Covid-19 Accelerates Rate of Digital Technology Adoption Worldwide: Amdocs

Addis Ababa April 8/2021 (ENA) Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital technology adoption around the world, but revealed the depth of the digital divide worldwide, according to a Media and Telecommunications Software Company, Amdocs.

According to the company for millions of people living in Africa, who do not have access to the internet or laptops and smartphones, the pandemic has resulted in greater social and economic isolation.   

The pandemic, with its lockdowns and restrictions, has hit Africans hard, leading to job losses, food insecurity, entrenched poverty and – perhaps most worryingly – major setbacks in education delivery, it said.

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital technology adoption around the world, but also revealed the depth of the digital divide worldwide, it added.  

Internet World Stats figures suggest that by December 2020, about 634 million people in Africa were internet users, amounting to 47.6 percent of the continent’s population.

Many factors play a role in entrenching the continent’s digital divide, most notably the high cost of technology and connectivity, which is exacerbated by the lack of reliable network infrastructure, it said.  

Amdoc’s Customer Business Executive, George Fraser said the company’s overriding social impact strategy is to provide digital solutions that address world problems.

“As a company that creates digital journeys for our customers, we have the skills and capabilities to pay it forward to the communities that need us the most. The past year has resulted in just about everything going remote, and our ability to accelerate digital inclusion has become our number one focus.”