The role of software in the developing

African economy and the road ahead

for the software community
Deji Eniojukan
CSA, SiNet Technologies Inc.
President/CEO CoolGadgets Nig. Ltd.
 Table of Contents
• Background
• Software in Africa
– The Past
– The Present
– The Future
• Lessons from other countries
– American Software Revolution
– Indian Software Revolution
• Challenges in Africa
• Opportunities in Africa
• Conclusion
• Q & A Session
 Background
 Software is the lifeblood of modern day
technology
 Africa is mainly a consumer
 Africa has a huge consumer market for
software-driven products and solutions
 Africa also has the talents and human
resources to meet most of its future
software needs locally
Software in Africa – The Past
 Most major software solutions so far have
been imported
 Significant amount of talents have been lost
to migration to other countries
 Software entrepreneurship has not been
encouraged so far
 Educational research & Business still has a
major disconnect
 Main focus has been on Telecoms &
Networking due to market demand
 Software in Africa – The Present
• The African technology evolution
– Telecoms & Communication infrastructure
– Computer accessibility and internet use
– Value-added software solutions
• Banking
• Commerce
• Education
• Collaboration
• Entertainment
• Automating everyday processes
 Software in Africa – The Future
• Africa in the new frontier for technology
penetration due to saturation in other
economies of the world
• GSM has proven that technology can be
integrated and accepted in the African society
despite all the odds
• Over the next 5 years, technology will transform
a lot of other sectors of the African society
• Software is the lifeblood of technology…
 Lessons from other countries
The American Software Revolution

• Commitment to research and innovation

• Synergy between business & academia
• Solid communications infrastructure
• Pervasiveness of computer ownership
• Business demand for automation
• Aggressive growth of online community
• Advent of eCommerce and eCollaboration
Lessons from other countries
The Indian Software Revolution

• Train young engineers

• Export skills to markets in need
• Return experience to local market
• Encourage local market development
• Meet needs of local companies
 Challenges in Africa

• Lack of infrastructure

• Lack of support

• Import Complex (foreign is better)

• Shortage of opportunities

• Lack of Focus on developing upcoming talents

 Opportunities in Africa
• African market can sustain a vibrant & active
software industry
• Africa has the potential to be a major
exporter of technology due to low cost of
labor and caliber of talents
• Recent initiatives around “local content”
sourcing will finally force multinational and
other major organization to seriously look
inwards for solutions
 Conclusion
• To get involved – acquire relevant software
skills in chosen area of interest
• Be Diversified – Increases your value
• Start low and work your way up
• Be focused and perseverant – It takes time
• Identify your strengths and develop them
• Work Hard – really!!!
Questions