Digital Inclusion in Africa: Promise of Emancipation or Risk of a New Digital Divide: Introduction to the “Foundations of Inclusive Digital Development” Collection

Abstract

Digital transformation constitutes one of the major upheavals of the twenty-first century. On the African continent, it simultaneously appears as a promise of social and economic emancipation and as a potential factor in the reinforcement of existing inequalities. This paradox highlights the limits of approaches that equate digital progress with infrastructure expansion alone. Methodologically, the article adopts a qualitative and integrative analytical approach combining literature review, policy analysis, and field-based insights. Drawing on the analytical framework developed within the Foundations of Inclusive Digital Development collection, this article offers a critical examination of digital inclusion dynamics in Africa. It identifies three major structural imbalances: the gap between technological access and effective usage capacities; the overemphasis on material investments at the expense of human capital; and the risks associated with rapid yet socially incomplete digitalization. In response, the article argues for a paradigm shift that places digital competence, human mediation, and data sovereignty at the core of digital transformation. It advocates for the emergence of an African digital humanism grounded in pedagogy, institutional trust, and territorial anchoring, as a necessary condition for transforming digital technologies into a lever for shared prosperity rather than a renewed vector of exclusion.