African Digital Transformation Priorities
Why Broadband Connectivity is Crucial to Sustainable Development in Africa
Over the past year or so, digital transformation accelerated at an unprecedented rate in societies around the world. Whether we were working, learning, or staying in touch with friends and family, being online became more critical than ever. Even as vast numbers of people were adapting to their new realities, it became increasingly apparent that equally large numbers of people were shut out from being able to do so. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, approximately 800-million people are not connected to the mobile internet. Of those, some 520-million can access the mobile internet but don’t, because of factors such as smartphone penetration and lack of skills while 270-million cannot access the mobile internet because they don’t have the requisite coverage. Across the region, 4G broadband...
How Digital Adoption Across Africa Supersedes the World
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. Although Africa currently trails other regions in terms of digital adoption and maturity, the pace of adoption and infrastructure buildout is happening faster on the continent than any other region in the world. This creates the opportunity to unlock enormous economic potential, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in partnership with Casablanca Finance City. “The COVID-19 crisis has also focused minds, accelerating digital adoption among consumers and digital transformation among companies,” says Jan Gildemeister, Managing Director at BCG. “For success going forward, we believe that companies and governments need to coordinate on three fronts: creating scale, nurturing and attracting digital talent, and building ecosystems and innov...
Digital Transformation is not just about Technology, it’s about the Experience
While many businesses were on the road to Digital Transformation (DX), there is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these strategies and projects. ‘Nice to have’ technology became ‘must-have’ practically overnight, and the entire business model had to shift in many cases. However, DX is not just about implementing new technology. It is about choosing the right technology to solve a business problem or leverage an opportunity, or both. Ultimately it is about the experience, for both the end user and the customer. Technology with a purpose DX should always be about improving business efficiency and effectiveness rather than implementing technology for the sake of it. However, during the panic caused by the pandemic, this has been overlooked in many instances. /* custom css */ .td...
How Digital Payments could Foster African Development
The World Bank has estimated that Africa could potentially hold 90% of the global poor population by 2030 and has recently cut its economic growth predictions to between -2.1% and -5.1% in 2020 from the 2.4% of 2019. The situation has been significantly worsened by the global pandemic, as the continent hits its first recession in 25 years. But this is not the picture that defines a continent that has long defied expectation and prediction. In fact, a young population, a growing consumer market, and the rapid movement towards mobile inclusion and connectivity are shifting the conversation. Africa is poised on the cusp of change introduced by mobile and internet technology. Africa has undergone a remarkable journey over the past 30 years. It has not only leapfrogged legacy technolo...
3 Digital Transformation Priorities for Healthcare Organisations in Africa
South Africa’s healthcare sector has conducted roughly four million COVID-19 tests with around 650 000 positive cases identified. While infection rates continue to climb in much of the developed and developing world, stringent measures to contain the coronavirus in South Africa have helped flatten the curve to the point where most normal economic activity can resume. While public efforts at hygiene and social distancing have certainly contributed greatly to the decline in daily case numbers, it’s undoubtedly the tireless work of the healthcare sector that has helped the country get through the greatest public health challenge in a century. Efforts to treat infected patients were complicated by a prevailing shortage of medical staff. The World Bank estimates South Africa has only 0.9 medica...
