Sep 28, 2026 · 42 min · 10 segments
The series continues with a powerful conversation on AI, access and global inequality. Focused on the so-called digital divide and responses emerging across the Global Majority world, this episode…
Fola AdelekeGuest
Therese MurphyHost
The way I see it, the digital divide refers to this gap between people who have access to digital technologies, such as the internet, electricity, mobile devices that are internet enabled, and those who don't, quite often.
the people who have access to these digital technologies are citizens of the global north, whereas those who don't are usually based in what we call global majority countries, countries whose citizens are based in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Now, a lot of Policy leaders, especially in Africa, often refer to this concept of the digital divide as a problem that needs to be addressed.
But that concept is really not explained in the African Union frameworks and instruments.
So, for example, the African Union released its digital transformation strategy for Africa about six years ago.
And the overall objective of that strategy is to transform African societies and economies to promote Africa's integration, generate inclusive economic growth, and break the digital divide.
And it is that framework that gives the perhaps closest thing to a conceptual elaboration of what the digital divide means.
So the framework argues that there are data deserts in many African countries which reflect the digital divide because many people lack access to the services and systems used to generate the data needed to train algorithms or analyze for decision making.
So, while we don't have an exact definition of the digital divide, at the very least, we know that it's a reference point for this gap between what's available in the global North and the limited access we have in global majority of global South countries.
So no precise definition of a digital divide, but it's a compelling reference point designed to capture the access differences two technologies between global North countries and global majority countries in, for example, Africa, Asia, Latin America.
The way I see it, the digital divide refers to this gap between people who have access to digital technologies, such as the internet, electricity, mobile devices that are internet enabled, and those who don't, quite often.
the people who have access to these digital technologies are citizens of the global north, whereas those who don't are usually based in what we call global majority countries, countries whose citizens are based in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Now, a lot of Policy leaders, especially in Africa, often refer to this concept of the digital divide as a problem that needs to be addressed.
But that concept is really not explained in the African Union frameworks and instruments.
So, for example, the African Union released its digital transformation strategy for Africa about six years ago.
And the overall objective of that strategy is to transform African societies and economies to promote Africa's integration, generate inclusive economic growth, and break the digital divide.
And it is that framework that gives the perhaps closest thing to a conceptual elaboration of what the digital divide means.
So the framework argues that there are data deserts in many African countries which reflect the digital divide because many people lack access to the services and systems used to generate the data needed to train algorithms or analyze for decision making.
So, while we don't have an exact definition of the digital divide, at the very least, we know that it's a reference point for this gap between what's available in the global North and the limited access we have in global majority of global South countries.
So no precise definition of a digital divide, but it's a compelling reference point designed to capture the access differences two technologies between global North countries and global majority countries in, for example, Africa, Asia, Latin America.
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