AfricaCom 2024: Communications Ministers discuss the future of a prosperous, sustainable and intelligent Africa
During AfricaCom 2024, the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) and the South African Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) hosted a ministerial-level forum focused on building a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Africa through the development of ICT technologies.
The ministers and high-level representatives of communications and digital technologies from Uganda, South Africa and Kenya, together with the ATU, have signed a joint communiqué to reaffirm their commitment to promoting inclusive and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa.
They have also agreed that such action will start with ICT technologies, including the development of national cloud infrastructures to meet the needs of intelligence and AI adoption; developing solar micro-grids to rapidly increase electricity coverage across sub-Saharan Africa; and expanding network connectivity coverage in rural areas and developing smart education to further bridge the urban-rural divide.
2024 marks the third year that Huawei has supported the Ministerial Forum during AfricaCom, and this year the company proudly launched three position papers alongside the ATU, Digital Council Africa and GSMA.
Co-authored with consultancies such as Roland Berger and Ernst & Young, these position papers on Ubiquitous Connectivity, Digitalisation Blueprint for National Prosperity and Cloud Computing summarise policy proposals based on Huawei's global case studies.
During the Forum's keynote speeches, panel discussions and case-sharing sessions, guest speakers provided insights on how to address the challenges faced by Sub-Saharan Africa while seizing the opportunities presented by the intelligent and digital age.
John OMO, secretary general of the ATU, highlighted the urgency of addressing infrastructure constraints, such as those related to fibre and cloud, in many sub-Saharan African countries, stating, "the whole of sub-Saharan Africa has less cloud space than Switzerland. And I think our governments need to incentivise industries to develop cloud services in our countries."
Solly Malatsi, South Africa's DCDT minister, stressed the importance of synergy between the development of ICT technology and renewable energy such as solar power.
He said: "The digital future of our country and the continent depends on our ability to integrate renewable energy with digital infrastructure. As we embark on this journey, it is important to remember that digital transformation is not simply about technology.
"It's about empowering individuals, it's about empowering communities and it's about empowering nations to realise their full potential.
"Therefore, it's our responsibility as leaders in government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations to work hand in hand and ensure that the digital revolution is one of inclusion, sustainability and opportunity for all."
Dr Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Information Communication and Digital Economy of the Republic of Kenya, shared Kenya's experience in driving comprehensive and inclusive digitalisation across the country.
She noted, "We are taking a comprehensive approach to make sure that we are developing technologies, we are building infrastructure, we are improving access, we are building capacity, and we are raising awareness, not just for those working in the public sector but for the entire population."
Kabbyanga Godfrey Baluku, minister of state for national guidance, Republic of Uganda, discussed Uganda's plan for inclusive and sustainable digitalisation through high-level policy making and practical implementation.
He said: "Uganda's vision is to transform society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country. For this to happen, we need to address some fundamental issues and one of them is electricity and then ICT.
"And we also developed the Uganda Digital Vision 2040, which we thought would act as a transformational goal. And then recently, we also developed the Digital Transformation Roadmap from 2023, which we thought should be used as a tool to achieve what we want to achieve by 2027 in terms of ICT."
Looking to the future, he noted, "As far as cloud data is concerned, we first need to work on digital infrastructure, which is key. We are currently working to expand the national backbone network, and Huawei is the lead company we are cooperating with in this regard."
Dr Li Zhengmao, Chairman of the World Broadband Association, shared China's experience in digitalisation, explaining that by building high-quality digital infrastructure, China has laid a solid foundation for the digital economy, society and government.
He also pointed out that this experience can be applied to the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and he expects the WBBA to further strengthen cooperation with African countries to promote the digital economy and further bridge the digital divide.
Hover Gao, president of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa, confirmed that Huawei stands ready to work closely with all parties and leverage the company's expertise in order to contribute to the ongoing development of a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Digital and Intelligent Africa.
Huawei also introduced the Global Digitalisation Index (GDI) at the forum, which was developed in collaboration with IDC.
The GDI provides a measure of a country's ICT industry maturity based on a number of digital infrastructure indicators, including computing, storage, cloud, and green energy. GDI research also found that a US$1 investment in digital transformation yields a return of US$8.3 in a country's digital economy.
AfricaCom is one of the largest Information and communications technology industry exhibitions anywhere in Africa, and this year it was attended by more than 300 exhibitors and 15,000 participants.