OUR MISSION

The mission for this digital portal/platform is to create access to learning opportunities and networks on technology and innovation targeted at individuals, business enterprises, Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) in particular, and policy-makers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to up-skill and re-skill in various technology sectors in order for their businesses to become competitive, agile and sustainable.

We envision SADC enterprises adapting and advancing in the modern and post-COVID-19 environment by adopting the latest appropriate and efficient technologies where they access learning opportunities cost-effectively, network, exchange ideas and information, and create a strong technology and Innovation integrated ecosystem.

TECHNIAFRICA BACKGROUND

We are a community of practitioners supporting technology and innovation learning and networking in Africa. We are passionate about supporting MSMEs and entrepreneurs keen to explore new technologies and innovation to improve their competitiveness, agility, and sustainability. We aim at involving women and youth and their businesses better integrate into the mainstream formal economy and be active players in the technology and innovation space.

ECA SRO-SA partnered with the SADC Business Council to create an online platform that will be hosted by the latter.

Covid-19 has had adverse effects on the African continent and in particular businesses and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Africa Trade Policy Center (ATPC) and the International Economics Consulting (IEC) Ltd, based in Mauritius, partnered as early as April 2020 to conduct the first online survey among businesses in Africa to assess the impact of Covid-19 on African businesses. A second-round survey, that also involved ECA Subregional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) was conducted in June 2020.

These surveys confirmed the role of technology and innovation as a strategy used by businesses to address the impact of Covid-19. For instance, in the July 2020 survey for Southern Africa, it was found that in an attempt to overcome the crisis nearly 69 percent of the companies surveyed operating in Southern Africa had identified new opportunities in reaction to the crisis. Businesses operating in the goods and services sector had both identified potential growth in markets as one of their top priorities. What was notable was that online selling and shift to new technologies had also been considered as an opportunity to focus on. Digital technologies had allowed employees to remain in employment and allowed firms to maintain continuity in their business activities, therefore avoiding drastic reductions in capacity utilization by having their employees working remotely.

In a report titled “How South African SMEs can survive and thrive post-COVID-19”, McKinsey report states that “digital and new technologies create an opportunity for SMEs to enhance their reach and efficiency at lower costs, overcoming the scale disadvantage they have relative to larger players. SMEs can focus on key areas of competitiveness in their value chain, product, and/or operations and identify the best technology levers to enhance competitiveness” (McKinsey, 2020). [https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/middle-east-and-africa/how-south-african-smes-can-survive-and-thrive-post-covid-19]

In order to support member states in addressing the impacts of Covid-19 on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), along with the five regional economic commissions including UNECA are implementing jointly a UN Development Account-funded project titled “Global initiative towards post-Covid-19 MSME sector”. The objective of the project is to develop and implement capacity building tools for governments and MSMEs to facilitate resurgence and strengthen resilience of MSME in developing countries and economies in transition to mitigate the economic and social impact of the global Covid-19 crisis and to facilitate the contribution of MSMEs to the implementation of SDGs.

One of ECA SRO-SA’s programmed outputs under this cluster to achieve improved access to technology and innovation, the intended outcome consists in setting up a digital platform including a Community of Practice (COP) to enhance utilization and development of technology and innovation by SMEs as part of strategies to address the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on the productivity and economic viability of SMEs in Southern Africa.

TECHNIAFRICA’S CORE VALUES