Tech (750)
For many development agencies, e-commerce is now one of the key factors that will boost Africa’s post-Covid-19 recovery. The momentum generated by the pandemic attracted investors from all horizons to the sector, which is growing day in and day out.
Four Cameroonians launched Kuruba.cm, a wholesale e-commerce platform last week. They are namely Pierre-Lionel Ebe, Ivan Kharl Manga, Armel Fotso, and Simon Mbelek. All four are former employees of Jumia Cameroon, which ended its operations in Cameroon in November 2019. Through Kuruba.cm, they aim to help retailers quickly source their products from reference brands and get them delivered anywhere they like in Cameroon.
“We launched Kuruba to help retailers, who are crucial parts of our daily lives, to access millions of products at better prices than what they are currently offered. We connect independent merchants with a wide range of suppliers, allowing them to easily buy their products,” explains Pierre-Lionel Ebe, CEO of the eponymous start-up that launched the e-commerce platform.
In Cameroon, there are currently thousands of supermarkets, stores, and small shops that usually turn to wholesalers, resellers, distributors, and producers to acquire their merchandise. Kuruba.cm wants to facilitate this costly and time-consuming task by allowing them to quickly contact producers and distributors.
With its online platform, the startup is positioned in a market segment with high economic potential in Africa. In Morocco, chari.ma has been doing the same thing since January 2020, with much success. For instance, it claims nearly US$2.5 million orders processed monthly. In January 2022, it was valued at US$100 million.
In Cameroon, Kuruba.cm has a warehouse and large storage facilities, and pickup points to reduce delivery time and costs. To quickly attract clients, it unveiled an aggressive commercial policy. For instance, the startup promises free delivery for orders exceeding XAF100,000 (US$164.66). It also announced discussions with financial partners to allow clients to obtain supply credits they can pay after 30 days.
Currently, the startup claims over 200 reference brands in categories like household appliances, agri-food, cosmetics, and home maintenance. Its ambition is to expand out of Cameroon once it consolidates its presence in the country.
“We are only at the beginning of the adventure because the African e-commerce market is growing exponentially and Kuruba wants a large share of that market. We want to offer an innovative, convenient and affordable online service for African retailers and help them meet their customers’ daily needs,” said Pierre-Lionel Ebe.
Muriel Edjo
It is still difficult for African video game publishers to effectively market their games in local markets. Strategic partnerships between actors of the ecosystem are rare but, the partnership between Ethio Telecom and Qene Games may be a breakthrough.
Ethiopian video game publisher Qene Games, on Monday (April 11), signed a partnership agreement with Ethio Telecom to facilitate access to its games for local users. Thanks to the agreement, Qene Games will leverage the telecom operator’s fintech solutions to ease users’ subscriptions and in-app purchases.
For Dawit Abraham (photo), Qene Games CEO, " Africa has a great potential to become a major games exporter and compete in the global creative and entertainment industry. However, the first step we need to take to make this a reality is to give African creators easy access to sell their content in the African market.”
Considered the first video game publisher in Ethiopia, Qene Games has developed games like Kukulu, Gebeta, and Feta, inspired by African art and characters. In 2021, With its first two games, Kukulu and Gebeta, Qene Games won the best entertainment app and best app of the year award at Apps Africa Awards.
The subscription and purchase models envisaged in the partnership agreement will be tested on Kukulu, which is a popular game available in four local languages. The game follows the adventures of a chicken running from its farmer.
Once successful, Qene Games will eventually include its whole game catalog, therefore making the first moves towards its dream to conquer the African market.
Qene Games and Ethio Telecom’s partnership comes just weeks after ten African game publishers formed a continental alliance called Pan African Gaming Group (PAGG). The alliance aims to create more monetization opportunities and jobs in the African gaming market.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In the previous decade, the Kenyan government made significant investments to transform the country into a digital hub in East Africa. With the new plan, it is setting higher goals.
Kenya's Minister of ICT, Joe Mucheru (photo), launched the National Digital Master Plan 2022-2032 on Tuesday, April 12. Launched on the sidelines of the Connected Kenya summit being held from April 10 to 14 in Diani, the about US$45 million master plan will guide the government’s investments in digital transformation over the next ten years.
