Technology key to reducing inequality, BAS 2020 hears

The South African government is ramping up policies aimed at using digital technology to reduce inequality, create opportunities and reap the benefits of information and communication technology for a post-pandemic social and economic revival.

This was the message from Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Service, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. The minister was speaking at the Better Africa Summit at AfricaCom2020, the largest telco, media, and technology event in Africa, which took place from November 9-12.

Ndabeni-Abrahams said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution Commission had already made several key recommendations. These included a commitment to invest in human capital, the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence Institute, setting up a platform for advanced manufacturing and new materials and supporting data security data to enable innovation.

Ndabeni-Abrahams said COVID-19 had confirmed the government’s belief in data as a catalyst for digital transformation and economic growth through digital technologies and innovations.

Echoing the ministers sentiment, Huawei President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Leo Chen, pointed to the pandemic triggering a long-term shift in people’s behaviour to stay online.

“We recently saw new demands for work-from-home, online shopping and home schooling emerge, with data traffic soaring over 40% and digital services booming across the Sub Saharan Africa region. We are grateful to see that African governments have responded quickly to the crisis by enhancing the role of ICT in the fight and recovery, whether through releasing temporary spectrum or policy recommendations,” said Chen.

Also speaking at AfricaCom, Sharoda Rapeti, a non-executive partner at Delta Partners consulting firm, said telcos could be growth accelerators in building a resilient post-pandemic economy through infrastructure sharing models and increased investment.

Presenting the results of a pandemic survey, Rapeti noted there had been a surge in connectivity at regional level in Africa and signs of pent-up demand for Cloud-based solutions.