African ICT: moving in the wrong direction
Despite the obvious benefits to be had from ICT developments, sub-Saharan Africa unfortunately seems to be headed in the wrong direction (North African countries aside are mostly holding their own). This isn’t to say that progress is not happening at all, but rather that it’s happening slower than anywhere else. Confirmation of this trend emerges from a new World Economic Forum (WEF) report, which ranks most of the world’s economies according to their “networked readiness”, based on a ranking of infrastructure, regulation, business and private usage and so on. While other emerging markets, such as China and much of Eastern Europe, are developing rapidly, most sub-Saharan countries fell further down the list.
The highest sub-Saharan country is South Africa, which fell 10 places from last year to number 47 (the EIU’s own e-readiness ranking last showed South Africa in 35th position globally, but also dropping from previous years). While the government there recognises the economic benefits of improved ICT, local Internet access costs remains eye-wateringly high. Outside of South Africa, less than 10 sub-Saharan countries manage to compete in the top 100 countries overall.
There are some exceptions. The WEF’s report highlights Ethiopia’s significant efforts to ensure that all of its 74m citizens live no more than a few kilometres from a broadband connection—by this year. And we’ve highlighted the astonishingly competitive telecommunications market in Somalia, of all places, but for the rest, a much greater effort clearly needs to be made.
