Internet Adoption and Usage Patterns in Africa: Evidence from Cameroon
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WORKING PAPERS Internet adoption and usage patterns in Africa: Evidence from Cameroon Thierry PENARD1 Nicolas POUSSING 2 Blaise MUKOKO3 Georges Bertrand TAMOKWE4 Université de Rennes 1, CREM-CNRS & Marsouin, France1 CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg2 Université de Buea, Cameroun3 Université Douala, Cameroun4 Working Paper No 2013-22 November 2013 CEPS/INSTEAD Working Papers are intended to make research findings available and stimulate comments and discussion. They have been approved for circulation but are to be considered preliminary. They have not been edited and have not been subject to any peer review. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect views of CEPS/INSTEAD. Errors and omissions are the sole responsibility of the author(s). INTERNET ADOPTION AND USAGE PATTERNS IN AFRICA: EVIDENCE FROM CAMEROON Thierry PENARD UNIVERSITE DE RENNES 1 (FRANCE), CREM-CNRS & MARSOUIN Nicolas POUSSING CEPS/INSTEAD (LUXEMBOURG) & CREM Blaise MUKOKO UNIVERSITÉ DE BUEA (CAMEROUN) & GRETA Georges Bertrand TAMOKWE UNIVERSITÉ DE DOUALA (CAMEROUN) & GRETA ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to understand what factors stimulate or hinder the adoption and usage of the Internet in Africa. We adopt a micro-econometric approach and use household survey data from Cameroon. Our results show that Internet users in Cameroon tend to be young, educated and in employment. The probability of using the Internet is also higher for male, as well as for English-speaking and computer savvy individuals. Moreover, Internet users are more likely to have family abroad. We also find that Internet usage patterns differ across gender, age and education. For instance, young generations (below 21) tend to favor leisure usage (games) while older generations are more likely to use the Internet to search (local and international) information. Highly educated and computer savvy users are also more likely to use the Internet for professional purpose (information search) and less likely to have entertainment usage. These results provide evidence of digital divide in the Internet access, but also in the usage patterns on the African continent. KEYWORDS: Internet Adoption, Internet Usage, Digital Divide, Africa, survey data, empirical analysis. JEL code: L86, L96, O33, O57 1 1. Introduction In 2013, the rate of Internet use throughout Africa is estimated at 16% compared with 75% in Europe (source: ITU). The gap in Internet use rates between developed countries and the African continent has tended to widen in recent years. This "digital divide" has become exacerbated as regards the quality of Internet access. Most users in developed nations have a broadband connection at home whereas online speeds experienced in Africa are still very slow and impede access to certain uses requiring large bandwidth, e.g. video streaming. The objective of this paper is to understand the process of Internet diffusion in Africa. What factors stimulate or hinder the adoption and usage of the Internet? Are these factors similar to those observed in studies conducted in developed countries? To address these questions, we adopt a micro-econometric approach and use household survey data from Cameroon. The survey was conducted on a representative sample of 2,650 residents of the country's three major cities (Douala, Buea and Limbe) in 2008. Cameroon1 with its 19.5 million of inhabitants offers several interesting features to study Internet diffusion and digital divide issues. First, Cameroun has a GDP per capita that is close to the average GDP per capita in Central Africa. Secondly, Cameroon has a weakly competitive telecommunications sector. Until 2012 it was one of the few countries in Africa with only two competing mobile networks, MTN and Orange2. That explains why the mobile penetration rate in Cameroon (45%) is below the African average.3 Fixed-line penetration is also extremely low (3%), and Internet penetration is about 4% in 2012. The price of broadband Internet connection (by optic fiber or satellite) is only affordable for a small percentage of Cameroon households and businesses. Most of the time, individuals have access to the Internet at their workplace or in Internet café. Our survey allows to identify the profile of Internet users and to characterize the different patterns of Internet usage. Goldfarb and Prince (2008) showed that in the U.S.A 1 Cameroon is bordered by Gabon, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Chad and Equatorial Guinea. 2 The entry of the fixed-line incumbent Camtel has been delayed due to some controversy and legal issue on its license. The third mobile network license was finally awarded to the Vietnamese operator Viettel in 2012. 