Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Information and communication technologies (ICTs) will form the backbone of Africa's economic growth, according to the Africa Economic Outlook report released on Monday.
The report, published jointly by the African Development Bank (AFDB), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's development centre and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, focused on the effect of the financial crisis on Africa and how ICT development on the continent has surpassed that in the rest of the world.
AFDB economist Isa Lejarraga said ICT investment in Africa has not been affected by the global financial crisis to the same extent as in other regions. "The reason is because most of the foreign investment coming to Africa in ICT is south-south investments, dominated by South Africa, Egypt and Kuwait, so it hasn't stalled with the crisis," she said.
According to the report, Africa has experienced 40% growth in mobile telephony expansion, whereas the global average is a mere 20%. The first quarter's increase in cellphone minutes used has also increased by 40% in Africa.
This is a key factor for Africa's recovery from the global recession, according to the report. The report projects an average African growth rate of 2.8% for 2009, and a rebound of 4.5% by 2010. The growth rate before the crisis was 5.7%.
"The report looks at factors affecting growth, and the effect of the crisis on coming years for the different [African] countries," said Antoinette Batumubwira, head of the external relations and communication unit at the AFDB. "This year it's also looking specifically how ICT is an important component for development."
Unique ICT applications have been areas such as e-banking, e-payments, e-agriculture, e-trade, e-government and e-education. Telecoms companies are also offering free roaming packages between countries, a world first, to meet the demand.
"African countries have made innovative use of ICT," said Lejarraga. "E-banking and mobile payments flourish in Africa, where most of the population does not have access to banking. Mobiles have developed that market."
- Fin24.com
