ICT development in Africa

At the beginning of June Cape Town hosted the first inaugural ICT Indaba. The event, organized by the Department of Communications and endorsed by the International Telecommunications Union, aimed to promote ICT and the development of this industry as growth opportunities for the continent.

Some of the key issues discussed included the rollout of the correct policies and regulations to take place in order to increase infrastructure development, the creation of innovative business models in order to mitigate Africa's challenges, and the necessity of skilled personnel to sustain ICT growth in Africa. Also highlighted were the learnings from the experience of developed countries, and how creating a new development strategy for the African continent would be critical to addressing the continent's environment and specific challenges.

One of the key areas identified to help Africa meet its social and economic goals is the improvement of access to the internet and other information and communication technology (ICT).

The African continent is now connected to Europe, North America, and Asia by nine undersea cables with the launch of the West Cable System representing the first connection to an undersea cable for Namibia, Togo, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Five more undersea cables are planned for the continent by 2014 with one connecting Africa to Brics partner countries. This will help improve connection to new trade partners as well as reduce communication costs and improve the quality of Internet services.

With only 5.7% of Africans that have access to the internet, while the continent makes up 14% of the world's population, the importance of creating the necessary infrastructure to facilitate more broadband access is becoming a key focus point.

One thing is clear there is huge potential in Africa's ITC industry especially with a 57% mobile penetration. If you require the right Information Technology skills to ensure your business are able to take advantage of this growing industry, contact Communicate Recruitment. We are a specialist IT recruitment agency. We have a variety of IT specialists ranging from developers to architects, consultants in CRM and ERP, through to project managers and systems engineers.
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