As the world reels from the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff trade war and a pending slowdown in economic growth across the world, South Africa’s ICT sector can use the opportunity to develop its own technologies.

As a proud member of the African Union, South Africa is also well positioned to not only benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area as a market, but also to collaborate with other countries that are developing innovative solutions, says Dr Jannie Zaaiman, Coordinator of the South Africa Information and Communication Technology Association (SAICTA).

Zaaiman says that, whichever way the Trump trade war wind blows, it is clear that South Africa will need to diversify its export destinations away from the US. “Although America only accounts for about 8% of all exports, with favourable trade agreements such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act under threat, it makes sense to seek alternate markets and to leverage current geopolitical relationships,” he adds.

While the country does not have a reputation of being a source of great technological skills and development, this is a misplaced view. 

“South Africa is the birthplace of several innovative solutions, such as digital-only banks, mobile energy kiosks, and innovations in smart things that incorporate Internet of Things,” says Zaaiman.

There are already beneficiaries to the advances being made in local technology, says Zaaiman. “We are seeing smart cities becoming part of our landscape such as in Lanseria and Cape Town, for example. More importantly, technology is being used in areas such as healthcare to ensure that South African citizens living in remote areas have access to medical assistance through telemedicine,” he says.

“These examples are by no means the only ones South Africa has to offer. There are many more similar companies out there that may just need a solid target market to ensure their business plan is successful. Africa as a destination can be those markets,” says Zaaiman.

Such companies can also receive government support, through the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation’s Innovation Fund, which offers more accessible financial support to small tech companies.

Zaaiman adds that the government is also investing in research and development through funding tech-focussed PhD programmes by as much as R5 billion by 2030 through pooling resources with the private sector.

However, all this could come to naught and seriously impede South Africa from expending its tech sector to the point where it becomes a continental giant. In 2011, the Department of Economics at the University of Stellenbosch published a report that is still relevant. It stated that it looks like the country is doing well in terms of access to education, yet the low quality of education in primary and early secondary phases leads to a substantial drop out before youth reach matric. 

“It’s vitally important that we improve the quality of education all the way from the first grade to matric,” says Zaaiman. “Without properly skilled young people who are, at a minimum, computer literate, South Africa will not fully benefit from the rapidly shifting technological landscape and be globally competitive,” he says.

However, such challenges are not insurmountable with assistance from the private sector. There are already programmes in the mining industry, for example. One is the Mining Qualifications Authority, which has been aiding skills development to meet skills needs of the mining sector at various levels of education. 

“There is no reason why the private sector cannot expand these types of programmes, investing in our youth, through doing things like boot camps. Investing in our young people means business benefits from having talent that can help drive the technology economy,” says Zaaiman.

Zaaiman adds that driving the technology economy will help grow South Africa’s gross domestic product – benefitting all who live in this beautiful country. “South Africa has a huge opportunity to take advantage of Trump’s imposition of tariffs through creating innovative technology, which will create more jobs in this fast-paced environment and ensure that we are not left beh