400 Million Users Strong: West Africa’s Telecom Sector Valued at $63.17 Billion in 2024

The West African mobile telecom market is experiencing a period of explosive growth, reaching a staggering value of $63.17 billion in 2024. This impressive figure highlights the region’s burgeoning digital economy, fueled by a massive user base of over 400 million mobile subscribers. With internet penetration steadily climbing, West Africa is poised to become a major player in the global digital landscape.

This surge in mobile telecom usage is driven by a number of factors. Increased investments in infrastructure development have made connectivity more accessible and affordable for a wider population. A young and tech-savvy generation is also embracing mobile technology, driving demand for data services and innovative applications. These trends are transforming not only the way people communicate but also how they conduct business, access information, and participate in the digital world.

Speaking on this, the Executive Secretary of the West African Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly (WATRA), Aliyu Aboki at a virtual media sessiondiscussed the impact of the West African telecommunications sector on regional growth.

According to him, mobile internet penetration rose from 51% in 2019 to 62% in 2023, driven by investments and infrastructure development”.

He stated that the digital economy contributed around $30billion annually to the region’s GDP, driven by increasing internet penetration, mobile connectivity, and a growing tech-savvy youth population.

Furthermore, Aboki said the e-commerce sector is growing at 20% annually, driven by increased internet access and consumer adoption, innovations in Fintech and logistics which are addressing challenges such as payment systems and trust in online transactions.

In his words, the telecommunications sector contributes seven (7) percent annually to Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of West African region.

He added that, West Africa’s vibrant startup ecosystem, with over 600 tech startups, attracted $1.5 billion in investments in 2023.

“Accelerators, incubators, and co-working spaces are crucial in supporting entrepreneurs. A tech-savvy youth population is driving digital adoption, enhancing the region’s digital transformation,” he said.

Aboki also discussed how WATRA supports the digital economy by promoting regulatory harmonization, facilitating infrastructure development and encouraging action across the telecommunications sector.

Giving WATRA’s role in the growth of telecommunications business across West African countries, Aboki said: “WATRA is not a regulator, but an association of regulators in the sub-region of West Africa, with a responsibility to improve telecoms service delivery in West Africa, through collaboration.

“WATRA’s role in all of these growth areas is that it supports and promotes regulatory harmonisation, facilitates infrastructure development and encourages development across the regulatory bodies in different West African countries. WATRA helps to bring speed of development in West Africa.”

He assured that WATRA will continue to focus on its service expansion pan and increase collaboration in order to extend connectivity to rural areas and under-developed areas in West Africa.

“We will collaborate with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to leverage technology that will advance development in West Africa. We will ensure that new entrants in satellite and space technologies, maximise the benefits to enhance the growth of telecoms business across West African countries, and as well promote cybersecurity and data protection among member states.

“As well ensure that countries with more advanced telecoms infrastructure, share their experiences and methodologies with countries that have less telecoms infrastructure. From time to time, we bring different regulators together to discuss issues that will enhance regulations in their regions.

“For instance, some countries do not have policies on co-location of telecoms infrastructure and WATRA was able to help build the capacities of some of the regulators in such a way that it will attract investors to invest in their telecoms infrastructure rollout.”

On what WATRA is doing to address roaming charges differentials across West Africa, the Executive Secretary explained that the roaming regulation was established in 2017, but it has not been fully implemented across regions for different reasons.

“Another challenge is the disparity in tariff charges. Some countries with large number of subscribers like Nigeria charge lower tariff rate, while countries with smaller number of subscribers charge higher tariff rate. What we need in West Africa is a uniform tariff rate for roaming charges. We are working towards bilateral agreement between countries to achieve it”, he stated.

Worried that data generated in West Africa, are still transmitted to internet hubs in Europe and America, before getting to its final destination in West Africa, Aboki  said WATRA had been advocating for Internet Exchange Point structure for West Africa, insisting that it will boost connectivity across West African countries, and also reduce cost of data in West Africa.

“WATRA is working towards improving the interconnectivity of infrastructure companies. Infrastructure companies should be able to interconnect within West Africa, instead of allowing our data to first travel to Europe before returning to West Africa. We need more of the West African data to be hosted in data centres located in West Africa and not in Europe in order to save cost. Our priority is to increase regional connectivity, reduce cost of data and enhance access to spectrum,” Aboki said.