“The National Digital Master Plan, which will be launched will guide us in shaping our discussions towards a transformed digital Kenya where technology plays a pivotal role in economic development. (...) I do not doubt that with the successful implementation of the identified programs and projects in the master plan, this country can live up to its reputation as the Silicon Savannah in matters of ICT and economic development,” indicated Joe Mucheru.
According to the master plan, by 2032, Kenya will deploy, 100,000 km of fiber optic cable to connect 40,000 schools and other educational institutions, 20,000 government institutions, and 13,000 health facilities. The country will also install 25,000 Internet access points to support its youth and innovators and create 1,450 digital innovation hubs, two software factories, and two electronics manufacturing plants. Overall, the plan will help create 10,000 jobs for software engineers.
The master plan strongly emphasizes digital skills development by building the capacities of 20 million citizens, 300,000 civil servants, and 10,000 professionals.
On the regional level, it is agreed to establish a hub on future technologies and another dedicated to the maintenance of submarine cables.
“To position the country as a regional ICT hub, the plan proposes the establishment of regional ICT smart hubs as well as regional submarine cables maintenance depots. (...) To enable a one-stop-shop for all government core services, the plan proposes accelerated automation and digitization for all government core services in both national and county governments” to quickstart the digitization of 5 billion government records, ICT Minister Joe Mucheru indicates.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Presented as the first venture builder in Morocco and Africa, "Moroccan Retail Tech Builder" aims to help entrepreneurs develop innovative digital solutions tailored to the e-commerce industry.
Morocco officially launched Moroccan Retail Tech Builder (MRTB), a platform for the digitalization of the retail sector, on Thursday, April 7. The platform aims to support project leaders in the development of innovative, simple, and accessible digital solutions to help retailers upgrade their operations and create more value.
For Ryad Mezzour, the Minister of Industry and Trade who chaired the ceremony, the MRTB “initiates the digital shift of a vital sector, which played a crucial role during the pandemic and is also one of the strong segments of our economy.”
According to Hicham El Habti, President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), qualitative changes are already observed in the operating methods of the retail sector, which is one of the backbones of African economies.
“The flow of ideas and the potential of that sector call for solutions to incubate, support, and accelerate startups and promising projects in that area,” stressed Hicham El Habti.
MRTB is part of the authorities’ plan for the recovery of the retail sector. One of the key points of that plan is to digitize the sector for enhanced competitiveness. The plan includes acceleration of the digital transformation, generalization of digital services as well as simplification of administrative formalities and procedures in line with the country’s economic and institutional reforms.
Ryad Mezzour believes MRTB will allow retailers to enhance their contribution to economic growth in Morocco by modernizing their operations, boosting turnover, and enhancing competitiveness while tailoring their offers to clients’ needs and requirements.
As far as Hicham El Habti is concerned, with MRTB, the UM6P will improve the support it provides through its startup campus, StartGate, for improved socio-economic development.
The venture builder will transform the national entrepreneurial ecosystem into a collaborative space that exposes startups to various knowledge sources. That way, it can help them implement creative processes for the development of innovative solutions useful for Africa, as a whole, indicates Abdelhadi Sohib, Secretary-General of the OCP Foundation.
For its initial operations, the MRTB has launched the recruitment of 100 startups that will benefit from its services till 2024.
Ruben Tchounyabe
The first phase of Ethiopia’s blockchain-based national student and teacher ID and attainment recording system will be launched in “the next two months,” announces IOHK, the U.S. firm that developed the blockchain platform Cardano.
The said system will allow the government to remotely monitor academic performance in secondary schools as well as verify students’ identities and grades. Ultimately, it will give authorities an idea of the impact of the national education policies on employment nationwide and allow employers to easily validate applicants’ credentials.
In its first phase, the system based on IOHK’s blockchain solution Atala Prism will target 800,000 students. Eventually, the recording system will include 3,500 schools, five million students, and 750,000 teachers, per the agreement between the Ethiopian government and IOHK.
“We have completed the first pilot and are beginning to train users at the Ministry of Education on functionality and usage,” indicates John O'Connor, IOHK Director of African Operation.
Launched in April 2014, the project is part of Digital Ethiopia 2025, the national strategy validated by the government in 2020 to transform several strategic sectors like public administration, health, agriculture, and education.
“We truly believe that this project could light the touchpaper for a wave of third-generation blockchain innovation across Africa and the developing world, bringing vital services to those who have previously been unable to access them,” John O’Connor commented.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Africa, medical density is currently below the World Health Organization’s recommendations. In recent years, startups have sprung up using technology to fill health offers.
