Internet revolution to sweep Africa. The internet is on the point of revolutionising the economy in many African countries. According to a survey carried out by McKinsey consultants, the internet could effectively contribute up to $300 billion to Africa's annual GDP from now until 2025, despite the fact that this contribution currently stands at just $18 billion a year. Internet could also help to improve productivity to the tune of $300 billion in certain key sectors. These figures correspond to the most optimistic estimates (10% of GDP throughout the whole continent in 2025) and are based on the youthful demographics of the population and the enormous potential for mobile phones in Africa, where 67 million smart phones have already been sold (this figure will grow to 360 million by 2025). There are, however, significant disparities in the different countries: in Senegal, the internet has already contributed 3.3% to GDP, 2.9% in Kenya, 2.2% in Morocco, whilst in Mozambique, however, this figure is just 1.6%, in South Africa 1.4%, in Ivory Coast 1.3% and just 0.8% in Nigeria. It is almost inexistent in Ethiopia (0.6%). There are also significant disparities between the major metropolitan areas, where more than half of the inhabitants have internet access, and the rest of the population. Some countries like Kenya, are carrying out proactive policies in the infrastructure development field. Fibre-optic developments promoted by private operators such as Maroc Telecom and the emergence of technology start-ups are beginning to emerge throughout the whole continent. (IL/trans.fl)