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On January 21 and 22 in Cotonou, the 1st edition of the Assises Nationales du numérique took place, under the theme: “Showcase of digital innovation in Benin: room for the private sector,” organized primarily under the supervision of the Beninese State and represented by the Minister of State and the Minister of ICT.
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Today, one can no longer talk about innovation without promoting digital technology, but let’s be clear, what is digital today? ICT, the Internet? Not only that; it involves an entire ecosystem of professions, training, a panel of proven and diversified skills, cutting-edge technologies, infrastructure, and so on. Not to mention that digital is everywhere! Education, health, media—briefly, I am not telling you anything new.
But today, we find ourselves wondering where Africa stands in this whole value chain? It is difficult to make comparisons because the potential differs in every way according to the country. And yet, Benin, a strategic hub in West Africa and historically considered one of the main nests of talent and intellectuals of all kinds, aims to position itself as one of Africa’s main digital districts.
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Over the last ten years, Benin has experienced constant development and a meteoric rise in the information and communication technology sector. It has adopted a vision, programs, and projects intended to generalize the use of digital technologies in varied fields such as teaching, public administration, health, and agriculture. It has also seen an increase in the number of mobile phone subscribers, representing a penetration rate of 92% for mobile. In short, the players in the sector are numerous and “digital innovation” is on the move.
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Benin now has as many internet service providers as GSM operators which, despite their different core businesses, find themselves today equally wanting to meet the demand of their segments for internet access. The local market is thus becoming increasingly competitive, which should lead to an acceleration of the privatization process of the historical operator, and which will, in turn, make it possible to extend and diversify the national fiber optic network. An inevitable solution to democratize internet access at competitive prices.
Also, Benin now has three strategic agencies for the development of ICT: the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Post (ARCEP), the Beninese ICT Agency (ABETIC), as well as the Beninese Universal Service Agency (ABSU-CEP). All this with the aim of supporting and sustaining initiatives taken to improve access and use of ICT and particularly the Internet in Benin.
Clearly, the initiatives taken are laudable, but objectively, with a very low fixed internet access rate of 6.3%, we understand that much remains to be done. Because the real problem to boost this sector is still internet access.
Fortunately, the will is there and the Beninese state is proving its involvement and wishes to play its role, as it is the main guarantor of this ambitious project.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]So the real question is: Where do we start? Privatize the historical operator? Is digital THE solution to youth unemployment? How will we boost the economy through digital? And when should we talk about generalized digital innovation in Benin?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”17625″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Before talking about digital innovation, what are the major challenges and vision of Benin to develop the digital economy?”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”17662″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
In short, it is clear that if Africa wishes to become the cradle of innovation and align itself with its peers, it must first go through the “digital” stage. So let’s take the risk of making the words “digital economy” sound the same as the word “innovation,” because this is the real challenge for the continent.
The words “construction site,” “strategy,” “reform,” erupted from all sides in the speeches presented by the speakers, so we understand well that despite the awareness of the Beninese state, which is already a “very” good start, many things remain to be done.
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We return to the famous stereotype of a two-speed Africa, one that still cruelly lacks structuring and proven skills on site, but also supervision, faced with an Africa of ideas which, thanks to globalization and the 3.0 era, absorbs this mass of “technological innovation,” which it would legitimately like to then share and spread in order to boost its economy. Africa has realized that its development must and will go through digital, but this is another debate…
To return to Benin and this first edition much awaited and acclaimed by the digital community, which rushed to participate, in terms of major challenges, the following priorities, which constitute the foundation on which the digital economy in Benin will develop, have been identified:
- Sanitization of the sector and denationalization of the historical operator
- Incentive environment for the digital economy (legal, institutional, fiscal)
- Development of national transport network infrastructure
- Improvement of Internet quality
- Promotion of electronic governance
- Promotion of the Benin label and mobilization of the ICT diaspora
- Success of the migration from analog to digital
- Promotion of universal access and local content
- Training of today’s and tomorrow’s actors
- Incentive environment for the digital economy (legal, institutional, fiscal)
- Training of today’s and tomorrow’s actors
Future editions will be organized twice a year. The machine is in motion and 2016 announces a pivotal year for “innovation,” or rather for “digital.”
- Event website: http://ann.bj/
- Terms of reference: http://ann.bj/tdr.pdf
- Opening statement: http://www.iafric.net/index.php/tic-benin/99-assises-numeriques-benin
- An interview with the technical advisor on digital economy Jules Degila: http://goo.gl/82V5Gq
- End of the National Digital Forum: http://goo.gl/29JQwS
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