E-health platform Altibbi will introduce drug delivery and virtual consultation services in Egypt. The move follows the announcement, on March 28, 2022, of a successful US$44 million series B round led by investors like Foundation Holdings and Hikma Ventures.
The health tech founded in 2008, in Jordan, aims to digitalize the whole medical procedure allowing users to get checked by physicians, receive prescriptions, and lab test interpretations online. It wants to capitalize on the low competition in the market due to tough regulations.
“The regulatory system is an ally of ours as, after so many years, we have managed to crack it. We are actually today the most licensed digital health company in the Arab world (...)We’re licensed in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. We’re working with the government as part of a round table to regulate telehealth and digital health platforms,” says Jalil Allabadi (Photo, left), founder and CEO of Altibbi.
In addition to its web platform, Altibbi has a mobile app, available on App Store, Play Store, and AppGallery. To access the over 10,000 doctors available daily on the platform, users must register on the platform, then log in using their phone numbers and a verification code. In 2013, Altibbi received the top prize in the health category during the Arab E-Content Award in Bahrain.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Nairobi residents can now report illegal dumping, unsafe waste disposal, and water shortages. It is possible thanks to Hatua, a mobile app launched last March 21, on the sidelines of the celebration of World Water Day at Kariokor Social Hall in the Kamukunji constituency. Hatua will also allow residents to report littered areas in residential districts.
Created by the sustainable development consultancy firm Niko Green, Hatua was developed with the support of the Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (Kara), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the European Union (EU).
When reporting a problem, users describe the issue, select the appropriate category and submit their contact information. The complaint will then be assigned a reference ID through which they can track the status of their report. According to Nickson Otieno, CEO of Niko Green, if the complaint is not processed within five days, the system will automatically forward it to another agency. “There is no chance for your report not to be processed,” he said.
“Our current system of reporting environmental pollution is long, tedious, and ridden with corruption. With the new platform, users can track the status of their complaints in real-time,” explained Henry Ochieng, CEO of KARA.
“The app will help NECC [National Environmental Complaints Committee] officials work even faster because they will be able to get reports of environmental pollution as they happen,” he concluded.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Egyptian fantasy soccer platform Eskab announced last Monday the successful completion of a US$3 million funding round. Led by 4DX Ventures, the funding round saw the participation of several financial institutions and angel investors. Thanks to the funds secured, Eskab wants to make soccer more exciting and interactive for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fans by developing new products. In that regard, it intends to recruit engineering talents and product teams as well as partner with soccer clubs.
Fantasy soccer is a simulation game where users predict the outcome of soccer matches between virtual teams they create using virtual representations of real-life players. With their virtual teams, users can take part in free or premium competitions and win prizes.
“During my time [in Canada], I got exposed to the rise of DraftKings and FanDuel. My friends were playing these two games and while I didn’t know much about Canadian sports, specifically hockey, I found that playing these games was the easiest way for me to kind of get to know the sports and kind of develop that sense of camaraderie with my friends. (...)I enjoyed the games and realized, ‘Why is no one doing this for the hundreds of millions of football fans in the Middle East and Africa?’ So we did some research and realized there was a massive market gap for this kind of game [fantasy football] in the Middle East and Africa, ” explains Aly Mahmoud, Eskab founder.
Launched in 2018, the platform claims more than 700,000 users in Egypt. Its userbase has been growing steadily since the launch of premium contests in 2021. The platform plans to enter other sports but, with the coming soccer World Cup, Eskab to first explore the soccer world before venturing into other virtual sports.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank organized on March 30, a workshop on the development of the digital industry in Cameroon. During the workshop, the various stakeholders and the government discussed issues facing the development of the industry in the country.
According to Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng (photo), it was the opportunity to present the current state of the industry, its challenges, and opportunities, the support programs implemented, and ways to accelerate the development of that industry in Cameroon.
"Digital transformation is at the core of Cameroon’s development strategy. This is why we have decided to support the development of that industry, therefore helping Cameroon operate that transformation as quickly as possible,” said Sylvain Kakou, IFC regional representative in Central Africa.
For the regional representative, the workshop is then a brainstorming session to make sure the policies formulated are coherent and consistent and their execution will have maximum impact.
