POLICY BRIEF - Advancing Last-Mile Digital Inclusion for Socioeconomic Transformation in South Africa

Digital inclusion is foundational to South Africa’s socioeconomic transformation. As public services, education, health systems, labour markets, and civic participation increasingly move online, unequal access to affordable connectivity, device costs, energy reliability, repair and transport risks deepening existing inequalities. Energy reliability, including load-shedding and access to electricity, is a binding constraint for last-mile connectivity and device use. Ensuring that digital transformation reaches the last mile is therefore essential to advancing equity, human rights, and sustainable development.