Technology
Digital Inclusion: What Does Equal Access to Education Mean in the Digital Age?
By Zohra Yermeche
The COVID-19 crisis and the impact, which it has had on learning across the world, has highlighted many of the digital disparities which exist in today’s world.
At a time when many of the world’s students shifted from physical to digital, we were also faced with the hard truth that today there are still 3.6 billion people in the world who are unconnected.
For students in the connected half of the world, the story is much different. While 1.2 billion children were affected by school closures across much of the world, our recent Consumer COVID-19 report found that students were able to substitute physical learning by spending 230 per cent more time on digital learning tools such as Google Class, Epic! and Seesaw Class.
This of course is a significant rise, but it is also an acceleration of a trend which we have steadily been tracking since our first Connect To Learn program exactly ten years ago.
The State of Broadband 2020 report estimates that there are twice as many people today who use the Internet compared to 2010. This rise in digital literacy, together with the imminent period of rapid digitalization of the economy, means that ensuring fair and equal access to both education and future job markets will rest on the extent of digital inclusion within our societies.
What is digital inclusion and why is it so important today?
Today, technology plays a much bigger role in the quality and scope of how we learn, such as new digital learning platforms which are estimated to reach $350 billion by 2025; what we learn, with a growing emphasis on programming, robotics, AI and automation; and how we can use it in the job market, with digital skillsets increasingly becoming a prerequisite of tomorrow’s workforce.
The changes which are happening today show the disparity between the developed and undeveloped world. If you are not connected, that shows you the leap which you have to make between the connectivity aspect, access to education and benefits which are derived from that.
Closing this digital divide, with those who are not connected or not considered to be digitally literate, is imperative to ensuring a fair distribution of digital opportunities across countries, locations, gender, socioeconomic status, and age.
Access to education in the digital age
In 2010, we co-founded the Connect To Learn initiative with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Millennium Promise, with a focus on delivering connectivity and ICT tools to enhance teaching and learning in unconnected, underprivileged and largely unrepresented communities.
Since our first projects in the Millennium Villages, we’ve helped to connect and increase the digital inclusion of more than 200,000 students worldwide. As the program has evolved, we have increased our efforts to close the digital divide not just in terms of connectivity, but from a content, syllabus and platform side which is fundamental.
As a technology company, we quickly discovered that we can offer so much more than connectivity, but furthermore can help improve learning processes and methodologies so learning can become more impactful. For example, through partnerships with like-minded organizations, we have helped to digitalize and disseminate content through digital learning tools such as mobile apps.
One of the biggest differences from ten years ago is also that the nature of technology in an educational context, both as a medium and a means to enter the job market was still relatively immature as the landscape has evolved, we’ve come to understand the need to personalize and individualize learning so that we can improve learning outcomes in a meaningful way.
Giving people access to the right type of content is one aspect, another equally critical aspect is the human element. On top of the digital layer, students will still always need the engagement, inspiration and activation that comes from teachers and trainers who know about the topic. I believe that, even in the digital age, technology will never be able to replace this interaction, but rather can serve as an increasingly innovative medium for those critical learner-instructor interactions, such as through the Internet of Skills.
Digital inclusion through public-private partnerships
Today, there is a significant need for digital skills courses. Key technology areas such as AI, robotics and app development are advancing at such a rapid pace, which can make it difficult to ensure an effective transfer of competence to emerging workforces.
Such is the pace of change for topics such as these, public academic institutions will invariably struggle to take learning beyond a basic theoretical level. Public-private partnerships will therefore be key to addressing this, by developing advanced curriculums and delivering the necessary quality and scale of access.
As a sustainability pioneer in the private sector, we’ve understood the power of partnership, which is why we’re investing heavily in building out those partnerships with like-minded entities to create sustainable solutions in order to address the issues which the education sector faces today. A good example of this is the Ericsson Digital Lab program which is now live in several countries in partnership with local schools and community learning centres. The aim here is to share those competences that we have in-house on a much broader scale, addressing those critical skillset demands which are needed in tomorrow’s workforce.
This year, in response to the impact which COVID-19 has had on learning, we continuing these efforts by joining the UNESCO-led Global Education Coalition, launching Ericsson Educate and partnering with UNICEF to map school connectivity as part of the Giga project.
Through digital methodologies, and with a focus on improving digital skills for students across all communities, our commitment is to ensure that future generations continue to have the skills and knowledge to find opportunity in a changing digital world. This was what we set out to do when we launched Connect To Learn ten years ago, and this will continue to be our priority in this next critical decade of action.
Zohra Yermeche is the Program Director for Connect To Learn at Ericsson
By Adedapo Adesanya
Telecommunications operators in Nigeria will now be required to give subscribers a minimum of 14 days’ notice before deactivating their SIM cards over inactivity or post-paid churn, following a fresh proposal by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The proposal is contained in a consultation paper, signed by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Mr Aminu Maida, and titled Stakeholders Consultation Process for the Telecoms Identity Risks Management Platform, dated February 26, 2026, and published on the Commission’s website.
Under the proposed amendments to the Quality-of-Service (QoS) Business Rules, the Commission said operators must notify affected subscribers ahead of any planned churn.
“Prior to churning of a post-paid line, the Operator shall send a notification to the affected subscriber through an alternative line or an email on the pending churning of his line,” the document stated.
It added that “this notification shall be sent at least 14 days before the final date for the churn of the number.”
A similar provision was proposed for prepaid subscribers. According to the Commission, operators must equally notify prepaid customers via an alternative line or email at least 14 days before the final churn date.
