GSMA Calls for Urgent Tax Reforms to Accelerate Digital Inclusion

Emma Okonji

The Chief Regulatory Officer of Airtel Africa and Chair of GSMA Africa’s Policy Group, Mr. Daddy Mukadi, has called on African governments to recognise telecommunications as a core economic pillar.

He also urged African governments to implement two specific tax reforms that could dramatically accelerate digital inclusion across the continent.

Speaking at the first edition of the États Généraux du Secteur des Postes et

Télécommunications in Kinshasa, DRC, Mukadi, who’s also a member of the GSMA Global Policy Group, urged government and industry stakeholders to rethink the role of telecommunications in national development. He said it should be framed not as a sector specific concern, but as a continent-wide imperative.

“The telecoms sector can no longer be considered merely as a support sector.

It is now a core sector. Both are vital, and every other sector, from security and finance to transport and health, depends on digital technology for growth,” Mukadi said.

His remarks come at a critical moment for Africa’s digital economy. According to the GSMA’s Mobile Economy Africa 2025 report, the mobile sector contributed $220 billion to the continent’s economy in 2024. This is equivalent to 7.7 per cent of GDP and is projected to reach $270 billion by 2030. Yet despite mobile networks now covering 95 per cent of Africa’s population, nearly 75 per cent of people across the continent remain offline.

The GSMA identifies this gap as Africa’s greatest connectivity challenge, driven above all by the unaffordability of devices.