The African Development Bank President, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina at the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) program launched on Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria, echoed the statistics which based on estimates, the digital global wealth size of Africa would expand from $217 billion in 2022 to more than $1 trillion by 2031. This is being mirrored by the sharp increase in the digital economy mainly because of youth forefront lead and participation.
Dr. Adesina acknowledged that rapid youth population growth drove the expansion of the digital economy. Although recently digital transformation has reached the tipping point, where digital has become business as usual.
Digital is not just part of the economy; it is the economy and to succeed in the digital economy, the Tanzanian case has been looked at in this discussion with an open mind that could make it more competitive in the ever-changing global economy. Thus, the digital economy rapidly emerging in Tanzania encompasses the ICT and telecoms sector, all digital services, e-Business, e-Commerce, e-Agriculture, e-Education, eHealth, e-Transport, e-Tourism, e-Manufacturing, e-Financial services and e-Taxation.
Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in Tanzania increased by 446 thousand (+2.9 percent) between 2021 and 2022. Also, Ookla’s data reveals that the median mobile internet connection speed in Tanzania increased by 0.96 Mbps (+9.7 percent) in the twelve months to the start of 2022. And Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in Tanzania increased by 606 thousand (+3.0 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
Meanwhile, Ookla’s data shows that fixed internet connection speeds in Tanzania increased by 1.34 Mbps (+16.1 percent) during the same period. There were 6.10 million social media users in Tanzania in January 2022.
Ookla’s data reveals that the median mobile internet connection speed in Tanzania increased by 3.59 Mbps (+33.0 percent) in the twelve months to the start of 2023. Ookla’s data also shows that fixed internet connection speeds in Tanzania increased by 3.33 Mbps (+34.5 percent) during the same period.
The number of social media users in Tanzania as per Kepios analysis reveals that social media users in Tanzania increased by 700 thousand (+13.0 percent) between 2021 and 2022.
▪ While according to data reportal statistics, there are 21.00 million internet users in Tanzania at the start of 2023, and internet penetration is at 31.6 percent.
▪ Tanzania is now home to 4.90 million social media users in January 2023, equating to 7.4 percent of the total population.
▪ A total of 57.42 million cellular mobile connections are active in Tanzania in early 2023, with this figure equivalent to 86.4 percent of the total population.
The future is greener for the Tanzanian digital economy. New jobs are expected to be created thus generating more income and reducing unemployment. According to data statistics by datareportal.com used above the digital field is still growing explosively and the potential is largely untapped.