African Market Trends in Technology Services: 11 country profiles (2nd Edition)

11 COUNTRY PROFILES(2ndEdition) The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency ofthe World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Street address:ITC54-56, rue de Montbrillant1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandPostal address:ITCPalais des Nations1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandTelephone:+41-22 730 0111Fax:+41-22 733 4439E-mail:itcreg@intracen.orgInternet:http://www.intracen.org African Market Trendsin Technology Services 11 COUNTRY PROFILES(2ndEdition) ABOUT THE PAPER This report analyses the tech sectors of 11 African countries and examines factors such as information and communicationtechnology infrastructure, the regulatory environment and the potential impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Key findings include that financial services, healthcare and agriculture offer the most opportunities for tech firms, whilelarge, English-speaking populations and favourable time zones provide export opportunities. This publication shares insights that will guide companies interested in offering information technology and businessprocess outsourcing services in Africa. The report is also valuable for tech hubs, investors and government organizationslooking to navigate the sector across Africa. Publisher:International Trade Centre. Title:African Market Trends in Technology Services: 11 country profiles (2nd Edition) Publication date and place:January 2024, Geneva Page count:242 ISBN:9789210030557 Sales Number:E.24.III.T.2 ITC Document Number:P128.E/SEC/DECI/24-I Citation:International Trade Centre (2023).African Market Trends in Technology Services: 11 Country Profiles (Second Edition), ITC, Geneva. For more information, contact: Gregory Sampson (sampson@intracen.org) at ITC or Helga Willer (helga.willer@fibl.org) and Laura Kemper (laura.kemper@fibl.org) at FiBL. For more information, contact: Martin Labbé, labbe@intracen.org ITC encourages the reprinting and translation of its publications to achieve wider dissemination. Short extracts of this paper may be freely reproduced,with due acknowledgement of the source. Permission should be requested for more extensive reproduction or translation. A copy of the reprintedor translated material should be sent to ITC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the International Trade Centre. Digital image(s) on the cover: © Shutterstock and ITC © International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. FOREWORD Information and communication technologies (ICT) have played – and still play – a crucial role in the fast-pacedtransformation of the African continent. The sector, with the information technology (IT) and business process management(BPM) companies it comprises, accounts for 6%–10% of service exports in most African economies. Continued growth of the sector is important, and ICT players are certainly motivated and driven to grow. This becomes clearwhen dealing with African tech players – for instance, when I visited a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm in Accranamed e-Services. Eagerness to expand beyond national borders is also there. Companies such as e-Services have hugepotential to serve numerous foreign markets and position themselves as IT and BPO experts. This report shows that many African countries have made rapid advances in mobile phone and mobile internet penetration.However, tech infrastructure in Africa is mostly underdeveloped and the base of IT and BPM suppliers remains narrow,especially in the smaller markets. Moreover, the notion of the digital divide is growing in importance as the gap betweendeveloping and developed countries continues to widen. COVID-19 contributed to this gap, slowing the progress that wasmade in the years before the pandemic. Tech consultancy Gartner predicted that global IT spending would reach a record $4.6 trillion in 2023 versus $3.6 trillionin 2020, led by projected growth of 30% in infrastructure-as-a-service spending. The decentralization and outsourcing ofIT services are set to accelerate. This could be a big break for many African economies. The opportunity COVID-19 broughtis greater trust in and ‘normalization’ of remote work, which benefits near- and offshoring of IT services even more. While the digital transformation was accelerating, awareness of climate change issues was, and still is, on the rise. Digitaltechnologies will continue to play an even bigger role in fighting climate change, which brings another opportunity in thissector for African tech companies. The second edition of this publication reviews the IT/BPM service offerings and conditions in 11 African countries, with threenew additions: Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal. It also examines enabling factors such as government incentives an