Channel Manager's Playbook - Volume 5: International Agent Opportunities

South Africa are served to mobile devices. The number is greater than 80 percent in East and West Africa. A large number of these are feature phones, which accounted for 56 percent of the market last year, ac- cording to IDC. Smartphones grew 3.4 percent year on year. In all, 215 million mobile handsets were shipped in Africa during 2016, up 10.1 percent on 2015. Interestingly, video is on the rise in the region. Research from Twinpine shows that 78 percent of Kenyans and 60 percent of Nigerians online watch videos using their mobile phone. And, Hootsuite reported that mobile social media use in Africa in- creased by nearly 50 percent in 2016, although at just 12 percent penetra- tion across the region, there’s still plenty more room to grow. More to Be Done With connectivity growth in a stop- start phase, there are many areas of opportunity providers and resellers can get involved. For instance, chil- dren across Africa’s rural communi- ties are still being left behind – and with more than 70 percent of the con- tinent’s population living in rural ar- eas, this is a significant problem. The African Lookout Report shows that at least half the population resides more than 25 kilometers from the nearest fiber connection, making last-mile connectivity a key stumbling block. Equally troubling and of no less importance is a lagging behind in the healthcare sector. With seri- ous diseases like Ebola, malaria, cholera, meningitis and HIV/AIDS still threatening a great number of African lives, Brand South Africa reported that Africa shoulders one quarter of the global disease bur- den. Yet, it is home to just 2 percent of the world’s doctors. This issue was highlighted at the recent World Economic Forum Africa Summit, where it became evi- dent that the private sector will play a vital role in improving healthcare on the continent. Changing Lives One example of mobilefocused public-private-sector initiatives that work can be seen in Samsung’s part- nership with UNESCO in Tanzania. The Korean giant was able to provide innovative education and healthcare solutions to the Maasai community in Ololosokwan, Ngorongoro via a multi-donor program comprised of a Samsung Solar- Powered Internet School, a Samsung Solar-Powered Health Centre, a Solar-Powered Tele-Medicine Center and a Solar- Powered generator. While the Internet School con- tains an interactive whiteboard, Samsung Galaxy Note PCs and a printer, the Health Centre provides a variety of eye, ear, blood, dental and preand post-natal screening and treatments. The Tele-Medicine Centre, on the other hand, provides prescription and expert healthcare assistance through the use of tele- conferencing via Samsung tablets. Samsung also launched West Africa’s first digital village in Volo in the Volta region of Ghana, where it is partnering with government, lo- cal health services and international stakeholders, including UNESCO. Similar to the initiative in Tanzania, the Village is comprised of a So- lar- Powered Internet School, Solar- Powered Tele-Medical Centre, Solar- Powered Health Centre and Solar- Powered Generator. Not only is the Village instrumental to the improve- ment of healthcare and education in the region, but it also helps local traders to develop their businesses through the aid of an alternative, low- cost energy source. Yet another Digital Village in the community of Matshiding in Mpum- langa has a goal of making health- care accessible to more people. Because the Village drastically reduces the distance that patients have to travel to access medical care, almost 700 patients visit the Village each month to access basic healthcare services. According to McKinsey Global Institute, better connectivity will have the greatest impact in six sectors: financial services, education, health, retail, agriculture and government. Technology-related productivity gains in these sectors could reach $148 billion to $318 billion by 2025, and large populations stand to ben- efit as a result. “Despite a slow start, Africa’s digital development is now accel- erating,” McKinsey analysts said in a Digital Africa report. “As the con- tinent grows more connected, it is already producing innovative web- based applications and dynamic new business models. For now, the internet in Africa remains a wide- open space where companies can capture large opportunities if they move rapidly and decisively. Most exciting of all are the possibilities for using the internet to revamp the delivery of education, health and other public services – transforming lives in the process.” o 8 THE CHANNEL MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK