Rwanda once again became the heartbeat of Africa’s digital revolution as the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Africa 2025 opened in Kigali for the third consecutive year.
The three-day summit has brought together over 4 000 delegates from 109 countries, including policymakers, telecom operators, and tech giants, all united by the singular goal to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.
Opening the congress, which is running under four headline themes, Connected Continent, The AI Future, Fintech, and Africa’s Digital Frontier, Rwanda President Paul Kagame delivered a stirring message urging Africa to take ownership of its digital destiny.
“Africa’s digital future is already here and it must be built by Africans, for Africans. In just a few years, Africa has moved from limited connectivity to a mobile-driven economy. Yet, millions remain excluded. If this gap persists, technology meant to unite us could deepen inequality,” he warned.
Setting the tone for some of the world’s leading tech voices to frame discussions on how technology can unlock inclusive growth across the continent, Kagame called for harmonised digital policies, deeper cooperation, and tangible investments in human capital to make the digital future inclusive and transformative.
As an engine of Africa’s tech-driven growth, Kagame pointed out how Rwanda is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into governance, public services and education.
“The most important conversation must be about people that ensure skills and tools reach everyone,” he said.
The GSMA Director General, Vivek Badrinath, representing the main organiser of MWC 2025, commended Rwanda’s digital progress, describing it as a model for how visionary leadership can turn connectivity into a catalyst for transformation.
He underscored that although mobile technologies already contribute over $220 billion to Africa’s economy, supporting eight million jobs, “affordability remains the biggest barrier to inclusion.”
To tackle this digital inclusion barrier, the GSMA, alongside Africa’s largest mobile operators MTN, Vodacom, Airtel, and Orange, unveiled the Handset Affordability Coalition, a groundbreaking initiative to lower smartphone prices across the continent.
“Access to a smartphone is not a luxury. It is a lifeline. A $30 handset could bring 50 million more Africans online,” said Badrinath.
Angela Wamola, head of GSMA Africa, also drew attention to Africa’s place in the AI era as being another key focus of the Kigali Summit.
The GSMA, together with regional partners such as Lelapa AI, Cassava Technologies, and Masakhane Hub, announced a collaboration to develop African-led AI language models under the theme AI in Africa, by Africa, for Africa.
“Africa’s diversity of languages and cultures must shape the digital future. By building our own AI capacity, we make technology more inclusive, more relevant, and more reflective of who we are,” she said.
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