back Off Cryptocurrency Adoption in Africa

By Kapil Gauhar

Africa is widely known as the next major cryptocurrency adoption and development continent. But could the poor internet connectivity back off its cryptocurrency growth? A new report by ITU (International Telecommunications Union) presents that it will cost $450 billion for connecting 1.5 billion African population to the internet. The African governments spend nearly 3 times less than the worldwide average on broadband connectivity.

There is an additional issue of low education level as well as the high cost of internet devices against the low incomes. All these determinants could slow down the cryptocurrency revolution in Africa. After all, it’s a revolution that relies on reliable internet connectivity.

Can Crypto Thrive Under Africa’s Unpredictable Internet Availability?

The discussion about whether digital currency can work in African could ow be supplanted by whether the continent of 1.2 billion individuals can have the necessary infrastructure – and technical know-how – in order to enable digital currency to flourish unhindered.

Over the last couple of years, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has grown by leaps & bounds in several African countries like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa with bitcoin being popular. The wave of crypto’s mass adoption is extensively viewed as a key to driving financial inclusion and economic growth on the continent.

A new report by International Telecommunications Union shows that the African governments have so much to make sure that the continent will benefit from the ‘fourth industrial revolution’.

And the latest ITU data shows that something about 52% or 3.7 billion of the world’s population is currently unconnected to the internet with a majority residing in Africa. This scale of the infrastructure has to be upgraded to bridge the digital divide and then deploy the ever-emerging technologies is massive. ITU measures that it will cost about $450 billion to connect the next 1.5 billion people.

ITU further says, “National governments can truly make a difference in bridging the broadband gap by taking advantage of technologies such as satellite to bring reliable connectivity to unconnected areas and create an effective solution to expand internet reach.”