A connected Africa is vital for eliminating continental challenges

EDUCATION and the use of technology to promote small to medium business enterprises throughout the continent were among the buzzwords at the Africa Tech Festival, which took place in Cape Town earlier this month.

But schoolchildren and small-to-medium business entrepreneurs were missing at AfricaCom, the continent’s largest technology conference.

This was a pity as the continent’s premier tech gathering, which attracted about 25 000 delegates over the week, heard about how technology would lift Africa out of poverty and shift the narrative on the continent.

One hopes that schoolchildren and small business operators get the message about the wonders of a more inclusive digital Africa. The plethora of inspiring speakers or announcements of the discovery of new tech and telecoms innovation spoke to how much these new fads can make a difference. Yet, the most practical action concerning a few nations on the continent came from South African politicians, who signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between South Africa and the Republic of Cote d Ivoire on co-operation in the field of sport and physical education. This was confirmed in a virtual briefing by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) earlier this month; the agreement was signed in South Africa on July 22.

The MoU came as an initiative to develop formal bilateral relations in sport that will deepen cooperation and strengthen the bond of solidarity between the two countries. In the same meeting, it emerged that technology would play a key role as South Africa and Nigeria have agreed on an audio-visual co-production signed in Abuja, Nigeria, in December last year. Meshack Mbowane, chief director of international relations, DSAC, said that the MoU between South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire aimed to develop formal bilateral relations in sport, deepen cooperation and strengthen the bond of solidarity between the countries.

Ruphus Matibe, director of international relations, DSAC, said that the agreement between South Africa and Nigeria would enable both countries to celebrate and exchange knowledge and skills in the broader areas of arts and culture and to tell their own stories.

One of the leading figures, Mohamed Madkour, VP of Global Carrier Network Solutions Marketing, Huawei HQ, led a roundtable discussion in which he underlined the importance of 4G, which will continue to be essential for Africa’s digital and economic development, even as the continent embraces 5G at an ever-greater scale. With the world adopting 5G rapidly, it offers advantages in terms of speed, cost, and power efficiency.

Huawei is preparing to train 100 000 digital champions to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa over the next three years. Leo Chen, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa Region, delivered a presentation entitled “Lighting up the Future with Nonstop Innovation”.

He outlined Huawei’s latest ICT development concepts and successful digital transformation solutions in it.

Huawei, which has 180 000 employees, and operates in more than 170 countries, knows about growing economies and creating jobs as they certainly have an (impressive) track record.

To this end, Huawei has set up four innovation centres in Africa and has launched several plans to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They will also train 100 000 digital champions in Africa over the next three years.

But currently, the biggest challenge facing Africa remains access to the internet, with only 40% of the population on the continent accessing it.

Of that, 60% are doing so via their phones. Many throughout Africa need to start using the internet to research for their schoolwork or university studies, and SME entrepreneurs are oblivious to its potential.