MTN Group GM of digital services, marketing and strategy Rolivhuwa Maluma (pictured, second from left); Canal+ Rwanda CEO Sophie Sandra Tchatchoua (pictured, second from right); and Louis Manu, CEO and co-founder of streaming and video on demand company Wi-flix (pictured, far right) argued Africa now holds its own in terms of creating content, meaning attention is now turning to matters spanning connectivity, production and circulation.

For all three, the message is very much about engaging with local creators and helping them foster relationships at home and abroad to develop and distribute their output.

Maluma said it is time to make use of the networks MTN has created across the region, a move he believes the operator group can only achieve by engaging with content creators, platform providers and investors.

“We believe there is a big opportunity that we can unlock as Africans for Africans”.

Tchatchoua agreed, explaining Canal+ is engaged in helping Africans tell their story on domestic and international stages.

The company is focused on building skills and “investing in local production”. Tchatchoua highlighted the scale of Canal+ offers a big platform to showcase African talent in the form of around 70 channels.

Tchatchoua said Canal+ is creating a media entertainment hub focused on programming, but also seeking to give Africa a stronger voice globally.

Maluma sees potential for content to fuel uptake of mobile internet services, explaining MTN believes a primary role is putting TV and video in the hands of its customers.

The operator also has an eye on localising gaming content and on music, the “soul of the continent”, Maluma said.

Collaboration
The role of the operator goes beyond connectivity alone. Maluma said MTN is building an ecosystem of creators, investing in local productions, and liaising with platform providers and investors. These collaborations are key to promoting African content across borders and internationally, he argued.

Manu believes the work so far is paying off and turned Africa into “a global content powerhouse”.

But he noted challenges remain around “monetisation, infrastructure, IP protection and distribution”.

Manu also believes global distribution remains a challenge: “how do we ensure African content reaches every corner of the globe”?

Mobile offers a solid channel in many respects. Manu explained phones are Africans’ cinemas and TVs, and Wi-flix is building relationships with large operators to ensure content is widely distributed across multiple countries.

He said there is a need “to stop seeing African content as niche and start positioning our content as massively universal”.

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First, the industry association joined forces with operators including Airtel, MTN, Orange, Vodacom, Ethio Telecom and Axian Telecom, alongside an array of AI players to announce a continent-wide collaboration to build inclusive African AI language models. The partners will work to develop homegrown AI models trained on African languages and local data, creating tools that can power applications across education, health, public services and creative industries.

As part of the initiative, dedicated working groups will target gaps in data, compute, talent and policy across the continent, with progress set to be showcased at upcoming GSMA events.

Although more than 2,000 languages are spoken across the continent, Angela Wamola, head of Africa at the GSMA, noted the continent’s linguistic diversity is a strength that “has too often been overlooked in the development of global AI systems”. “This initiative is about turning that challenge into an opportunity… and ensuring Africa shapes the digital future on its own terms,” she stated.

Affordable smartphones
The same six operators struck a separate partnership with the GSMA. proposing a set of baseline specifications for affordable entry-level 4G smartphones as part of a broader effort to make devices more accessible.

In the coming months, the GSMA will consult with OEMs and technology companies to refine the proposed requirements and rally support for low-cost 4G devices. The industry association also urged African governments to remove taxes on sub-$100 smartphones, noting that VAT and import duties can inflate retail prices by more than 30 per cent and slow digital inclusion efforts.

According to GSMA Intelligence, a $40 handset could bring mobile internet to 20 million additional users, while a $30 device could connect up to 50 million.

GSMA director general Vivek Badrinath said: “Access to a smartphone is not a luxury – it is a lifeline to essential services, income opportunities and participation in the digital economy”, adding that the move sends “a powerful signal to manufacturers and policymakers” to unite behind affordability.

