As the dust settles on the World Economic Forum on Africa 2016 in Kigali, now is an opportune time to reflect on the many positive discussions held on the crucial role mobile technology will play in spurring a new wave of growth and development throughout the region.

At World Economic Forum Africa, we discussed why delivering mobile connectivity to currently unconnected citizens will be instrumental in turning this year’s theme of Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation into reality.

Mobile is critical to digital transformation. Access to mobile has already transformed the lives of millions in Africa, reducing poverty, improving infrastructure and services, and providing access to health care, education and to financial services, many for the first time.

The mobile industry is a key driver of economic growth and employment in the region. It is predicted to contribute more than $166 billion to sub-Saharan Africa by 2020, equivalent to eight per cent of expected GDP, and support in excess of six million jobs.

Despite incredible progress, we’re still a long way from seeing the full impact mobile can have in enabling social and economic transformation. The stark reality is that sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s least penetrated mobile region.

By 2020, it is forecast that just 49 per cent of the population will have a mobile subscription, meaning more than half the people in the region will not have access to the mobile services that could revolutionise their lives.

Why have we not been able to connect all Africans? This is a recurring discussion among government leaders across Africa, but the truth is that mobile operators can’t reach the unconnected alone.

First and foremost, African governments need to offer a supportive business and policy environment that will sustain the growth of the industry in the long term.

It is only then that mobile access can become ubiquitous, driven by the necessary investments in infrastructure that will extend the availability of mobile.

A key obstacle to this progress is the high level of mobile-specific taxation in some African markets that is stalling consumer uptake of mobile.

We have seen that a high level of taxation holds back the adoption of new technologies and the extension of mobile services to the hundreds of millions of people in Africa who remain unconnected.

Many governments continue to tax mobile services as a luxury, but they are key enablers for a country’s economic and social development and a vital tool that can deliver healthcare, education, financial inclusion and stimulate entrepreneurship, especially for those at the base of the economic pyramid.

In Nigeria, for example, we are witnessing proposals to create a new nine per cent tax on communications services. This is in complete contradiction with the ambition of the government to expand mobile connectivity in the country. In Nigeria, mobile operators paid $850 million in taxes and regulatory fees in 2014.

The cost to operators inevitably translates into higher prices for consumers. The cost of using a mobile phone represents on average five per cent of personal income in Nigeria, and this proportion is higher for lower income people, making basic mobile services unaffordable for many.

This is by no means an isolated case. In Ghana, taxes on devices and usage account for almost a quarter of the cost of mobile ownership, significantly above the regional average.

Mobile telephony is one of the most heavily taxed sectors in Tanzania, with operators contributing over 11 per cent of total government tax revenues, and services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are subject to an excise duty of 10 per cent in addition to VAT, which directly applies to consumer prices.

GSMA, which has a growing presence in the Middle East and Africa, through research and taxation modelling, has shown that lowering taxes can actually increase revenue for governments in the medium term as consumers, particularly in developing countries, are price sensitive and these tax cuts often boost consumption of mobile services.

Taxation that affects mobile services disproportionately impacts incentives to invest in network rollout. Creating a balanced tax structure kicks off a chain reaction that can only benefit governments as the barriers to affordability are lowered and network investment is increased, which promotes mobile penetration.

Greater penetration drives further economic and infrastructure development and increases productivity and employment across the economy, while delivering positive effects on education, health care and overall development. The resulting economic growth results in higher tax revenues through more efficient and broad-based taxation.

Fostering this progressive regulatory environment in Africa will take close collaboration between the mobile industry and policymakers.

Only by implementing a taxation structure where mobile is treated equally to other services can we truly unlock the digital transformation of Africa and deliver the benefits of mobile across the whole continent.

The real work is only just beginning.

Mortimer Hope is the GSMA director for Africa. Email: [email protected]