The attending parties are expected to elaborate a digital development action plan by the end of the workshop. The World Bank, which has invested in various stakeholders like entrepreneurs and fintech actors, also awaits a well-formulated national strategy that defines the specific roles of every stakeholder. Minister Minette Libom Li Likeng for her part assured that Cameroon will implement the recommendations made during the workshop.
In 2020, Cameroon adopted a strategic plan for the development of its digital economy. On September 28, 2021, the World Bank approved funds to finance a project to accelerate the country’s digital transformation.
The US$100 million project aims, among other things, to extend broadband internet coverage in rural areas, and promote an environment conducive to secure and resilient development. It also aims to foster the implementation of data-driven solutions in the agricultural sector, encourage innovation in the said sector, and boost the use of digital solutions by small-scale farmers.
Ruben Tchounyabe
French telecom group Orange announced, on Wednesday, the launch of a new telemedicine service. Dubbed DabaDoc Consult, it is the outcome of a partnership between the French telecom group and DabaDoc, the Moroccan start-up specializing in medical appointment management.
Launched in Morocco in March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was raging, DabaDoc virtual medical consultation booking will expand into all of the Orange African markets with DabaDoc Consult.
With DabaDoc Consult, the African diaspora can book medical consultations for their loved ones residing in their home countries. For that purpose, a "simple and fluid process was developed jointly by the DabaDoc and Orange Link teams," Orange group explains.
"The customer, from the diaspora, wishing to offer a DabaDoc Consult must connect to the Orange ‘Country Transfer’ platform, choose the type of consultation and pay with his/her bank card. The beneficiary will instantly receive a code to pay for the virtual consultation," it adds.
DabaDoc was created by Zineb Drissi Kaitouni (photo) and Driss Drissi Kaitouni. The mobile platform launched in 2014 has already facilitated access to health specialists for thousands of people in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
To book an appointment with a health specialist through DabaDoc, the requester must first register on the platform, then select the type of medical service being requested, fill in the city, select the health specialist close to the selected area, and choose a time slot. Once the appointment is validated, a confirmation message indicating the date and time of the appointment is sent by email and SMS to the requester.
In May 2015, the platform became fee-based for health professionals who would like to offer their services. According to Zineb Drissi Kaitouni, the subscription fees are "450 dirhams [122.5 USD] for one month, 300 dirhams/month for a 3-month subscription, and 225 dirhams/month for one year" subscription.
In April 2021, Orange Africa and the Middle East acquired a stake in the start-up through a fundraising operation. The telecom company immediately contributed its technological expertise and payment solutions to develop digital solutions that quickly proved beneficial for the entire African healthcare ecosystem.
DabaDoc, available in French and Arabic, has already received numerous awards such as the third prize for the best start-up in Morocco at Seedstars World in May 2014. It also won the top prize for GIS, a competition organized by the US Department of State in October 2014.
In 2016, its co-founder Zineb Drissi Kaitouni was named one of the top three female entrepreneurs in Africa.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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In Mid-March 2022, the Cameroonian government offered free broadband equipment and subscriptions to startups active in Silicon Mountain, Buea, South West. In this interview, Churchill Mambe, founder of AfroVision looks explains the impact those gifts can have on digital transformation and the operations of Silicon Mountain’s innovative ecosystem. He also discusses the importance of the internet for tech entrepreneurs.
We Are Tech: Can you tell us a little about Silicon Mountain?
Churchill Mambe: Silicon Mountain is a tech industrial zone based in Buea and Fako. It's not an association, it's just a zone where young tech entrepreneurs who have created their startups -like me with AfroVision Njorku and Buyam- are concentrated. Those startups include Zinger System, ActivSapces incubator, Jongo Hub, sienfliex [for media, series, movies], Mountain hub, Mountain credit union, Genie computer...
All those startups are part of Silicon Mountain. We don’t currently have an exhaustive list of all the start-ups in that startup ecosystem. It includes anyone earning money through smartphones, in the cities of Buea, Muyuka, Ekona, Tiko, Mutengene, Limbe. In short, all the startups in the department of Fako and the regions surrounding Mount Cameroon are part of Silicon Mountain. However, just some 50 startups active in Silicon Mountain are well-known. Even the Wikipedia list is not complete because not all the startups are listed.
