Somalia has the most affordable mobile internet in Africa and the seventh in the world this year. This places the country above all its Eastern African neighbours including Kenya according to a new study.

The horn of Africa nation has for so long been perceived by the rest of the world as a war-ravaged and failed economy. However, the state has been gradually laying the foundation of its digital transformation journey. According to a survey conducted by British technology research firm Cable, Somalia is actually overtaking most countries right now.

“Somalia has the cheapest data in Africa where 1GB of data costs Sh53 on average from Sh662 last year, it is seventh in the world. In East Africa, Tanzania is the leading country with citizens paying Sh78 per GB for the service,” states the report.

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Abdiaziz Duwane Issak, the Director-General at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Technology in Somalia highlighted that the low cost of mobile data is mostly attributed to the improved regulation of the country’s communication sector.

“The National Communications Act, which was passed in 2017 paved the way for further development and increase of investment for the telecom industry. A unified licensing framework was also developed which protects the competitiveness of the market and encourages more investment in the sector,” he said in an interview with Business Daily.

He added that another factor has been the reduction of taxes in order to attract more investment and innovation. These factors have been effective in establishing a more competitive market and a high certainty for more investment in the digital sector. Subsequently, the consumer’s choice is increased to more efficient low-cost services provided by the operators.

Meanwhile, Kenya dubbed the “Silicon Savannah” lags behind at ninth in Africa and 41st globally.