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During the event’s opening keynote, Mupita told GSMA director general Vivek Badrinath (pictured, left) that while coverage has improved across much of the continent, usage and investment remain constrained by legacy rules and rising costs. “I think that some of the regulatory frameworks that we have across our continent were designed for the voice era,” he stated. “In the voice era, networks were built in a very capital-light approach. You couldn’t really fill up voice networks, so to speak, but you do fill up data networks very easily.”

He urged policymakers to start “with a clean set of paper” and design frameworks for digital societies rather than legacy systems. “We need a very clear roadmap towards digital Africa, the digital societies we want, and then build regulation and frameworks from there.”

Mupita added that high spectrum costs and heavy taxation continue to undermine investment, urging policymakers to rethink pricing and competition models. “Mobile network operators do not meet the cost of capital for the infrastructure that’s provided,” he said, calling for “price floors in markets so that we support and protect investments”.

Level playing field
In the keynote, Orange Middle East and Africa CEO Yasser Shaker echoed these calls for smarter regulation, stressing the need for balanced competition and sustained innovation.

“We have to ensure that we have the same playing field that all players,” he said. “I don’t think we’re only competing against operators,” he noted, adding that today, telcos also compete against fintechs, OTTs and satellites players.

Shaker explained that “clarity is very important for investment,” arguing that fair rules and consistent policy would help operators continue investing in innovation. “We just need to have the same playing field for everyone.”

Three Africas
Also on stage, Airtel Africa Group CEO Sunil Taldar noted that the continent’s digital markets are developing at different speeds, highlighting distinct challenges across regions that he described as “three Africas”. The “core Africa” of major cities such as Lagos and Nairobi where digital engagement rivals global peers and anchors the continent’s growth, the “emerging Africa” of tier-two cities shifting from voice to data, and “rural Africa,” which Taldar hailed as “the single biggest opportunity.”

“In my view, the real strength of Africa lies not only in its demand or demographics, but in its mindset,” Taldar said, hailing innovation across the continent. He called for the industry to “redefine cost economies to further connectivity and leverage AI to build greener and reliable networks.”

“Africa’s telecom story is not about catching up,” he stated. “It’s about leapfrogging… from access to productivity”.

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In the event’s opening keynote, Badrinath highlighted mobile’s central role in shaping the continent’s progress. “Africa’s future will be digital,” he stated, noting that the mobile sector contributed $220 billion to GDP in 2023 and serves 710 million subscribers across the continent.

Turning to AI, he said the technology could “add $2.9 trillion of value to the African economy by 2030”, but warned that the continent remains underrepresented in global datasets. “In Africa there are over 2,000 languages, but they make up altogether only 0.02 per cent of online content,” he stated. To address this gap, he announced a new “continent wide collaboration with leaders from Africa’s mobile ecosystem” to build inclusive AI language models, underscoring that the technology “should not be a luxury for the few.”

Indeed, the GSMA chief further warned that Africa faces the world’s largest usage gap, with millions living within network coverage but not using mobile internet due to device affordability and limited digital skills. He outlined three defining forces driving Africa’s digital trajectory – intelligence, investment and inclusion.

On investment, he cautioned that the continent’s current model “is not really sustainable”, noting that African operators will spend an additional $77 billion by 2030 as mobile data traffic across the continent is set to double at the same time. Badrinath called for regulatory frameworks “that create fair operating environments for operators and really incentivise infrastructure investments”, adding that “digital Africa is not possible without access to reliable, scalable and affordable energy”.

$900 billion
Bogdan-Martin echoed this message, estimating that Africa will need $900 billion to achieve “universal, meaningful connectivity” by 2030. However, the ITU chief underscored the need for investment not only in networks, but also in inclusion. “Skills will actually turn network coverage into the ability to benefit from digital.”

She also underlined the importance of local innovation, stating that “Africa’s digital future must be led by African entrepreneurs that are solving local problems”, adding that “when connectivity, skills and support align, innovators can deliver impact exactly where and how it is most needed.”

Bogdan-Martin concluded that “the digital future of this continent will not be built by one actor alone – only together can we connect every African community meaningfully.”

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