Currently, under Section 2.3.1 of the QoS Business Rules, a subscriber’s line may be deactivated if it has not been used for six months for a revenue-generating event. If the inactivity persists for another six months, the subscriber risks losing the number entirely, except in cases of proven network-related faults.
The new proposal is part of a broader regulatory review tied to the rollout of the Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS), a cross-sector platform designed to curb fraud linked to recycled, swapped and barred mobile numbers.
The NCC explained in the background section of the paper that TIRMS is a secure, regulatory-backed platform that helps prevent fraud stemming from churned, swapped, barred Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Numbers in Nigeria.
It said this platform will provide a uniform approach for all sectors in relation to the integrity and utilisation of registered MSISDNs on the Nigerian Communications network.
In addition to the 14-day notice requirement, the Commission also proposed that operators must submit details of all churned numbers to TIRMS within seven days of completing the churn process, strengthening oversight and accountability in the system.
The consultation process, which the Commission said is in line with Section 58 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, will remain open for 21 days from the date of publication. Stakeholders are expected to submit their comments on or before March 20, 2026.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The founder of Interswitch, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, has been honoured for pioneering Nigeria’s digital payments revolution.
At a ceremony in Lagos on Sunday, March 1, 2026, he was bestowed with the 2025 Silverbird Special Achievement Award for shaping Africa’s financial ecosystem.
The Silverbird Special Achievement Award recognises individuals whose innovation, vision, and sustained impact have left an indelible mark on society.
Mr Elegbe described the award as both humbling and symbolic of a broader journey, saying, “This honour represents far more than a personal milestone. It reflects the courage of a team that believed, long before it was fashionable, that Nigeria and Africa could build world-class financial infrastructure.”
“When we started Interswitch, we were driven by a simple but powerful idea that technology could democratise access, unlock opportunity, and enable commerce at scale.
“This recognition by Silverbird strengthens our resolve to continue building systems that empower businesses, support governments, and expand inclusion across the continent,” he said when he received the accolade at the Silverbird Man of the Year Awards ceremony attended by several other dignitaries, whose leadership and contributions continue to shape national development and industry transformation.
In 2002, Mr Elegbe established Interswitch after he was inspired by a bold conviction that technology could fundamentally redefine how value moves within and across economies.
Under his leadership, the company has evolved into one of Africa’s foremost integrated payments and digital commerce companies, powering financial transactions for governments, banks, businesses, and millions of consumers.
Today, much of Nigeria’s electronic payments ecosystem traces its foundational architecture to the systems and rails established under his leadership.
“Mitchell’s journey is inseparable from Nigeria’s digital payments evolution. His foresight and resilience helped establish foundational infrastructure at a time when the ecosystem was still nascent.
“This recognition affirms not only his personal legacy, but the broader impact of Interswitch in enabling commerce and strengthening financial systems across Africa,” the Executive Vice President and Group Marketing and Communications for Interswitch, Ms Cherry Eromosele, commented.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to urgently investigate major global technology companies over alleged abuses affecting Nigeria’s digital economy, media freedom, privacy rights and democratic integrity.
In a complaint addressed to the chief executive of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, the group accused Google, Meta (Facebook), Apple, Microsoft (Bing), X, TikTok, Amazon and YouTube of deploying opaque algorithms and leveraging market dominance in ways that allegedly undermine Nigerian media organisations, businesses, and citizens’ rights.
The complaint, signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, urged the commission to take measures necessary to urgently prevent further unfair market practices, algorithmic influence, consumer harm and abuses of media freedom, freedom of expression, privacy, and access to information.”
SERAP also asked the FCCPC to convene a public hearing to investigate allegations of algorithmic discrimination, data exploitation, revenue diversion, and anti-competitive conduct involving the tech giants.
According to the organisation, dominant digital platforms now act as private gatekeepers of Nigeria’s information and business ecosystem, wielding enormous influence over public discourse and market competition without sufficient transparency or regulatory oversight.
“Millions of Nigerians rely on these platforms for news, information and business opportunities,” SERAP stated, warning that opaque algorithms and offshore revenue extraction models pose both economic and human rights concerns.
The group argued that the alleged practices threaten media plurality, consumer protection, privacy rights, and the integrity of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections.
SERAP pointed to actions taken by the South African Competition Commission, which investigated Google over alleged bias against local media content, adding that the South African probe reportedly resulted in measures including algorithmic transparency requirements, compliance monitoring and financial remedies.
SERAP urged the FCCPC to take similar steps to safeguard Nigerian media and businesses.
The organisation maintained that if established, the allegations could amount to violations of Sections 17 and 18 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), which prohibit abuse of market dominance and anti-competitive conduct.
SERAP stressed that the FCCPC has statutory authority to investigate and sanction conduct that substantially prevents, restricts or distorts competition in Nigeria.
It also warned that failure by the Commission to act promptly could prompt the organisation to pursue legal action to compel regulatory intervention.
Citing concerns reportedly raised by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), SERAP said big tech companies have fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment, creating what it described as a structural imbalance of power that threatens the sustainability of professional journalism.
Among the allegations listed are: Algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determining content visibility, monetisation of Nigerian news content without proportionate reinvestment, offshore extraction of advertising revenues, limited discoverability of Nigerian websites and platforms, and lack of transparency in ranking and recommendation systems.
SERAP argued that declining revenues in the Nigerian media industry have led to shrinking newsrooms, closure of bureaus, and the emergence of news deserts, weakening journalism’s constitutional role in democratic accountability.
The organisation further warned that algorithmic opacity and data-driven micro-targeting could influence voter exposure to information ahead of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, raising concerns about electoral fairness and transparency.
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