The Connect Africa Summit closed recently with investment commitments amounting to over $55 billion, with the ICT industry taking the lead.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda set the tone at the outset, saying, "Investment and trade - as opposed to aid and charity - must drive the transformation of our economies." He called for a dynamic ICT sector to connect Africa to the global information superhighway. "In order to realise this much-needed economic revolution, we have to forge productive relationships between government and business," said Mr Kagame.
The Connect Africa Summit decided to bring forward ICT connectivity goals to 2012 to enable the achievement of the broader Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
Commitments were made to interconnect all African capitals and major cities with ICT broadband infrastructure and strengthen connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012. By 2015, broadband and ICT services will be extended to all African villages. The Summit also sets out to meet the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) goals for capacity building, establishing an enabling environment for investment, and e-government services.
The role of governments in setting a level playing field for industry to compete was highlighted. It was also decided to ensure harmonisation of the regulatory framework to stimulate cross-border integration in large-scale projects. Capacity building was identified as one key area for cooperation among all stakeholders.
Africa opens doors to ICT
Africa's mobile market has been the fastest-growing of any region over the last five years, and has grown twice as fast as the global market. Mobile phones overtook fixed lines in 2001 and now outnumber fixed telephone lines by nearly seven to one, with nearly 193 million mobile cellular subscribers in 2006. This figure is projected to grow to more than 270 million by the end of this year.
Stepping in to consolidate the mobile revolution in Africa, mobile operators of the GSM Association announced $50 billion in new investment over the next five years to expand and upgrade networks across the continent by 2012. This would provide mobile coverage to more than 90% of the population.
Success in mobile penetration is now set to be emulated in broadband connectivity in Africa, with new investment foreseen for ICT infrastructure.
"Africa is open for business," said International Telecommunication (ITU) secretary-general Hamadoun Touré. "We are looking for investment through win-win partnerships in a viable marketplace by an expanding ICT industry." He added that wealth creation is key to achieving the MDGs. "This new investment in ICT infrastructure will lead to new jobs and overall economic growth," said Dr Touré.
International commitments for ICT
The European Commission announced support for trans-African networks that facilitate interconnectivity. An EU Trust Fund for Africa of almost 100 million Euro in grants and some 260 million Euro for loans has been established along with the European Investment Bank and ten EU member states for the period 2007-2008. The fund, which will be substantially replenished at the end of 2008, will finance cross-border projects or national projects with a regional and continental impact that would include ICT. The Commission also announced a contribution of six million Euro to support ITU's regulatory reform initiatives in Africa.
The World Bank Group announced that it expects to double its commitment to ICT in Africa to $2 billion by 2012 from its current investment programme of $1 billion over the last five years. The financing will continue to promote private sector participation.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has scaled up its investments in infrastructure, and expects to invest 60% of its concessional resources on infrastructure, including ICT, in the next three years. AfDB has committed close to $65 million to two key regional infrastructure projects: RASCOM and EASSy.
Online platform to track ICT development
ITU Global View, a virtual earth-based online platform to track and help accelerate the implementation of the WSIS goals in Africa was launched on the opening day of the summit.
The ITU and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining how they will work together to build a safe, inclusive and interoperable information society.
Based on Microsoft Virtual Earth, ITU Global View integrates a broad range of new and existing data sources on global ICT for development accomplishments in support of the WSIS goals. Easy to view, the software was developed in partnership with IDV Solutions. The online platform will be hosted and maintained by ITU, and will be open to all stakeholders - governments, industry, international and regional organisations, as well as civil society - allowing users to check status, identify gaps and avoid overlap in collaborative efforts to achieve the WSIS goals.
The ITU-Microsoft partnership also focuses on providing digital opportunities for youth. Youth empowerment and capacity building is essential to accelerate sustainable social and economic growth towards a competitive Africa. Microsoft and ITU will provide access to computer technology training as well as opportunities to gain valuable work experience in the industry.
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version