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Zimbabwe has been accorded proof of concept country status to consolidate the digitalisation of its economy through the 5G concept in the health and manufacturing sectors.
This emerged out of a closed door meeting on the China-Africa Dialogue at the MCW24 technology conference here in Shanghai, China.
GSMA, the conference host, would lead initiatives to ensure consolidated telemedicine initiatives and smart manufacturing in Zimbabwe.
In an interview after the closed door meeting attended by Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Dr Tatenda Mavetera, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director-general Dr Gift Machengete and other representatives from Africa, the ministry’s director for infrastructure, Mr Newman Nyamhuri, said Zimbabwe emerged a candidate for the digitalisation of the health and manufacturing verticals, a development set to transform these two sectors in a big way.
“This will look at the ecosystems of the whole health and manufacturing sector verticals to leverage on the 5G technology to improve production efficiencies and effectiveness. We are now developing a concept paper to present to the MCW regarding this collaboration,” he said. The meeting was also attended by the GSMA chief regulatory officer Mr John Giutsi, Africa Telecommunications Union secretary-general Mr John Omo and government and regulators from other African countries.
The dialogue focused on the digitalisation of African economies through industry verticals that include health, education and manufacturing. Discussions centred on the need to employ 5G technologies across the continent.
Dr Mavetera pleaded Zimbabwe’s cause and emphasised the need to include the youths in such programmes. She stressed the importance of prioritising funding and investment in developing digital economies in Africa.
Zimbabwe is making more inroads into becoming a focal point for smart initiatives. It already holds the portfolio for smart agriculture under the auspices of the Smart Africa initiative.
A brief ahead of the meeting yesterday stressed that MWC24 Shanghai conference presented an opportunity to build upon the momentum generated at previous meetings to promote digitalisation of economies in Africa.
“Against the backdrop of the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, and in line of the spirit of the upcoming 9th Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will bring together Heads of State in autumn to discuss strategic collaborations for the next few years, this round table session aims to explore innovative strategies and collaborative approaches between Chinese and African stakeholders to accelerate digital transformation across the continent,” it said.
Key objectives included exploring best practices in digitalising industry verticals across Africa, fostering collaboration and partnerships between industry leaders, policy makers and technology innovators and driving impact, Government officials, media and students from Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and other African countries are attending the MWC24 conference at the invitation of Huawei Technologies.
The meeting began on Tuesday and ends today.
Online Reporter