WAT: Please tell us about AfroVision Group, your startup
C.M: AfroVision Limited Group is the first company I launched in 2006. It specializes in consulting, the development of web/mobile solutions for businesses, software engineering, website development, development of mobile applications such as Buyam that we just launched. We also develop IT systems for government institutions, such as the GCE Board. We are currently a team of 10 people. This year, we plan to increase the staff size to 40 people by adding new members, engineers mostly, because we intend to grow with the new partners and investors we have in the U.S.
We are currently working on our project "Buyam," an online marketplace with stores in the cloud. Through that marketplace, customers can directly contact merchants, via their mobile phones, to buy what they need.
WAT: On March 15, the Cameroonian government offered one year of free broadband internet subscription to 35 startups, including yours, active in Silicon Mountain. What does this gesture mean to you?
C.M: It's a sign that the government is ready to support us and help us make Silicon Mountain more viable and create more jobs for young Cameroonians. Some startups chose fiber internet connection. It is very fast but, it will take four weeks to install it. The 15 startups that chose cellular modems received their equipment the same day with a 135-gigabyte subscription per month.
We at Afrovision Group chose the fiber internet connection because it is more stable and we need a fast and secure Internet to communicate with our customers in Africa, Europe, and the United States. We are still waiting for the installation of the cables. This can take up to a month.
WAT: What prompted the Cameroonian government to offer those amenities to you?
C.M: A year ago, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (Minpostel) sent a delegation to Buea. During a meeting with this delegation, its members asked us what challenges we were facing in our work. We replied that those challenges were the unavailability of quality internet connection and repeated power outages. Without the Internet we cannot work with our clients, we cannot manage our web platforms and applications. Without the internet, our work is jeopardized.
As far as electricity is concerned, we received a generator from the French embassy in Cameroon and French businessmen operating in our country. The generator is installed on the premises of ActivSpaces incubator in Buea. During that meeting, the Minpostel delegation offered to support us by providing an internet connection.
WAT: What criteria were considered for the selection of beneficiary start-ups?
C.M: The Minpostel asked us to make a list of the startups that need an internet connection. We created a google form and shared it with all the startups and tech firms active in Silicon Mountain so that they could register. To register, startups were to be based in Buea or anywhere in Silicon Mountain, specialized in mobile/web development, be a legal person, and pay taxes
WAT: What is the impact of that extra Internet connection on your business?
C.M: I usually spend XAF40,000 monthly to buy a 100-gigabyte internet subscription for the office and my home. It is an ADSL connection whose speed is between 1 to 3 megabytes per second. With the broadband internet connection we are being offered, speed will improve to 6-10 megabytes per second. It will greatly improve our working conditions. It will allow the young engineers I am working with to study online and attend meetings with our partners in South Africa and other parts of the World without much disruption. The rapid speed of the internet connection will make it easier and quicker for us to deploy our solutions in the cloud. With the new Buyam solution we are working on, at one point we had to move to a high capacity server. This took us about 3 weeks to complete the transfer. With a fiber internet connection, it would have taken just three hours. When you save time, you make more money.
WAT: Between January and April 2017, the government shut down the internet in the North-West and the South-West. That decision surely affected Silicon Mountain since it is located in the Southwest. What were the consequences of that government decision on startups in Silicon Mountain?
C.M: It was the most harmful experience ever faced by startups here in Buea. I can estimate that our company lost between 70,000 and 100,000 US dollars. When we were cut off, we first moved to Douala. Then, we rented a place at New Bonako, between Douala and Buea, where we could have internet access. I don't want to talk about it. It is a thing of the past. We are past it.
WAT: Can the internet connection and equipment the government recently provided compensate for the losses you suffered at that time?
C.M: We can't compare the two periods because the realities were different. The internet shutdown happened in 2017. We are now in 2022. We needed an internet connection and the government is offering it. We are happy and we will use it to improve our business, upgrade and hire more people. With the internet connection offered, we will be able to train more young people, work with more clients and develop more solutions
Interview by Ruben Tchounyabe
Uganda started digitizing its public services more than 10 years ago. Subsequent achievements confirm the soundness of the decision that the Ugandan government took much earlier than most African countries.
Uganda saved an average of USh4 trillion (US$1.1 billion) yearly over the last ten years thanks to digitization. The figure was disclosed by Hatwib Mugasa, executive director of the country’s information technology authority NITA-U, in Kampala last Wednesday, March 23, during the Huawei ICT Congress 2022.
