SMART Broadband 2025 initiatives project substantial job creation through expanded broadband access across Africa, linking infrastructure rollout to economic multipliers. While exact figures vary, the strategy’s goal of adding 308 million broadband users by 2025 is expected to generate millions of direct and indirect jobs in telecom, digital services, and related sectors.
Direct Infrastructure Jobs
Deploying 125,000 km of fiber and 125,000 new cellular base stations requires massive labor, including fiber optic technicians, tower climbers, and construction workers. Estimates suggest 500,000-1 million construction-related roles during peak rollout (2020-2025), with ongoing maintenance adding 200,000 permanent positions in network operations. In countries like Kenya and Nigeria, national broadband plans aligned with SMART have already created 100,000+ jobs in cabling and site preparation by 2025.
These roles offer entry-level entry with training, paying 20-50% above local averages, drawing youth from agriculture to skilled trades.
Indirect Digital Economy Jobs
Every 10% broadband penetration rise correlates to 2.5-2.8% GDP growth, spawning jobs in e-commerce, fintech, and content creation. SMART’s push for 30% locally stored content projects 2-3 million roles in data centers, app development, and digital marketing by 2030. Fintech alone, boosted by mobile money, added 1.5 million jobs continent-wide by 2025, with platforms like M-Pesa employing agents and coders.
Agritech and edtech follow: sensors for 200 million farmers create 500,000 IoT support jobs; remote learning platforms hire 300,000 tutors and developers.
| Job Category | Projected Jobs (2025-2030) | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|
| Construction/Techs | 700,000+ | Fiber/base stations |
| Digital Services | 2-3M | Content/e-commerce |
| Fintech/Agents | 1.5M+ | Mobile money growth |
| Support (IoT/Ed) | 800,000 | Rural apps |
Long-Term Multipliers
Indirect effects amplify: submarine cables tied to SMART boosted employment 13% in nine countries over three years. By hitting 51% penetration, 46 countries surpass the 20% threshold for pervasive digital benefits, unlocking manufacturing of devices (100,000 jobs) and cybersecurity (50,000 roles).
Youth-focused training under SMART partners with ITU, targeting women and rural areas for sustainable uptake. Total impact: 5-7 million jobs by 2030, contributing 5% to annual GDP while reducing urban migration via remote work. Challenges like skills gaps persist, but aligned investments ensure momentum