Meta launches Sub-Saharan Africa Economic Impact Report highlighting growth of digital economy

By:  Nana Appiah Acquaye  

The Vice President for Public Policy, Africa, Middle East, and Turiye at Meta, Kojo Boakye has announced the launch of Meta’s Economic Impact Report for Sub-Saharan Africa, outlining the growing influence of digital platforms and infrastructure investments across the region.

According to the report, conducted by Public First, Sub-Saharan Africa’s digital economy is projected to expand from approximately $130 billion today to $300 billion by 2035.

The report highlights the role of Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Meta AI, in supporting commerce, digital creativity, communication and community engagement across African markets.

Country-specific reports were also launched in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire, providing insights into the impact of Meta’s investments and digital tools within each market.

Boakye noted that African developers are increasingly customizing Meta’s open-source Llama AI models in local languages to support sectors such as education and agriculture, while small businesses are using WhatsApp Business to expand into regional markets and creators are leveraging Instagram to reach global audiences.

During the Nigeria report launch held in Abuja, Meta disclosed that its infrastructure investments generated an estimated $16 billion in economic value across Sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, with Nigeria identified as a major beneficiary.

The event also featured the unveiling of GovGuide Nigeria, a multilingual AI-powered chatbot developed by Publica AI using Meta’s Llama models in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

The chatbot is designed to provide Nigerians with access to government service information in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba through voice and text interfaces.

Meta also launched the Meta Transform with AI Programme, an initiative aimed at helping medium-sized businesses adopt artificial intelligence tools to improve customer engagement, operational efficiency and revenue generation.

The programme is being implemented in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria and FATE Foundation.

Boakye described the current momentum within Africa’s digital ecosystem as significant, stating that the region is increasingly creating and capturing opportunities in technology, innovation and digital transformation.