Your bucket list of countries to visit would really be incomplete; if you didn’t have an African destination picked out. In fact, if royals like Kate Middleton and Prince William decided to get engaged whilst on holiday in Kenya; then you’re pretty much missing out on a lot if you still choose not to go there. There’s just so much wildlife to see; a heritage to explore; and culture to get to know about in Africa; so planning for a trip there would really be doing yourself a huge favor. However, there are a few things that you might struggle with. Read on to know about it.
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Digitalization In Africa
The only thing that you’ll probably have a bit of a struggle with especially; if you’re coming from the developed world is the lack of infrastructure in most African countries. Of course, some are doing better than others; so you’ll really have to adapt to the current situation based on what is currently going on in the country you’re in. In terms of Internet provision and availability; for example, the continent really isn’t doing as good as the rest of the world. The highest level of Internet penetration in the continent is around 80%; and this is in Kenya. Also, this statistic is only reflective of the situation in and around urban areas. Go further afield, for example, the more rural areas, and you’ll notice a stark difference in connectivity.
This, bundled with the fact that most African countries have some very stringent governments, means that you might face some problems with your privacy and connectivity once you land wherever in Africa you could be going. Uganda for example just recently imposed a social media tax in a bid to control what gets posted on social media. Imagine that; having to pay the government for what you post on your personal social media platforms.
VPN Use In Africa
Signing up with a Virtual Private Network provider is probably the one best thing that you could do to ensure that you enjoy an unregulated browsing experience during your African trip.
Why Use a VPN?
A VPN is able to secure your connection by encryption, and this makes it possible to go about your business online without having to worry about anyone tracking your activity. Even your ISP will remain clueless about what you’re up to online, making your online work private and confidential.
Web Anonymity
Another huge advantage that you get to enjoy courtesy of a VPN is your anonymity online. Using a VPN means that you’re able to conceal your identity to the sites that you decide to visit, and this is important especially if you’d like to gain access to sites that may have been blacklisted by the government of the country you could have been traveling to. This level of anonymity also grants you access to geo-restricted sites whose services would not be available to you if they found out you were based in Africa. Access to such sites is granted since you’ll have changed your IP address courtesy of connecting to a server-based in another country.
Choose the Right One!
All these are benefits that you stand to gain from a VPN service, but only if you choose the right one. The right one in this context is one that provides unquestionable online security and offers speeds that wouldn’t ordinarily force you to get used to what you’re not used to. Finding the perfect provider, of course, depends on what exactly your needs are, but to help narrow down your scope, we already have a few suggestions that we’re sure you’ll find quite helpful. Have a look at our shortlist of the best VPNs for Africa.
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Best VPN for Africa
1. NordVPN
- Double encryption for added security
- Automatic kill switch
- A variety of platform support
- Six simultaneous connections
- Zero log keeping policy of internet activities
- 3-Day free trial
2. ExpressVPN
- Unlimited Bandwidth with Ultra Speed
- Provides all VPN protocols OpenVPN (TCP, UDP), L2TP-IPsec, SSTP, and PPTP
- Dedicated VPN Apps for Android & iOS
- High-End Security with OpenVPN 256-bits
- Zero log keeping policy of internet activities
- 3 simultaneous connections
3. Surfshark
- AES 256-Bit Network Encryption
- Chrome Extension Available
- Kill-Switch functionality
- A variety of platform support
- Zero log keeping policy of internet activities
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
4. CyberGhost
- Uses AES 256 Encryption
- Supports OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP
- DNS & IP Leak Protection
- Uses 2048 Key & MD5 Authentication
- Zero log keeping policy of internet activities
- Up to 7 Simultaneous Connections
5. Private Internet Access
- Offers all Protocols PPTP, OpenVPN and L2TP/IPSec including SOCKS5 Proxy
- IPv6 Leak Protection & DNS Leak Protection
- Kill-Switch functionality
- Encrypted Wi-Fi Protection
- Zero log keeping policy of internet activities
- 10 simultaneous connections
Conclusion
Notwithstanding the many regulations that exist on how you get to use the Internet in many parts of Africa, this really isn’t a working excuse to cross it off of your list of places to visit. Just get a credible VPN to take care of your presence online and you’ll be good to go.