5G in Africa 2026: market status, trends and outlook

Operators across the continent are moving beyond their traditional role as connectivity providers: they are repositioning themselves as full-stack digital partners for enterprises and governments; deploying AI across networks and customer operations; and opening network capabilities to developers through standardised APIs. This evolution is already reflected in the numbers. In 2025, mobile technologies and services generated $240 billion in economic value across Africa, rising to $290 billion by 2030.

The Region in Focus series provides an essential quarterly briefing on industry developments, market insights and country KPIs for mobile markets around the world. This edition focuses on analysis of the latest developments for Q1 2026 while providing KPIs for the year to December 2025.

The slower uptake of mobile internet subscriptions in Africa is due to a range of factors, notably the lack of ability or willingness to own and use a smartphone. Affordability is the main reason for the comparatively low level of smartphone adoption in Africa. There is widespread agreement among stakeholders about the importance of increasing smartphone adoption in Africa by improving both affordability and accessibility, but progress remains slow due to persistent and complex barriers faced by the most vulnerable groups. This analysis draws on survey data from consumers in eight markets: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia, as well as insights from other countries across the continent.