By Andile Munyai, International Business student at Beijing Foreign Studies University and cofounder/Foreign Partner of LeYa, education start up company based in Beijing. He is from South Africa
China has set up a blueprint on formal dialogue for the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit, "breaking a new path for growth," marking the first G20 summit to focus on midterm development of global growth.
The pace of the technological evolution has accelerated over the last decade. The use of everyday technologies had transformed with major adaptations through the liberalization of information and technology.
In South Africa, there's been a surge in technological literacy on account of the space of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which can be grouped into: Economics, Business and Social, working hand-in-hand. For the new economy, information and knowledge have become the most important factors for production.
ICT enables economic growth by broadening access to technologies such as high-speed Internet, mobile broadband and computing. By 2020, ICT is expected to contribute 8.7 percent of total GDP (gross domestic product) growth.
The poor can benefit as well, since ICT is well-positioned to build a socially sustainable future. Telecom and broadband internet services can get delivered to remote areas for helping small businesses. Meanwhile, unserved areas could benefit from greater exposure.
South Africa remains one of the leading communications providers on the continent with companies such as Vodocom and MTN boasting of over 176 million subscribers across 16 Africa nations and 6 in the Middle East. However while these services are available in urban areas, they are not entirely accessible due to high prices and lack of infrastructure.
While these companies have assisted in advancing the continent with technologies and platforms that connect the world to Africa, some challenges faced by South Africa and Africa are related to policy restrictions and limited competition. Limited competition has also attributed to the slow pace of literacy in Information technology. South Africans are transforming economic and social activities through the usage of ICT particularly through greater access to the internet, which will impact efficiency and service delivery.
All this will depend on issues addressed at global initiatives such as the G20. South Africa with its impressive infrastructure and human capital would gain from investing in upgraded ICT.
New reports from "eTransform Africa" revealed how breakthroughs such as the use of a dual SIM card cellular phones or using mobile technologies for remittance payments – have been extended across the continent and beyond, marking Africa as a larger market for mobile subscriptions than the United States and European Union.
Service deliveries are essential to South Africans particularly the provision of water, electricity and education can be fast-paced through innovations from advanced technologies. However, ICT within a South African context has found itself behind the curve, both globally and in comparison to the rest of Africa.
South Africa has lost its status as the continental leader in internet and broadband connectivity. The pricing of services and equipment remain a significant barrier to expanded use of Technology. Policy constraints, regulatory challenges and limited competition are other obstacles.
ICT in South Africa will transform economic and social activities, as well as how communities and individuals function together. Its impact on each area of service delivery will depend on how uptake can be addressed. The G20 summit will give an opportunity to all participating nations to build stronger sustainable relations based on a global platform.
The summit needs a cohesive strategy to ensure the diffusion of ICTs in all areas of our communities and the broader economy. South Africa is working with China towards its industrialization plan as well as encouraging China to increase its investments in the country.
South Africa stands to benefit from Beijing's commitment of encouraging enterprises to increase investment in South Africa and promote value-added services to the source of raw materials.
This ecosystem of networks, services, applications, content and innovation can support economic growth, development and competitiveness, create decent work, and contribute to nation-building and social cohesion, as well as local, regional and national integration.
The added benefits act as the enabler, instant online day-to-day interactions with individuals, firms may boost investor confidence. The digitalization of content and ICT applications can make it easier for our citizens to obtain information using different languages.
Innovations such as mobile government services – delivered via mobile phones – would grow and converge with more traditional e-government services, which are already in existence, however a stumbling block could be that a digitally-connected South Africa faces the rising fissure of a digital divide.
This refers to the gap between those who have access to service and the demand from those who are excluded on account of unavailability or prohibitive costs, but in South Africa, a distinction must be drawn.
Recent government initiatives offered free wifi-zones in Tshwane Province, including open public spaces, educational institutions, schools, clinics and libraries, ensuring that 50% of locals are within walking distance from Wi-Fi zones.
The Tshwane Wi-Fi project has serviced over 6 million devices, placing it among the continents largest network services. Yet, such initiatives have failed to reach remote areas, reinforcing the social and geographical divide.
Where it is lacking, there is opportunity. Infrastructure can accommodate more South Africans and other G20 nationals in rural areas. A synergy from private and public sectors has proven effective. A panel discussion held at the African Development Bank (AfDB) headquarters in Abidjan focused on project financing and frameworks favorable for private and public partnerships (PPPs) in the transport sector.
The panel concluded that investment in the maintenance of existing infrastructure along with climate resilient structures would be an imperative step for Africa to position itself as the next land of economic opportunity.
The AfDB funded projects in the transport sector to include the SANRAL Road Network in South Africa; Lagos Lekki Port Project in Nigeria and Dakar-Diamniadio Toll Road in Senegal to upgrade interconnectivity.
More competitive efficient markets and effective regulations can enable operators to meet demand for affordable services, reducing the number of households or individuals requiring subsidies to pay for services.
Improving equitable access for enhanced ICT services in South Africa would require implementation to stimulate demand. Strategies can improve e-literacy through basic and secondary schooling, tertiary education, adult education and supplier training.
Such initiatives would support the production of multilingual, relevant and local content for public programming and information services, including education and mobile government services and applications to ensure ICT will deliver content and applications that are relevant to the wider community in our countries.
ICT can be used as a tool to fight poverty, increase employment, education and encourage entrepreneurship in South Africa/Africa and contributing nations. China welcomes more developing nations to participate in the G20 to make the Hangzhou summit a success story for developing countries.
As a global citizen, African national and foreign student/entrepreneurs hope the summit would signal to the international community that the G2O not only belongs to its 20 member states, but for the world as to enhance broader common development for all humanity.
Andile Munyai is a Internnational Business student at the Beijing Foreign Studies University majoring in International Marketing. Andile is also the cofounder/Foreign Partner of a Education start up company based in Beijing called LeYa.
( The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com. )
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