The rise and rise of 5G networks in Africa

During the lockdown in 2020, I came across a video by a famous religious leader in Nigeria who claimed that 5G technology was part of a larger plot to establish a new world order. The video did generate a lot of discussion on social media about the capabilities of 5G technology. Thankfully, most of the conspiracy theories were debunked.

At the time, the technology was still in its early stages in Nigeria, and telecom companies were still working on building the necessary infrastructure. But, fast forward to now, and it seems like 5G is finally gaining momentum in Africa, with South Africa leading the way.

Techloy Weekly's lead story highlights a report which tracked 5G deployments in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and found that as of March 2023, 18 countries in the region now offer commercial 5G services, with 10 of those located in Africa, and South Africa leading the continent with an estimated five million 5G subscriptions at the end of 2022.

No doubt, the rise of 5G technology in Africa is a story of triumph over fear and conspiracy theories.

Happy Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating ???

– Yeboah

Editor's Note: Read all the other data-led startup news, deals, and insights that we covered this week across emerging markets including Mediwhale, Sega/Rovio, Autochek, Speedio, SwitchOn, Block/Yellow Card, Volkswagen, Cassava Technologies, Opportunik, Coca-cola/Thrive, Chekkit, remittance costs by region, china's imposed fines on tech companies, global PC sales decline, and Latin America's startup funding landscape.

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