Africa is transforming its digital economy but more is needed – Here’s why

In order for the continent’s digital economy to bloom, Africa needs innovative measures in place across all sectors of business and society.

It was with this goal in mind that the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) held a ministerial forum at AfricaCom 2022 this week.

The ATU was joined by ICT ministers and delegates from Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, and Zambia; and the panel discussed methods to engineer a “new sense of hope for Africa’s journey”.

The forum included the signing of a joint communique where all participants agreed that the development of the digital economy is measurable.

The theme was ‘Rise Stronger with Digital Economy: New Paths towards a Resilient Recovery and Growth’ and the panel underscored the importance of a digital economy for Africa’s resilient growth.

Africa’s digital economy

The only way to boost Africa’s digital economy was for all countries to enforce a top-level strategy and an implementation roadmap.

This roadmap should include clear objectives, indicators and milestones, as well as favourable policies to encourage investment and improve efficiency.

Once this is in place, the continent will see growth in terms of infrastructure, skills, digital ecology, and innovation to “create a fair business environment for all investors”.

The cost of digital transformation

Introducing the session, General Secretary of the ATU, John Omo said boosting Africa’s digital economy would also ensure job creation and the improvement of public services on the continent.

The optimisation of business services in Africa is vital but it would cost approximately $100 trillion to achieve full digital transformation, Omo said, citing the World Bank.

This is why, according to Omo, “no one – in the public or private sector – has the capacity to do this alone”.

“Through the power of investment and of regulation, together we can craft a framework that will give effect to the growth and development we want to see”, Omo added.

How to achieve digital transformation

Meanwhile, Huawei President of the Sub-Saharan Africa Region, Leo Chen, said there were three pillars to digital transformation in Africa:

• Digital infrastructure
• Digital services
• Digital skills

By focussing on these three elements, Chen said unconnected people and businesses in Africa will be connected to “fully unleash digital productivity”.

This, in turn, would develop the continent’s digital economy, “no matter what its definition is”, Chen said.

He said technology is Africa’s most important asset, and Huawei wants to “keep what matters most in Africa” by investing in people and skills transfer.

And to achieve this, Huawei and its partners across Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, and Zambia will focus on “training, certification, and joint innovation”.

How Africa is tranforming

Digital literacy in Malawi

In Malawi, according to Francis Bisika, Principal Secretary of e-Government, 2 300 km of fibre network has been installed across the country including remote rural areas.

He said Malawi was “addressing the issue of connectivity, especially in rural areas, we are also bringing fibre to the home, as well as business”.

Once this is in place, his team will focus on digital literacy.

They have already built a government data centre to accommodate businesses and individual’s requests for networking and storage”.

Zambia’s digital sector has authority

Meanwhile, in Zambia, the SMART Zambia Institute is “working to maximise the work of revenue-generating departments and to reduce duplications of work”.

Percy Chinyama, Smart Zambia’s national coordinator, said some 240 government services are available online.

This was only possible because Zambia’s digital sector “has been given authority”, Chinyama said.

In short, Zambia’s government understands the importance of integration across all ministries, departments and agencies; as well as the value of having technology incorporated across all systems in the agricultural and educational sectors.

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Namibia’s fight for climate change

In Namibia, “digitisation and energy efficiency go hand in hand”, according to Emma Theofelus, Deputy Minister of Information and Communication technology.

The ICT sectors cannot grow if climate change isn’t given equal importance.

“We are committed to working to increase levels of digitisation and reducing our impact on climate change”, Theofelus said.

Uganda’s focus on the youth

Another theme was that of the inclusion of youth in the continent’s digital transformation, with Uganda leading the innovation in this regard.

Given that 60% of Africa’s population is under 25, harnessing and retaining the innovation of its young people is critical for the future of Africa.

Ugandan Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Chris Baryomunsi, said unemployment remained a problem, despite the increase of tertiary education in the country.

His team is, therefore “working towards greater job creation for graduates”, Baryomunsi said.