(Ecofin Agency) - The Malagasy government has announced plans to connect more than 1,600 villages to telecommunications services in partnership with Chinese tech giant Huawei. This initiative is aimed at speeding up the country’s digital transformation. The project was revealed last week by Stéphanie Delmotte, the Minister of Digital Development, Posts, and Telecommunications, during a meeting with Huawei.

This new initiative will follow the "Digital Menabe Project," which aims to connect 200,000 people in the Menabe region, with a partnership agreement already signed with Huawei. The government also aims to cover 95% of rural areas. For example, Minister Delmotte praised Huawei's "Rural Star" solutions, which are "technologically advanced, provide extensive coverage, are cost-effective, easy to deploy, and well-suited for large-scale implementation."

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in 2023, only 33% of Madagascar's population of about 31.2 million had access to a 4G network. In comparison, 88.5% of the population had access to 2G, and 68.2% to 3G, while 5G coverage was at just 6.12%. The ITU also estimates that only 20.6% of the population uses the internet. Furthermore, 38.1% of Malagasy people own a mobile phone, reflecting the mobile phone penetration rate in the country.

"We must start by improving network coverage in remote areas. In collaboration with key players in the telecommunications sector like Huawei, we have launched a series of innovative initiatives to ensure no region is left behind in the digital world," said the Minister.

However, it’s worth noting that the Minister did not specify the timeline for the village connectivity program. Moreover, beyond infrastructure deployment and expanding network coverage, the Malagasy government will need to address barriers to the effective adoption of these services. These challenges include access to devices (phones and smartphones), high service costs, and a lack of digital skills.