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The Future Belong To The Youth

This year, there has been a lot of talk about digital transformation and technology penetration in Africa. One of the things that have greatly supported the technology penetration, is the reach smartphones have had in the continent.

In 2022, the big talk around smartphone penetration has been the launch of 5G network among other mobile innovations.

Qualcomm, is a leading wireless tech innovator that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible to enable next-gen experiences and drive digital transformation to help create a smarter, connected future for all. www.cioafrica.co | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2023 | CIO Africa Magazine | by dx⁵

ARTICLE by KEVIN Namunwa

Qualcomm has had a roadmap of breakthrough technologies with mobile innovations and solutions to support virtually every connected device, including the smartphone. With its leadership in wireless connectivity, highperformance, low-power computing, and on-device AI, powering the connected intelligent edge. I caught up with Elizabeth Migwalla, the Vice President, International Regulatory Affairs at Qualcomm as she discussed how their wireless connectivity technology can be leveraged to grow smartphone penetration and in turn grow digital transformation in the continent.

Elizabeth believes that for Africa to truly achieve digital transformation, the continent needs to use technology to create solutions that will help the continent’s specific needs. 60 per cent of Africa’s population is below 30 years old and these are the group of people that Elizabeth believes holds the key to help the continent truly achieve digital transformation.

“In Africa we have had a good beginning with digital transformation and it’s important that we acknowledge that. However, not everybody is convinced that we had a good year in the growth of technology because the technology needs to get to everyone in the continent,” she said in an exclusive interview.

“60 per cent of the population in Africa is below 30 years old. What does that tell you about the next 10-15 years? This population is a group that is data-hungry, and they are the data. I think this is a resource that is rare to the extent that you can convert that population into innovators and creators of technology. Remember they are also the consumers,” she adds.

She gives examples of sectors that Africa need to use technology to innovate on. Elizabeth believes that Africa needs to use technology to develop the sectors that have been the highest rewarding for the continent and those that will help the continent grow. For instance, applications in health, public safety, agriculture, fishing, etc. “It’s not time for Africans to adopt whatever anybody else is adopting and try and make it fit. This is the time that Africa needs to use technology to innovate applications that are relevant,” she shares.

She believes that as Africa, the main conversation needs to be on how we can fully achieve digital transformation. 5G is also an important innovation that plays a key role in growing technology penetration in Africa. Speaking on the youth population that has grown with technology, she points out the role that they can play in growing technology in Africa. “This is the opportunity that 5G technology offers. The youth population’s ability to innovate and create new systems, new services, and new users of technology that can be designed and manufactured on the continent,” she notes.

“We have conducted similar initiatives of creating innovators and mentoring them and getting them to produce meaningful technology that has gone on to be sold in the world. We’ve done it in India, Taiwan, and Vietnam. So we believe that this is the beginning of 5G and there’s an opportunity to replicate those successes with the same tools because we believe that there are individuals in that age group that will turn into the next Samsungs or the next Nokias.”

Agriculture and food production have long been the backbone of African economies. But it is now becoming evident that also need to technological assets presented to us. “If you’re using your phone, and you are accessing services either 3G or 4G or even using Wi-Fi. You are communicating using GPS and that means that you are using Qualcomm technology. We put this technology out there and we always want to bring the latest technologies that will make smartphones convenient to the needs of the continent. We want to make it easy for people to operate wirelessly, transact data, and innovate to create relevant solutions,” she further said.

When it comes to 5G, Elizabeth believes spectrum planning is key to the successful rollout of mobile services. It relates to the radio frequencies allocated to the mobile industry and other sectors for communication over the airwaves. She notes that the spectrum exists and governments just need to release them to operators. One thing is clear, though, there is a need for certainty over spectrum roadmaps and regulatory rules on issues such as license renewal, taxation, and coverage obligations. Mobile telecommunication continues to grow rapidly with over 477 million unique subscribers across Sub-Saharan Africa and 272 million using mobile internet. This number is estimated to grow to 614 million unique subscribers and 475 million mobile internet subscribers by 2025 according to the GSMA Roadmaps for 5G spectrum report. Some countries have progressed with 5G network trials and deployments, even though spectrum awards have not taken place. 5G can help Africa leapfrog to 4IR with the automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices using smart technologies. While 5G is inevitable, the adoption is not imminent in most African markets as the current technologies deployed can serve customers’ current use cases and mobile connectivity demand. With the burden of innovation falling on the young population of Africa, it is a case of the sooner they start leveraging on technology to grow the continent, the earlier Africa will digitally transform fully.