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Home-grown
solutions key in tackling ICT challenges
John Mberi, Zimbabwe Independent
May 27, 2011
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/business/31106-home-grown-solutions-key-in-tackling-ict-challenges.html
The fact that
global economic domination today is at core driven by leading world
digital economies - America, Europe and now Asian giants like Japan,
China, South Korea, Singapore, India, Malaysia needs no convincing
to anyone.
In all these
economies, the evolutionary transformation to such global dominance
was calculated choice at national level followed by years of focus
on implementing strategies for ICT driven economies, building and
leveraging on internal capacity.
In most of the
cases, the process of socio-economic transformation required some
chaotic phase bringing the economy to ground zero before the new
economy germination. For example in Germany and Japan it was the
world wars that catalysed the change, and in some countries it was
extreme economic meltdown as is the case with Zimbabwe today that
is the necessary evil for change.
The process
of technology driven transformation takes years before tangible
results can be seen, examples being China - about 30 years, India
- 25 years, Malaysia - 10 years, and this understanding of the gestation
period is very crucial for success.
In all these
cases, technologies developed for local markets become launch-pads
for export market penetration. The core driving force is always
the power of human resource innovation, which is developed and matured
during the "home growing solutions" phase.
Today Africa
is the new ICT research focus and the transformational gestation
period should be much shorter than 10 years, given the lessons from
other continents.
Africa has already
made this choice of digital transformation with almost every economy
having adopted national ICT strategies, and now at different stages
of implementation.
South Africa,
Kenya and Rwanda are some outstanding examples to watch out for
results already. Zimbabwe, a delayed starter, has all the ingredients
for success;
- A zero ground
economy for easier culture change
- An educated
population dubbed the "continental intelligentsia or brain
basket
- A hardworking
and honest population (a culture revamp/refreshment is required
here).
- Excellent
Savanna weather for "software hubbing" - natural ambience
enabler for ICT development.
The past 10
years of economic stagnation erased local business competitiveness,
creating a unique socio-economic order needing re-engineering at
all levels, with the need for latest technologies in order to be
relevant in the new global village.
The last 10
years has witnessed Zimbabwe crafting and adopting national ICT
policies and strategies with the following stage developments:
- Huge investment
in mobile telecommunications infrastructure, leading to massive
mobile telephone usage across the economy, bringing new ways of
doing business with cheaper and better customer reach.
- The Zimbabwe
government launching implementation of eGovernment on April 29
with massive impact on socio-business approach and the economy
within the next five years and onwards.
- Active software
developed locally, providing content/data traffic on the infrastructure,
bringing context relevant to local business and life dynamics.
- Businesses
not re-engineering along above global technological trends collapsing
under regional (South Africa) and global (Chinese) competition.
- The cost
of re-engineering being heavily weighed down by lack of capital,
hence calling for local innovative solutions now with advocacy
voices through the "Buy Zimbabwe" campaign.
- Massive unemployment
eroding productivity and buying power to re-generate economic
growth, bringing in new paradigm approach to business due to new
players and cultures of doing business. For example many numbers
of tobacco growers now facing a constrained system at the auction
floors.
Zimbabwe needs
to regenerate in line with realities locally and globally, leveraging
on internal ICT technological capabilities and its long-view capacitation.
With government's and the global path towards a digital economy
(eZimbabwe), business has no choice but to quickly embark on new
a ICT driven business approach, and home grown solutions are the
only option for sustainability.
The new dynamics
of the Zimbabwean and African markets require local innovation and
drive in terms of technology offerings for context relevance and
new ICT culture acceptance.
"Cultivating
home-grown solutions for ICT challenges" is less of a choice
for Zimbabwe today than a must, if the country is to be relevant
in the global market.
The approach
to home-grown solutions is best not to re-invent the wheel, but
to adopt, adapt and excel on best global technologies, techniques
and methodologies.
The process
of "adapting to local dynamics and excelling beyond original
source" is the culture of home growing we need to cultivate
like every other successful world economy today such as Japan, China,
India, South Korea and Malaysia.
This culture
calls for cultivation of trust between business, government, academia
and its technologists for quick and best results in a similar fashion
to how doctors and stakeholders in the medical fraternity relate
today.
That so crucial
trust is the responsibility of local ICT developers to earn through
quality and price competitiveness.
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