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7/18/2005
Commonwealth Tech Forum Ends in London
Panel Discussion: Is Africa the new India?
Panelists:
Myles Wickstead, Head of the Secretariat of Commission for Africa
Lucy Quist, GCG European Executive and Management Consultant
Dan Simmons, Producer of Click Online for BBC world who has recently been in Rwanda reporting on how ICT is transforming the country
Victor Ayeni (panelist and moderator), Director of Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat
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The discussion was opened by an introductory speech by Myles Wickstead highlighting the findings of the Commission for Africa and possible ways forward for Africa. According to the report, there is a clear need for good governance on the continent. Despite the apparent room for improvement, Africa has made excellent strides forward such as the change from 3 democratic to 33 democratic governments out of 53 nations in the space of a few decades. He said Africans were now in a position where they did not only want to be helped but wanted to help themselves. He challenged the continent’s Diaspora, of which 5 million live in North America and Europe, to initiate and facilitate development projects in Africa.
Clearly one such example is the Ghana Technology Park venture as presented by GCG’s Lucy Quist, an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Chartered Engineer. The tech park project, set to be implemented starting this fall, is an encouraging case study of a successful collaboration between the Diaspora, multinationals (e.g. UN, IFC), the government and private sector on strengthening a country’s position for integration into a wider regional and global economy.
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| Lucy Quist on Panel Session on IS AFRICA THE NEW INDIA? |
The Ghana Technology Park will provide infrastructure needed to help support Ghana’s growing IT economy. The projected $10 million innovation center will provide modern office space and incubation services for knowledge-based firms, who will also have access to a centralized tech support service on hardware installation, system administration and server-storage management. Future tenants of the Ghana Technology Park include Ghanaian IT entrepreneurs and international investors who have explored or are considering setting up Information Technology and business process outsourcing firms in Ghana.
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GCG delegates from Left to Right: Maame Gyasi-Appiah, CS Engineering & Physics, Loughborough University, London
Nana Yaw Kwakye, GCG United Kingdom, London, England
Yaa Boadi-Aboagye, Columbia University School of Engineering, New York
Lucy Quist, MBA Insead, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, London
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Dan Simmons told of how PCs that were obsolete in the developed world were making a difference to the education and experience of children in some of the schools he had visited in East Africa. He also sited the example of how the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management in Rwanda had developed shorter affordable courses to increase the ICT knowledge base in the country.
From the comments and questions, it was clear that India was viewed more as a potential partner than a competitor to Africa. Victor Ayeni commented on how Africa could learn a lot from the Indian experience. One participant, who has worked in ICT in both regions, supported this argument by commenting on how much of Africa was where India was two decades ago and thus would benefit from lessons learned by India and potential outsourcing from India to Africa.
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Left to Right:
Maame Gyasi,
Yaa Boadi,
Lucy Quist |
The question of data security was raised to which the Commonwealth Secretariat responded that it is working on a governance system to establish the confidence that corporations need to outsource to Africa.
In addition to presenting the Technology Park, Mrs. Quist touched on some questions.
A member of the audience raised the question of intellectual property protection, an issue for any corporation anywhere in the world. Lucy Quist remarked that the problem would best be tackled by institutions to support a proper legal system of enforcement and by corporations finding innovative solutions just as they had in Asia.
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Nana Yaw Kwakye, GCG Europe (L) with
Mark Hillary, Director, Commonwealth Business Council Technologies |
On the issue of partnership with charitable individuals in the developed world to provide free ICT systems solutions for SMEs in developing countries, she commented that in as much as there is room for charitable efforts, it is important for the stock of ICT know how to be built up locally in recipient countries.
She closed by urging business to recognize Africa’s huge skill and market potential that is largely untapped, arguing that by tailoring solutions to the African market, corporations could do profitable business while facilitating Africa’s assimilation into the digital age.
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