The Information and Communications Technology industry in Africa is unique. While the rest of the globe has gone through the various stages of evolution from interwoven webs of cables stretching for miles, to wireless technology connecting individuals and businesses strewn the world over, Africa’s ICT industry has leapfrogged from being virtually no connectivity to high degrees of mobile penetration.
What makes Africa’s ICT sector unique is that, due to lack of adequate communication and information gathering infrastructure, the continent has had to adopt mobile technology faster than other regions.
Information is a vital ingredient to Africa’s development and it is paramount that Africans are provided with adequate information on health, politics and social issues that encourage the development of solutions for the many problems we face as a continent.
The growth of the ICT industry in Africa has opened up many doors for both established businesses and upcoming entrepreneurs. The industry also offers a myriad of job opportunities for Africa’s young population in the areas of innovation, retailing of computer hardware and software products as well as management and finance targeted specifically at the ICT sector.
To gain a better understanding of the IT industry in Africa and to learn more about the opportunities available, please listen to the following interview we had with Ryan Martin, the co-founder of Syntech, an IT company working across the Sub-Saharan Africa region.