The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted all aspects of our lives resulting in an unparalleled acceleration in digital transformation. The mobile community in sub-Saharan Africa responded to this crisis proactively to keep individuals and businesses connected.
Nonetheless, nearly a billion people on the continent are still being left behind, and effectively and permanently remedying this, is the seminal challenge of our time.
Vodafone Ghana is proud to join our Vodacom, Vodafone and Safaricom teams across Africa to invite governments, industry players and businesses to become part of our Africa.Connected campaign.
We commit to accelerating our efforts to close the digital divide and ensure that every man, woman and child is equally and equitably connected with no one left behind.
This campaign builds on our six-point plan to future-proof our network and infrastructure, accelerate support to governments, support e-education and e-health, enhance digital accessibility and literacy for the most vulnerable, promote widespread digital adoption for business, and ultimately support our societies to overcome the crisis brought by the pandemic through targeted digital adoption and better financial inclusion.
The economic repercussions of the pandemic have been brutal, and sub-Saharan Africa is facing a significant economic crisis. According to The World Bank in Africa, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to fall to -3.3% in 2020, pushing the region into its first recession in 25 years.
A white paper by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that COVID-19 will drag African economies into an economic slump of about 1.4% in GDP.