Incredible wildlife, ancestral traditions, breathtaking landscapes and many contrasts, make Africa an unique experience that many travelers crave to discover. However, the region has been also devastated by war and it is still struggling with socio-economic issues that prevent development. Corruption, repressive governments and violence are some of the challenges that Africa continues facing. In spite of that, technology has been embraced in many countries, which has contributed to the improvement of the infrastructure. For instance, internet has offered new opportunities for business and has allowed people to get access to information in a convenient way.
While Africa is the second largest continent in size, internet users there represent only 10% of the total of people connecting to the web around the world. Kenya is the leading nation in terms of the number of internet users in Africa, with over 80% of the population using internet (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm). It is followed by Mauritius and Seychelles, which are also two of the safest and most stable countries in the continent according to the Human Freedom Index (https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index). In fact, Mauritius is classified as Free by the Freedom House, something that unfortunately cannot be said about most African nations.
Given the controls imposed on the internet that affect many countries in Africa, and the threats to online privacy and freedom, using a VPN is highly recommended. From laws that aim to monitor social media activity to unclear regulations that seek to target hate speech, but that could result on blocks to unrelated content, there are many issues that could prevent you from enjoying a truly free and secure online experience in Africa. Accessing internet can be difficult enough, but even when you manage to get connected, you may come across restrictions and will also need to protect your connection from cyber criminals who may attempt to get access to your information, particularly if you use public WiFi hotspots.
If you live in Africa or are preparing to go there, considering a VPN is a good idea since it will allow you to enhance the security of your internet traffic and get around restrictions. A VPN is a valuable tool for privacy and it also gives you the possibility of defeating censorship, as well as geographical restrictions. In many African countries, bloggers and those who post opinions on social media that are against the government, could be a risk or being attacked or prosecuted. In order to defend your freedom of speech, your privacy and get access to a wider selection of content, using a VPN in Africa is crucial. Here are the services that we highly recommend due to their high quality and suitability for Africa.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is offers excellent speeds and it is one of the best options for those who want to defeat online restrictions. It is highly effective when it comes to defeating blocks that prevent you from accessing media content and it works with popular streaming services. ExpressVPN has servers in over 90 countries including locations in Africa like South Africa, Algeria and Egypt. If you need to connect to servers in Africa, but enhancing the security of your connection, these are good options. ExpressVPN protects your internet traffic from threats and it has high quality software. No logs of your activities are kept.
PureVPN
PureVPN has an extensive selection of servers located around the world and it also supports good speeds that will allow you to access content without issues. They have servers in 141 servers, including over 30 servers in Africa in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Kenya, Cape Verde, Morocco, South Africa, Seychelles, Nigeria and more. PureVPN is also a secure solution that adds a strong level of encryption to protect your connection from eavesdroppers, hackers, spies and other threats. They don’t keep logs of your online activities.
NordVPN
When it comes to enjoying high security and a strong level of privacy, NordVPN is one of the bets options available since it doesn’t keep any logs. It also uses top encryption that will defend your information from those who try to access it without authorization. NordVPN supports a good selection of features designed to bring your privacy and security to a very high level. For instance, you can opt for their double VPN feature to add an extra level of protection for your data. NordVPN has servers in over 50 countries including South Africa and Egypt.
VyprVPN
VyprVPN is another provider that will help you to get around blocks and to keep your online traffic safe when you are in Africa. It applies strong encryption to your connection, which helps you to protect it from cyber criminals and more. Even if you are using public WiFi hotspots, you will be able to enjoy peace of mind because your personal information won’t be compromised. VyprVPN has an exclusive technology known as Chameleon, which can get around firewalls and Deep Packet Inspection. This provider doesn’t keep logs of your online activities, and it has servers in over 70 global locations including Algeria and Egypt.