Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The Ivorian and Congolese presidents on Tuesday in Brazzaville urged African countries to invest more in the digital sector.
Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire and Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo were speaking at the opening of the 4th edition of the annual economic forum dubbed “Forum Forbes Afrique”, devoted to the digital revolution on the continent.
“We urge African governments to invest in the digital sector on the continent,” they said at the forum aimed to set conditions needed for a reasonable development of the Internet in Africa, a key sector in the 21st century and a driving force behind Africa’s economic and social development.
“It is true that the digital revolution is developing significantly in Africa. With more than 700 million mobile phone subscribers, a booming connection rate and revenues from the Internet which already represent 4% of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is more than three times the share it represents in developing economies, the networks are developing rapidly,” according the organizers of the forum.
“But it is also true that Africans now represents 10% of Internet users in the world. The rate of access to the Internet still remains weak in Africa even though the evolution perspectives are particularly optimistic. With over US$18 billion in 2013, the Internet’s contribution to the continent’s GDP could reach 300 billion dollars in 2025,” they add.
Experts say that the opening up of Africa requires the joint and sustained involvement of the public and private sectors, as well as massive investments in infrastructure to support both the rising appetite of the global network and the needs of the populations.
More than overcoming this delay, it is essential the continent takes a lead as over the past few years, it has made significant efforts in the domain of new technologies. As long as the network develops, the economic landscape of the continent is transformed and behaviours develop, sometime faster than in other continents.
“Africa is the new land of trade: the great international actors explore the continent as African online trading businesses boom, availing themselves to the middle class,” according to the organizers.
In 2025, online trade could represent 10% of sales in the most competitive African economies and reach US$75 billion in annual transactions. If the scenario confirms itself, the impact could be significant for companies, consumers and countries.