3 Third generation (3G) mobile service has still not been introduced apart from Camtel’s EV-DO fixed-wireless service. 2 there is strong inequality in Internet usage. Disparity in online usage is mainly explained by differences in Internet users’ skills, social support and opportunity cost of time (see also Drouard (2010) and Coneus and Schleife (2010) for similar evidence in Europe). Do Internet usage patterns in Cameroon exhibit similar disparity? Our results show that Internet users in Cameroon tend to be young, educated and in employment. The probability of using the Internet is also higher for male, as well as for English-speaking and computer savvy individuals. Moreover, Internet users are more likely to have family abroad. We also find that Internet usage patterns differ across gender, age, and education. For instance, young generations (below 21) tend to favor leisure usage (games) while older generations are more likely to use the Internet to search (local and international) information. Highly educated and computer savvy users are also more likely to use the Internet for professional purpose (information search) and less likely to have entertainment usage. These results suggest that making Internet use affordable and accessible in African countries like Cameroon cannot be the only response to the existing digital divide. It is also important to educate Internet users and help them to improve their online experience and increase their potential benefits from using the Internet. The next section of this paper will review the empirical studies performed on the determinants of Internet adoption in African countries. Section 3 will present the survey completed in Cameroon in 2008, along with the variables introduced into our econometric models. Section 4 will then comment on econometric results relative to Internet adoption and usage patterns. The final section will conclude on the policy implications. 2. Literature review The majority of studies aimed at examining the determinants behind adopting and using the Internet have focused on the developed world. A handful of studies however have sought to explain the discrepancies in penetration rates between developed and emerging countries (Andres et al. 2008, Beilock and Dimitrova 2003, Chinn and Fairlie 2010, Kiiski and Pohjola 2002, Liu and San 2006, Madden et al. 2004, Mocnik and Sirec 2010, Quibria et al. 2003, Wuvanna and Leiter 2008). The main explanatory factors for Internet penetration are per capita 3 income, average level of education (i.e. human capital), degree of competition among Internet Service Providers, and the density and quality of telecommunication infrastructure. For example, based on data from over 100 countries, Beilock and Dimitrova (2003) obtained a positive correlation between the rate of Internet penetration on the one hand and per capita income, rate of computer ownership and density of landlines on the other hand. These authors also found that Internet use is more widespread in countries that respect civil rights and liberties. Using more recent data, Chinn and Fairlie (2010) derived similar results; in particular, they demonstrated that the gap in Internet penetration between developed and emerging countries could be explained by the quality of the legal and institutional environment. Wide income disparities within a country also impede Internet diffusion (Mocnik and Sirec 2010). Furthermore, Wuvanna and Leiter (2008) reported that the command of English in a country exerts a positive influence on Internet adoption. This finding is explained by the relative abundance of English language content on the Web, thus enhancing its appeal to English-speaking populations4. Some research has also focused on the decision to have an Internet connection at home. This decision is positively correlated with household income, level of education attained by the head of household and the presence of children (Chaudhuri et al. 2005, Drouard 2011, Ghazzi and Vergara 2010). Research efforts have also been directed to the determinants of Internet usage (Goldfarb and Prince 2008, Drouard 2010, Coneus and Schleife 2010). These studies show that socioeconomic factors (age, income) exert a strong influence on the decision of using the Internet, but play no role in the selection of online usage (e-mail, games, social media, e- banking, etc.). Internet usage patterns depend to a much greater extent on time availability and computer skills. The body of studies focusing on African countries is less extensive. But the articles by Roycroft and Anantho (2003), Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and Lal (2005), and more recently Pénard et al. (2012) can be mentioned. Roycroft and Anantho (2003) found that regarding the expansion of Internet accessibility on the African continent, the most significant factors were the level of economic development, the country's Anglophone