The African telecoms industry is an environment full of challenges as well as opportunities. In spite of the usual pessimistic perception of doing business in Africa, Sameh Abdelaziz, the chief executive of A3&O, sees the African market as having huge potential for new innovations and unique products.
Since the inception of A3&O in 2002, we have found the African nations hungry for innovations that facilitate their lives and assist them in their day-to-day activities and communications.
Countless challenges are waiting for you when you give the dynamics in Africa a closer look. These
challenges would vary from country to country but more than 75% of the challenges are common
especially when it comes to infrastructure capabilities, local regulations and security. You will always need someone to hold the torch to light your path so you won’t face any unexpected surprise in such complex environments.
Some countries in this second most populated continent have already taken steps towards enhancing
local regulations to attract investors and innovative companies so they can benefit from technology in
serving their nations and resolving the inherited problems.
During the coming few years we expect technology to be a major factor in Africa’s development in several domains. Education should be one of the main hot topics for any African government and technology could easily enhance this area given that the required infrastructure is in place. Especially important is that reasonable fixed broadband access exists but unfortunately the continent lags behind the rest of the world in broadband connectivity. However, research indicates that within the next five years, the number of mobile broadband connections will explode and reach ten times its current figure in Africa. But the fixed broadband connectivity is still a serious issue for the continent, as the penetration is about 5%.
Another major domain where technology is highly needed is power and renewable energy. The continent
has all required natural resources that could lead to successful deployments for solar and wind power
generation systems. In some African countries, the power problem is a major obstacle for any required
development especially in the area of telecoms. More than 30 African countries are now experiencing power shortages and regular interruptions in service, leading many to rely on very costly leased generating plants as an emergency stopgap which can’t be a permanent solution for this problem. In Sub-Saharan Africa, just 20% of the population has access to electricity. If we don’t have extensive plans for rectifying this and keep at the current trend, at best, the percentage of population with access to electricity will only double by 2050.
There are endless solutions and innovations in the telecoms industry that can be beneficial for the African continent. However, based on our extensive experience in Africa, finding the right solution to be deployed is part of the success of any project, while finding the right partner represents a huge part of such success. That is our aim and that is our vision: to be a partner for success in Africa.
