DBSA ploughs more into ICT

Johannesburg, 15 Jan 2007

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) will increase its spend on ICT projects this year with a view to fostering development.

ICT specialist George Finger expects the bank to make larger investments in ICT this year. The bank invested R1.1 billion in ICT in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last year. This represents 8% of its investment portfolio.

For the 2006/7 financial year, which ends in March, DBSA's portfolio of commitments in the ICT sector amounts to over R3.2 billion, half of which is earmarked for spending outside SA.

Finger says he hopes to boost investment in ICT from the 8% seen in 2005/6, to 20% of the bank's overall investments in the short-term.

The bank is hopeful of investing in new fixed-line entrants in the telecoms sector in the SADC region this year. A few deals are at an advanced stage, he says.

Second fiddle

ICT previously received less attention than other sectors such as water provision, says Finger. Seen as "soft infrastructure", he maintains, "ICT is almost invisible. It didn't get the necessary attention from politicians in Africa."

Finger says the development bank will boost its investment in ICT this year in a bid to entrench the long-term value of ICT. He says this will have a long-term impact on a country's development.

"It's not just about access to ICT, but the knock-on effect in terms of empowerment and employment."

He says the DBSA needs to have a "clear line of sight of the developmental impact". This means spending its budget in areas where it will have the best result. "Economic development [happens] on the back of infrastructure development."

DBSA is also lobbying for more liberal ICT policies on the continent. Finger argues such policies will have an immediate effect on a country's economic growth, citing savings in cost of access, transport and office space as a few examples.

"There is a lack of understanding of the benefits of broadband." To outline the benefits of faster, cheaper Internet access, the bank is "stock taking" penetration rates and cost, with a view to compiling a comparative study in five years.