LUSAKA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the World Bank on Monday launched a project aimed at empowering about 180 million people in eastern and southern Africa with access to the internet and provide digitally enabled services to 100 million people over the next eight years.

The program, worth 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, was expected to benefit various groups, including women, refugees, host communities, private sector firms and public sector entities, according to a statement released following the launch of the program in Zambia.

It will employ a multiphase programmatic approach to pool financing across multiple recipients to promote universal digital access, productive use and digital market integration as part of efforts to tackle challenges faced in the sub-region, the statement said.

The program will create opportunities for businesses to expand and innovate across the region by reducing market fragmentation and fostering a more integrated digital landscape, said Isabel Neto, the digital development practice manager for eastern and southern Africa at the World Bank.

COMESA Secretary-General Chileshe Kapwepwe said that the need to find innovative ways to catalyze private sector investments, enhance the policy and regulatory frameworks, project support preparations, gender dimensions and climate change are all part of the program's agenda.

According to the statement, the first phase of the program includes a 10 million-U.S.-dollar grant for the COMESA secretariat and 780 million U.S. dollars in financing for operations in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Malawi.

The program was expected to bring together over 15 countries, regional economic communities, and development partners to achieve a common goal of achieving digital access and leverage it for productive use.

According to the statement, only 64 percent of the population in eastern and southern Africa was covered by high-speed internet and less than half or about 24 percent were using the internet as of 2023. Enditem

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