“This cost would have been spent on paper, manual processes, and data centers’ service fees for each ministry, department, and agency,” the government official explained. As part of its digitization project, the government has “rolled out over 4172km of backbone fiber cable in over 62 Districts of Uganda,” he added. It also includes “rolling out last-mile fiber cable to extend connectivity to the grass-root user all the way to the Parish.”
“In a few weeks from now we shall have completed 764km under the Last Mile Phase and citizens shall be able to access e-government services at 1,400 administrative locations,” he concluded.
The financial gains aside, digitization also helped save time for citizens who can now pay their taxes, request passports, and register a business online, Hatwib Mugasa indicated.
Uganda is currently one of the African countries with the highest e-government readiness score. In its latest "E-government development index 2020", the International Telecommunication Union ranked the country 18th out of 54 on the continent. The country's score of 0.4499 out of 1 is above the East African (0.3738) and African (0.3914) average. In 2010, its e-government development score was 0.2812.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Orange S.A. is gradually implementing its digital skills development strategy in Africa. Initiated in 2019, the strategy has already benefited millions of people on the continent.
Orange S.A. inaugurated one of its Orange Digital Centers (ODC), in Rabat, Morocco, yesterday, March 23.
The center is the result of a partnership between Orange Morocco and the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ). It hosts four strategic programs: a coding school, a digital fabrication program (FabLab Solidaire), a start-up accelerator (Orange Fab), and Orange Ventures, Orange group’s investment fund.
Young Moroccans with tech business ideas and innovative projects or those willing to acquire digital skills can access coaching and mentoring resources at the center.
Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, says ODC Rabat further enhances the network of 32 Orange Digital Centers the group plans to build in all the African and Middle Eastern countries where it operates, but also in Europe.
“This project is a key step in our social responsibility plan to promote digital inclusion, for young people and women notably,” adds Elizabeth Tchoungui, Executive Director CSR, Diversity and Philanthropy, and Deputy Chair for the Orange Foundation.
In the framework of its strategic plan Engage 2025, which focuses on developing connectivity, energy, education, and financial inclusion, Orange is committed to deploying an ODC in each African country where it operates by 2025. Besides Rabat, the group has inaugurated ODCs in Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, and Egypt. It also plans to inaugurate more ODCs this year.
According to Hendrik Kasteel, CEO of Orange Morocco, to impact Moroccan society more, Orange will complement its ODC Rabat investment with support to higher education institutes in the country. To this end, several “ODC Clubs” are expected in the country, starting with Hassan II University in Casablanca.
Muriel Edjo
Africa’s digital transformation comes with threats of escalating cyber attacks. It is therefore crucial for the continent to take appropriate measures to protect itself from such attacks.
Togo is currently hosting an international cybersecurity summit. Started on March 23, the summit -the first of its kind in Africa- was organized by the Togolese government and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
According to the organizers, the event aims “to initiate high-level dialogue on avenues of cooperation and coordination to address the pressing challenges and issues of cybersecurity.” Above all, it will serve as a medium to “boost cooperation and agree on a cybersecurity strategy for Africa.”
Nearly 600 participants are attending the summit, including officials from a dozen countries, experts, private sector leaders, and civil society actors.
"The issue that brings us together today is one of the major challenges of our time. Africa must be ready for it and even play an active part [in the fight against cyberattacks],” said Faure Gnassingbé (photo), President of Togo, in his opening speech.
After this speech, the Head of State received the symbolic award of UNECA Champion for Cybersecurity in Africa for his commitment to cybersecurity.
“Africa offers economic opportunities in virtually every sector. The digital economy is a key asset to unlocking these opportunities. (...) Also, cybersecurity is an important pillar for any digital transformation,” said UNECA Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe.
Alarming figures
For the UNECA, the cybersecurity summit -whose organization was postponed in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic- is necessary given the numerous challenges the continent will have to face. As the Addis Ababa-based institution explains, even if Africa has been quick to jump onto the 4th industrial revolution’s bandwagon, it is increasingly faced with cyber governance and cyber security issues.
Over the past two years, cybercrime incidents have escalated in Africa. In June 2020, South Africa became the third country in the world with the highest number of cybercrime victims. The same month, the Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (INSA) announced that it thwarted a major attack. Also, in the first half of 2021, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria recorded about 80 million cyber-attacks.
Meanwhile, “more than 90% of African firms operate without adequate cybersecurity procedures,” the UNECA reminds.
Octave A. Bruce