IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

In Summary

• The African Union has set an ambitious goal of connecting everyone on the continent to the internet by 2030.
• All stakeholders must all pitch in, failing which digital economy remains a pipe dream.

Africa’s digital transformation is no longer a distant vision – it’s happening now, with data centres at the heart of this evolution.

As these centres drive innovation and economic growth across the continent, they are positioning Africa as a formidable force in the global digital landscape, writes Ilana van Schalkwyk, Sector Lead for Information and Communications Technology at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking.

Africa faces many challenges on its path to becoming a global economic competitor. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Africa’s development can either be a massive barrier to advancement – or, the spark that lights the fire of innovation and investment across the continent.

There’s no denying that for most of the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed digital adoption forward in vast leaps in a very short space of time. What the pandemic has also made apparent is the disparities of infrastructure across Africa, as well as gaps in adoption and policy. It’s now a necessity, rather than a luxury to fast-track the adoption of technology. By increasing productivity and facilitating innovation, technology is a key sector for the economic development of any country, and those who have embarked on their digital transformation journeys are better equipped to handle the obstacles that arise.

Africa is a world leader in areas like mobile banking and money, with new opportunities opening up in digital media and ecommerce. Speakers at IADS 2018 identified affordable access, shared infrastructure, and forward-looking regulation as key requisites to fully realise Africa’s digital future.

Ecommerce and content giants of the world such as Amazon, Netflix and Alibaba are not active players in the Africa market as yet, which leaves the door open to local players to dominate this space.

Health and healthcare have always been a huge concern in Africa, especially when doctors and hospitals can get isolated in remote areas where care is often most needed.

Africa’s use of the Internet and technology is not only lagging behind the rest of the globe, but the continent is also massively under-reaching its full potential which could see a US$300 billion (R3.1 trillion) sector emerge.

This is according to research conducted by McKinsey & Company, looking at what could be achieved in Africa should the continent close the Internet gap in the digital divide.

A meeting on ICT Best Practices held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and which was co-sponsored by the ADB says lack of support for implementation and maintenance if a proper skill in ICT is hindering the development of ICT on the continent.

ICT Africa has announced the creation of an ICT in Africa events page on their website.

With the booming ICT industry in Africa, comes an increasing need for industry players to get together and share developments, challenges and lessons learnt by others within Africa and elsewhere in the world. In order to successfully connect African countries to one another and to the rest of the world, it is imperative that governments, international institutions and national operators deploying ICT networks throughout Africa collaborate on how to connect their individual networks to one another. There is no better place to foster such collaborations than through ICT events that take place throughout the African continent.

Speaking at this year’s AGRIC showcase in Accra, Mr Davis said Africa still has about 600 million hectares of potentially suitable land which hasn`t been put to use yet”, adding that this undeveloped land if appropriately utilized with the use of technological applications by farmers in the sub region could go a long way to solve some of the world`s challenges.

He also said the agricultural sector which was the main driver of the economy could exploit the full potential of information (ICT) by Encouraging and putting in to full use by farmers to improve their value chains thereby reducing the risk of supply to its minimal level.

Dr Osei Darkwa, President of the Ghana Technology University (GTUC), who made the statement during the Second GTUC Conference in Accra recently, asked the experts to explore opportunities in the mobile communications sector to speed up development.

The conference was on the theme: “Applications of Mobile Communications in Africa: Prospects and Challenges”.

The Nigerian born scientist who has spend not less 20 years experience in software research and product development related to human-computer interaction stated this yesterday while speaking to Nigerian IT Journalists in Nairobi, Kenya shortly after a tour of IBM research lab situated at the Catholic Univeristy, Estern Africa.

That was the message from the head of the Wits School of Education, Professor Frances Faller, at the graduation ceremony for 27 educators from across Africa who successfully completed the Certificate in ICT in Education for Policy Implementers.

In a bid to make sure that the African continent becomes connected via ICT, the intergovernmental commercial organisation-Rascom has said it would partner with other international institutes to implement the project.

“With the second satellite launched recently, we are looking to partner with NEPAD in an e-learning project aiming at providing internet connectivity to more than 600,000 in Africa,” Mr Jones Killimbe, the director general of the Regional African Satellite Communications Organisation (Rascom) said at a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) newly released predictions for the year ahead, with the global advisory services firm also expecting ICT's influence on economic development and social progress throughout Africa to be particularly pronounced in the next 12 months.

Leaders in ICT and government representatives gathered at the e-Governance Forum to find solutions to the various challenges facing African governments.

Many of these pilots show promise, but their rapid growth also poses challenges: At an eHealth conference held in Nairobi in May and co-organized by the World Bank, health professionals and development partners discussed how to identify the best of these evolving tools and bring them to scale.

Uganda is one example of a country where eHealth start-ups have developed quickly.

Addressing the ICT Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Tuesday, Motlanthe said only 5.7% of Africans had access to the internet and while the continent made up 14% of the world's population, only 3.6% of the world's internet subscribers were from Africa.

"We believe that strategic investment in ICT will allow Africa to increasingly play a role in the development of new applications and technological innovations that are relevant for the needs of our continent and that this will ensure a continued multiplier effect on economic growth," he said.

Promoting faster telephone and internet connectivity for rural communities in the 18 Commonwealth African countries – that is the aim of a Commonwealth Connects project known as the Commonwealth African Rural Connectivity Initiative (COMARCI).

The £1.2 million project was launched in Kampala, Uganda, on 22 November 2007 on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, with a £50,000 seed funding from the Government of Malta through the Commonwealth Connects programme. It involves collaboration with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the International Telecommunications Union.

A delegation of 42 officials participating in the mid-career training programme for mid-level civil servants from multiple countries in the African region visited Chandigarh's Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC).

The delegation was given an insightful tour of the ICCC, which serves as the nerve centre for various Smart City initiatives in Chandigarh. During the visit, they witnessed live demonstrations of several citizen-centric services.