Africa ICT

For up to a year in 2015 and 2016 Moroccans were prevented from making free voice calls using voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) apps, which have become a key communication tool across most telecoms markets. It was a contentious decision that led to vociferous objections among consumers. By November 2016 the ban was reversed and the use of...

Following over a decade of high growth rates in the wake of liberalisation efforts in the late 1990s, Morocco’s telecoms sector is currently experiencing a slower rate of expansion. As operators and mobile users adopt new forms of mobile communication, the kingdom’s market is progressively moving away from the traditional voice-based business...

Change is on the horizon for the Ghanaian telecoms industry. Consolidation in a fragmented market could improve the competitive environment and help strengthen operator margins. It could also provide a boost to a sector which, like many in sub-Saharan Africa, is looking beyond the saturated voice market to raising data penetration and usage...

While Ghana fares relatively well in terms of basic telecoms indicators, private operators and public bodies are working to improve and expand coverage. However, the challenges involved in rolling out infrastructure for mobile networks are considerable, and range from difficulties in obtaining planning rights to high maintenance costs.

Although it does not have the market size and reputation of some of its regional peers, Ghana offers a stable environment for innovation and the development of IT products and applications in Africa, thanks in part to a welcoming regulatory framework and rapid uptake of data services.

The push for financial inclusion is continuing apace in Ghana with plans for the implementation of mobile money interoperability. Financial inclusion has been growing healthily in the country, thanks largely to the success of its mobile money system. In 2011 just 29% of the population was banked. By 2014 the figure had reached 41%, according...