The six-time African Footballer of the Year is using MWC Barcelona 2024 to urge all telecommunications stakeholders to help the GSMA break down barriers to usage and get more people online.
February 27, 2024, Barcelona: Governments must do more to ensure their citizens have the crucial digital skills needed to access the online opportunities available to them, according to prominent footballer Asisat Oshoala and global telecommunications trade body GSMA.
Oshoala, capped 61 times by Nigeria and founder of the Asisat Oshoala Foundation in Lagos, took advantage of MWC Barcelona 2024 to draw attention to the usage gap, a problem that affects 3 billion people around the world and is especially frequent in sub-Saharan Africa, in his new role as GSMA ambassador for the Breaking Barriers campaign.
The usage gap occurs when people do not use mobile broadband networks despite living in areas with available coverage. As infrastructure has improved and mobile coverage has expanded to cover 95% of the world's population, the biggest challenge for the telecommunications industry now is to help more people make use of this connectivity.
While 38% of people worldwide do not use mobile Internet despite living in areas covered by mobile devices, this usage gap increases to 59% in sub-Saharan Africa. Among the main barriers causing the usage gap is the lack of digital literacy and skills.
The Asisat Oshoala Foundation works with marginalized young women in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa and aims to give them the skills they need to succeed in life. This includes the transformative impact that digital literacy can have in opening vital pathways to social mobility, economic success and improved access to education, healthcare, e-commerce and financial services.
Asisat Oshoala, founder of the Asisat Oshoala Foundation, comments: “Growing up, I saw the effects of the Usage Gap with my own eyes. That's why I use my Foundation to help younger generations learn to use the Internet and why I'm working with the GSMA to help close the usage gap..
“Internet access and the skills needed to do so must be universal and therefore prioritized by governments around the world. We need more than individual efforts: we need policymakers to focus on joining with the communications industry to overcome barriers to digital inclusion and foster digital literacy to help more people around the world access game-changing opportunities. their lives..”
The GSMA State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report outlines the five key barriers that continue to directly fuel the usage gap: affordability of mobile devices and data services; digital literacy and skills; lack of relevant content or services; Online security; and issues related to access. Despite significant progress in expanding mobile broadband coverage, the usage gap persists and the vast majority of people are not connected due to issues other than lack of coverage.
MWC Barcelona, the flagship event for the telecommunications industry, brings together not only key industry leaders but also global policymakers and regulators, offering a unique opportunity to debate crucial issues such as the usage gap and outline solutions, such as collaboration between public and private organizations. to improve access to digital literacy programs in the most affected regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa.
Lara Dewar, Marketing Director at GSMA, comments: “The usage gap is a major barrier to achieving digital inclusion, and the longer the problem is not addressed, the less likely it will be that the United Nations Social Development Goals for digital inclusion will be achieved.
“Asisat Oshoala's message could not be more timely or more important. Collaborative action by all stakeholders – governments, regulators and the telecommunications industry – is imperative if we are to reduce and remove barriers to connectivity, accelerate digital inclusion and ensure we leave no one behind in an increasingly connected..”
To learn more about the Breaking Barriers campaign and efforts to close the usage gap, visit
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About the GSMA
The GSMA is a global organization that unifies the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver critical innovation for positive business environments and social change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organizations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA offers its members three broad pillars: connectivity for good, industry services and solutions, and outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, addressing today's biggest societal challenges, supporting the technology and interoperability that make mobile devices work, and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.
