I am delighted that this year’s African Union Summit is themed around the‘African Year of Human Rights,’ with a particular focus on the rights of women.

When women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive as well. 

However, even in an increasingly connected continent, women are being left behind. Our 2015 report on the gender gap in mobile access and usage highlighted that in Africa, 27 million fewer women than men own mobile phones and, that in some countries, such as Niger, women are 45 per cent less likely to own a phone than men, according to GSMA’s report, "Bridging the gender gap: Mobile access and usage in low and middle-income countries”. 

Tackling the gender gap in mobile phone ownershipis a critical topic that African governments and business leaders should be encouraged to address. 

Mobile has the power to transform lives. It can reduce poverty and provide people with access to services such as healthcare, education and financial services, often for the first time. The growth of mobile is nothing short of remarkable. More than 4.7 billion unique mobile subscribers all over the world are already benefitting from the social and economic advantages mobile connectivity brings, accounting for over7.7 billion connections. 

The issue is that while mobile connectivity isspreading quickly, it’s not spreading equally. GSMA research estimates that globally there are 200 million fewer women than men who own a mobile phone in low- and middle-income countries and that in Africa alone, there are still more than 300 million females who do not own mobile phones. Women are often disproportionately affected by barriers to both access and use of mobile, such as cost, cultural issues and lower levels of digital literacy. Even when women do own a mobile device, they are less likely to use it for transformative services such as mobile internet and mobile money, further widening the divide.

Closing the gender gap in mobile phone ownership and usage in Africa has the potential to unlock substantial benefits for women, as well as the mobile industry and broader economy. Mobile can help empower women, making them more connected, safer, and providing access information and life-enhancing opportunities, such as health information, financial services and employment opportunities. 

On an economic level, achieving parity in ownership and use between men and women could unlock an estimated $20 billion market opportunity for the African mobile industry in the period 2015-2020, GSMA report shows.

The gender gap is not going to close on its own.Its root causes are driven by a complex set of social, economic and cultural barriers. These obstacles can only be overcome with targeted intervention by all stakeholders, including policymakers across Africa, in close collaboration with theentire mobile industry. 

Working together, African leaders can make significant strides to redress this gender imbalance, supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, in particular, SDG 5: "to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

As part of the GSMA’s mission to deliver the opportunities of the internet to all citizens, in February we launched the Connected Women Commitment Initiative to help deliver digital and financial inclusion to millions more women in low- and middle-income countries by 2020, the report indicates. 

Mobile operators in Africa and beyond have pledged to increase the proportion of their female customers accessing the internet and mobile money services.

The quest to connect more women will rely on the whole ecosystem working together to tackle the accessibility and affordability of mobile ownership and use, and improve the usability of devices for less digitally literate people. There is also need to introduce services that are safe to use and discourage harassment and fraud, create products that meet women’s needs, and address underlying gender disparities and social norms that contribute to women experiencing these barriers more acutely than men. It’s not a simple task, but it is imperative that we meet the challenge head-on.

Women represent the most excluded segment of society in Africa.

Change is needed – it is needed now and mobile is key to that change. Africa has positive social and economic gains to make from championing the empowerment of women through digital and financial inclusion. 

The 27th African Union Summit in Kigali will provide a platform for what could be historic discussions about closing the digital gender divide and, ultimately, the future of the continent. 

The author is the Director General of GSMA