Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States have thrown their weight behind the use of mobile phone data (MPD) to strengthen official statistics and policy formulation, following a high-level workshop held from 19 to 22 May 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The four-day workshop brought together key stakeholders from national statistics offices, mobile network operators, regulators, and policymakers across the SADC region to explore practical strategies for using MPD in governance and development planning.
Representing Zimbabwe, the current Chair of SADC, James Mutandwa Madya from the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, called for the integration of mobile phone data into national statistical systems. He said accurate, real-time data could drive regional infrastructure development, economic integration, and sustainable growth in line with the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020–2030 and Vision 2050.
He urged countries to harmonise data collection practices and support digital initiatives such as the Digital Inclusion for All Framework, the SADC Digital Transformation Strategy, and the Big Data Framework.
SADC’s Senior ICT Programme Officer, Dr. George Ah-Thew, noted the impressive participation from both public and private sector actors. He said the region’s 95.2% mobile penetration rate— with seven countries already above 100% — makes it well-positioned to leverage mobile phone data for tracking population mobility, transport planning, disaster response, tourism flows, and migration patterns.
Dr. Ah-Thew said while businesses have long tapped into mobile data for market insights, governments are now moving to unlock its potential for cost-effective, real-time data production. He encouraged Member States to treat MPD as a strategic public data asset that can enhance national statistical systems.
World Bank Senior Economist, Maria Gabriela Farfan Betran, said the institution is backing the initiative through its Global Data Facility (GDF), which has launched a new support window for MPD-driven statistical development. She noted that seed grants will be awarded to selected countries in September 2025 to help develop institutional frameworks for MPD integration, following Expressions of Interest submitted by the end of June.
Speaking at the closing session, Deepchandsingh Jagai, SADC Senior Programme Officer for Statistics, urged national governments to embrace innovation and modernise data ecosystems by combining MPD with traditional methods. He said this hybrid approach enables faster production of statistics and reduces operational costs.
The workshop featured intensive training sessions, technical discussions, and the creation of country-specific action plans. Participants also explored use cases in AI for national statistics, internet usage measurement, welfare monitoring, and real-time population movement tracking.
Discussion about this post