Angola and Nigeria are expected to be major ICT investment areas over the next five years.
Frost & Sullivan ICT practice analyst Lindsey Mc Donald says the two Sub-Saharan Africa countries are two of a few African states which have bucked the recession caused by the global economic crisis.
Mc Donald addressed ITWeb`s IT Confidence Conference, held yesterday in Bryanston.
"When the financial crisis broke out in late 2008, people compared it with the Great Depression of the 1930s, yet from what we are seeing this crisis is over and above the Depression," says Mc Donald.
"Yet the African continent is not in the same position as the US, and both Nigeria and Angola are recognised as potentially huge development regions."
Both Angola and Nigeria were among the International Monetary Fund`s listed countries for 2007 and 2008 which experienced accelerated growth as opposed to being in an unofficial if not official recession. Angola`s mobile phone sector is expected to increase by 10% this year, while Nigeria`s IT outsourcing infrastructure market will be worth more than $350 million (R3.61 billion) by 2014.
Angola`s decades-long civil war has decimated the country`s infrastructure, she notes. However, in the aftermath of war, large sums of money will be pumped into the country to increase Angola`s infrastructure, she explains.
"Telecommunications will be the main recipient of investment and one can see this is the case with the government having announced the introduction of a third mobile operator."
Both Nigeria and Angola are recognised as potentially huge development regions.
Lindsey Mc Donald, ICT practice analyst, Frost & Sullivan
Similarly, Nigeria will experience growth in its networking industry over the next five years as banks in the country consolidate resources, and data storage services become necessary. The country will also see the emergence of fibre-optic network partnerships similar to the MTN/Neotel deal that was signed earlier this year.
SA tops in mobile apps
Mc Donald says SA is set to be the leader in mobile technology uptake. She adds that developments, such as Google`s Android operating system, will allow local developers to get more involved in creating applications for cellphones.
"We expect to see the development of free and open source applications as the barriers that local developers face go down in the next five years."
Mc Donald explains the proliferation of smartphones in SA has been stifled by the fact that users tend to depend on mobile operators for the types of phones available and the variety of applications.
Related stories:
Experts advise companies
Conference to boost IT confidence
Share