Advancing Sustainable Development Goal 8 in Africa: Does Ecological Stress Constrain the Digital Dividend?

ABSTRACT Digital transformation advanced economic expansion worldwide, whereas environmental degradation threatens to widen global inequality. Despite this tension, how ecological pressures moderate ICT's impact on inclusive growth (IG) in Africa remains unexplored. This study investigates this across 29 African economies (2004–2022) using the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR). Results indicate ICT drives IG, with stronger effects at higher inclusion levels. Ecological footprint (EF) constrains IG only at upper quantiles. However, the “digital dividend” is constrained by EF, particularly in high‐inclusion contexts. Disaggregated analysis reveals carbon and food footprints are persistent constraints across all levels, whereas built‐up and forest pressures bind primarily at mid‐to‐high quantiles. These findings challenge the notion of technology as an unconditional leveler, demonstrating that biophysical boundaries constrain ICT's inclusive returns. Achieving SDG 8 requires mitigating ecological deficits (SDG 13) to sustain digital synergy (SDG 9), ensuring environmental pressures do not erode inclusive returns in climate‐vulnerable regions.