African Business 2020 edition

OVERVIEW
Africa banner are data centres
(Djibouti), innovation and
entrepreneurship programmes
(Egypt), e-payments (Ghana),
cyber security (Ivory Coast)
and smart energy and the blue
economy (Togo).
Several countries’ overall GDP
growth has been boosted by
the telecommunications sector:
Benin (10.6%) and Gabon (18%)
are examples and Ethiopia is
expected to see a spike when
parts of its telecommunications
network are privatised. Mobile
operator association GSMA
expects mobile phone and
data usage to grow in Africa at a
compound rate of 4.5% to 2024.
The high price of data in
most African countries is a serious
obstacle to the development and
deepening of the sector.
Infrastructure
An extensive network of undersea
cables links Africa to other parts of
the world. New cables along both
the east and west coasts have
been undertaken in recent years
or are under consideration. The
planned Djibouti Africa Regional
Express (DARE) submarine fibre
optic cable system is expected
to cost $59-million while the
South Atlantic Cable System
(SACS) connected Angola to
Brazil in 2018.
The World Bank invested
$500-million into the Regional
Communication Infrastructure
Program to improve
communication lines in Africa,
which expanded capacity in
the Sub-Saharan region from
just 80Gbps in 2008 to 15.7Tbps
in 2012.
An extension of a submarine cable to Ivory Coast was celebrated in
2019. Private company MainOne laid an open-access submarine cable
with broadband to West Africa in 2010. Landing stations along the
coast of the West Coast helped to make the Internet widely available
all the way to Nigeria. Branching stations were later added at Senegal
and now Ivory Coast has its own. MainOne launched a data centre in
Abidjan but the cable is carrier-neutral so other services can use it. The
electronics on the cable have also been upgraded.
Satellites are a critical part of the telecommunications network of
Africa. Content and data providers typically use satellite services where
no fibre network is available. SES Africa has a fleet of satellites that
orbit four times closer to earth than other models. Vodacom Business
Nigeria is partnering with Intelsat to offer more to its customers in the
enterprise and Internet of Things sectors.
Several African countries are participating in the Square Kilometre
Array (SKA) radio telescope project. Based in South Africa, SKA’s Africa
programme will see the creation of the AVN (the African Very-Long
Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) network). The other participating
countries are Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius,
Mozambique and Zambia.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a self-sustaining
US government agency, has a three-year plan (Connect Africa) to
invest $1-billion on projects that include telecommunications and
Internet access.
Startups
A Kenyan company has found a way to offer WiFi for free. BRCK has
700 000 active unique visitors per month and operates out of 2 700
sites in East Africa. It has its own operating system, Moja, and is robust
enough to be installed in taxis.
In reporting on the introduction of BRCK to South Africa, TimesLive
quoted World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck saying, “Between 25%
and 33% of SA smartphone owners don’t use cellular data with their
devices because they can’t afford to.”
Founders Factory Africa is supporting tech startups across Africa.
The plan is to assist with the launch of 140 small businesses between
2019 and 2025. Standard Bank, which has a presence in 22 African
countries, has invested in Founders Factory Africa and may be able to
help individual entrepreneurs expand their businesses through local
knowledge and access to markets. ■
Online Resources
Connect Africa: www.opic.gov
International Telecommunication Union: www.itu.int
Research ICT Africa: www.researchictafrica.net
Smart Africa: www.smartafrica.org
West African Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly: www.watra.org
65 AFRICAN BUSINESS 2020