Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, a former vice president of Ghana, has cautioned that a significant barrier to Africa’s involvement in the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is the high cost of mobile data.
Speaking on March 28 at the LSE Africa Summit 2026 in London, Dr. Bawumia emphasized that although digitalization is essential to economic development, millions of people are still unable to participate meaningfully in the digital economy due to cost issues.
He advised decision-makers to concentrate on access quality and cost rather than just connection.
He said, “It is not just about who is online, but who is online meaningfully—with affordable data, adequate speeds, and reliable service.”
Despite recent improvements in internet penetration throughout Africa, Dr. Bawumia pointed out that access is still uneven and frequently limited by high fees.
He highlighted that entry-level mobile broadband pricing throughout the continent in 2025 remained over the United Nations’ affordability criterion, citing international comparisons. He claimed that this hampers attempts to create universal digital access.
He focused on Ghana and said that, depending on the operator and bundle, 1GB of data might cost anywhere from $0.05 to $1.50.
Although this puts the nation in a reasonably competitive position, he emphasized that low-income households still struggle with affordability.
He said, “Internet access may be relatively affordable for middle- and high-income groups, but it is still costly for many low-income households,” attributing the discrepancy to both the nature of the informal sector and income inequality.
Dr. Bawumia cautioned that these disparities might make it more difficult for Africa to properly utilize AI, which could exacerbate already-existing disparities.
“Before we debate algoraithms, we must be disciplined about the foundations that enable adoption at scale,” he added, warning that without inexpensive connection, the advantages of AI would continue to be concentrated within a small portion of the population.
As a result, he urged governments to prioritize infrastructure development and lower data prices, calling for swift and thoughtful legislative measures.
“Africa’s AI agenda is also an infrastructure agenda,” he continued, emphasizing that increasing affordable access will be essential to guaranteeing the continent’s competitiveness in the quickly changing digital and AI-driven global economy.
Source: newsthemegh.com