It is no longer news that the African continent has incredible potential to move the needle of economic development through the integration of ICT. Today, the continent is coming to the steady realization that while access to mobile broadband is a priority and is being addressed, we can no longer afford to concentrate our efforts on access alone but look at the localized solutions we can innovate and enjoy from the connectivity we already have.
Though this calls for more infrastructure development to be realized through spectrum availability, it is generally agreed that a well-rounded ICT infrastructure will provide the capabilities to support the continent’s transformation. It is not just up to the mobile operators, but to a strong partnership formed between governments, academic institutions, businesses and people in the developing countries to prepare for an ICT-enabled transformation.
To be fair, two-thirds of Africa’s population will still be unconnected at the end of the decade, so it is not out of place for the world to focus on access as the single all-encompassing factor when making judgments on ICT development in Africa. However, this results in most discussions around connectivity focusing on this factor alone not noticing that Africa has already started utilizing what little connectivity is available in areas such as education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
You see, Africa, today, is one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 6 percent for the next five years and is projected to reach close to one billion mobile subscriptions by 2023. It is true that connectivity is directly correlated to economic growth, which is perhaps why governments around the region are so vested in amplifying the connectivity quotient. A study by Ericsson and Imperial College in 2017, showed a direct link between mobile broadband and GDP growth, where a 10 percent MBB adoption brings 0.6-2.8 percent economic growth.
ICT solutions have emerged as a vital tool to extend key services to underserved communities, complementing the efforts led by the governments and the private sector. As connectivity providers, it is our responsibility to extend an opportunity to the connected in our region for further education and offer them a platform to innovate for the betterment of society, using the connectivity that we already have.
In West Africa, we have witnessed the growth of talent in the tech space over the years and we are not just referring to the brilliant minds from these parts that now work with us here and all over the world. Ericsson has recognized this potential time and again, particularly through our innovation competitions open to young minds regionally and globally. In 2012, in the regional Ericsson Application Awards, a Senegalese candidate emerged as the victor providing the blueprint for a mobile solution that provides crowdsourced prices of fish.
More recently, Ericsson and an esteemed panel of judges recognized 10-year-old Kambinachi Kanu from Nigeria as the winner of Girls Who Innovate competition as part of girls in ICT day. Kambinachi’s winning idea comes in the form of an eLearning platform made possible through the donation of fairly-used tablets to children living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Nigeria. She wanted to ensure a safe learning environment for children whose classroom time might be limited, but who would still be able to have access to continuous communication with tutors.
Despite her very young age, Kambinachi is the kind of connected individual we should also focus on when it comes to our connectivity ambitions. In just a few years, she will be entering university and will be able to have a direct and massive impact on other Nigerian men and women through ICT, should she continue on this path.
Also this year, Ericsson’s annual international innovation competition was won by a joint team from two Senegalese universities. Team OwnLabs from Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar and Université de Ziguinchor in Senegalseeks to address the lack of school labs in Africa by offering physics, chemistry and biology classes in a virtual reality environment via a smartphone. It is simple solutions like these that have the most impact on Africa’s ICT integration and its impact on the growth of our economy.
While we are still a way away from completely eradicating digital inequality in our region – and in West Africa in particular – we are witnessing the growth of a new population, the digital natives, who are both connected and ambitious, and want to make a meaningful difference in their communities.
At Ericsson, we will continue to power forward with our dual role of enabling access and connectivity for the unconnected, while simultaneously empowering the connected to take the next steps and create a better tomorrow for the continent as a whole.
Nora Wahby
Wahby is head of Ericsson West Africa.
