Our fact sheet series, Digital infrastructure: implications for Africa’s environment, agriculture, and food systems, aims to expose the material realities of digitalisation, unpack the power relations behind it, and support civil society, communities, and movements in navigating and responding to the environmental and socio-political impacts of Africa’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem.

Digital infrastructure in Africa: deconstructing the myth of dematerialisation and unveiling corporate power

Africa’s digital revolution promises connectivity and progress, but it comes with high hidden costs. Beneath the surface lies a complex web of resource-intensive infrastructure, environmental degradation, and corporate power dynamics. From submarine cables and satellites to data centres, digitalisation demands vast amounts of energy, water, land, and critical minerals, raising urgent questions about sustainability, resource exploitation, and data sovereignty. ​

Fact sheet 1 uncovers the material realities of Africa’s digital expansion and encourages Africans to question its far-reaching impacts on the continent’s environment, agriculture, and food systems. ​