For countries across Africa, data drives daily life. Businesses communicate with customers on WhatsApp, mobile-money transfers keep payments flowing, and citizens rely on mobile internet to access critical services and stay connected to family and community life.
The Most Expensive Data in Africa
In early 2020, the cost of mobile data in Malawi made these everyday interactions prohibitively expensive. A single gigabyte (GB) cost $27.41, around 60 per cent of the average monthly income, making Malawi the most expensive country in Africa for mobile data.[_] This priced most Malawians out of regular internet use and limited their access to the digital world.
In 2020, Malawi had the largest discrepancy between the real cost of data and what is affordable of any country in Africa
Source: CableUK Research Unit, World Bank, Deutsche Welle
The impact on daily life was apparent. With data costs far exceeding internationally accepted affordability benchmarks,[_] internet use became rationed and uneven. Many Malawians were forced to limit connectivity to essential interactions only, relying on basic messaging rather than full online engagement.
This came at a critical moment for social and economic participation. Digital public services were expanding, the use of mobile money was growing and young entrepreneurs were looking to build businesses online. High data prices constrained participation, reinforcing existing inequalities between urban and rural communities, and between higher- and lower-income households. In practice, high data prices turned the internet from a public utility into a luxury, deepening Malawi’s digital divide.
“Data Must Fall”
In response to this, civil society groups, digital-rights activists and ordinary internet users launched the “Data Must Fall” campaign to protest high mobile-internet costs and advocate for affordable internet access across the country.[_]
The high data prices have been attributed to several factors including the cost of infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, as well as a lack of market competition.[_] But, as the Data Must Fall campaign highlighted, underlying all of this was the question of policy. The government had the power to make data more affordable through policy decisions that would help drive economic growth. In doing so, Data Must Fall became a clear inflection point, elevating affordability onto the government’s agenda and creating momentum for action.
The Path to Affordability
Stepping up to the challenge, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) started mapping a series of interconnected affordability reforms, with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) operating as an embedded partner. TBI supported policy design, regulatory sequencing and structured engagement with operators and regional counterparts. As an embedded partner, TBI was able to support MACRA into coordinated dialogue and strategic actions in pursuit of reforms that strengthened the sector.
Key measures included:
Revising spectrum and licensing frameworks to reduce operating costs for mobile-network operators, with the expectation that savings would be passed on to consumers.
Working with neighbouring countries and regional partners to reduce cross-border data-transit charges, reducing the cost of connecting Malawi to international fibre-optic networks.
Supporting wider market reforms, including encouraging greater competition and backing measures to make smartphones more affordable, so that lower data prices would translate into meaningful access for ordinary Malawians.
To introduce market competition, Malawi became one of the first countries in Africa to license Starlink, bringing high-speed satellite-internet access, even to hard-to-reach areas. TBI worked directly with MACRA and Starlink to fast-track approvals, deploy connectivity to key strategic public sites, and ensure the model could scale affordably and sustainably.
In parallel, under the World Bank-supported Malawi Digital Foundations Project, the government deployed free public WiFi hotspots in schools, health centres and public markets, further helping to bridge the digital divide.[_]
The Results
Together, these reforms have driven a dramatic fall in data prices. By 2025, 1GB of mobile data cost just $0.38, positioning Malawi as the most affordable market in Africa after a 99 per cent price reduction.[_]
Malawi has also recorded more than 2 million new mobile users in recent years, alongside more than 10 million active mobile-money users.[_] This rapid growth reflects how more affordable connectivity is translating into everyday use, enabling households to communicate, transact and engage with digital services as part of daily life.
Beyond the numbers lie the stories of transformation. Affordable data has become a backbone of Malawi’s emerging digital economy, opening new opportunities and improving everyday life for millions of citizens. Cheaper internet has enabled small-scale entrepreneurs to grow their businesses online. What was previously limited to local networks is now connected to a much wider market, simply because being online is no longer prohibitively expensive.[_]
Students have also reported easier and better access to educational content and research materials,[_] while studies have shown that community health workers are increasingly relying on mobile connectivity to report cases, coordinate referrals, access clinical guidance and communicate with supervisors in real time.[_]
By 2025, Malawi was the highest-ranked sub-Saharan African country in global comparisons of average data prices
Source: Best Broadband Deals
Lessons for the Region
Malawi’s experience shows that treating affordable internet as a foundational public utility has a multitude of benefits for people and the economy. The impact becomes especially clear when travelling across the region.
In Zambia, 1GB of data costs around $8, while in Zimbabwe, it’s as high as $43.75, more than one hundred times the average cost in Malawi.[_] The difference is not abstract; you feel it immediately when you cross the border. In Malawi people use data freely. In other markets, the price of data forces entrepreneurs to carefully ration connectivity, limiting their ability to advertise, communicate with customers and expand beyond local networks.
Bringing data prices to affordable levels in Malawi opened the door to digital becoming part of everyday life – supporting commerce, education, health care and access to government services.
But digital transformation also requires both infrastructure investment and regulatory innovation. Expanding networks must be matched by reforms to pricing, competition and market design.
The Malawi case also highlights the value of embedded, long-term technical support. TBI’s model of working alongside government institutions, supporting policy design, regulatory reform and implementation capacity, has helped translate political intent into delivery. This reform model, combining regulatory courage, market competition and sustained technical partnership, offers a practical blueprint that can be adapted and applied across the region.