Like any commonly used phrase, “digital transformation” has devolved into a catchall term that means different things to different people. Consumer expectations of digitization and AI technologies are affecting all industries and sectors, and the government is no exception. But in the face of challenges, including increasingly strident calls to do more with less, many government agencies can strain to deliver program benefits, meet the public’s rising expectations of customer service, and build technology and infrastructure on time and on budget.
The business landscape across South Africa, the wider African continent, and globally is experiencing a seismic shift where technology continues to permeate every aspect of our lives. South Africa’s digital ecosystem has enormous potential to stimulate economic recovery, advance social and gender equality, and create jobs. The education sector will be critical in helping to prepare the workforce and contribute to ensuring that these transformations are inclusive and lead to reduction of poverty and inequalities. In short, the critical part of digital transformation is not “digital” but “transformation.” Equally, the urgent need to address the historical imbalances in terms of the previously disadvantaged in South Africa from ownership of means of production and participation in the economy weighed heavily and, hence, was a critical factor in conceptualizing the transformation strategy.
South Africa has developed some of the most progressive policies in promoting both broadband and digital transformation; however, significant challenges have been experienced in their implementation. These include institutional barriers, lack of integrated planning and coordination of policy development and implementation, as well as demand-side issues. Shifting departmental structures, frequent ministerial turnover, and delayed auctioning of high-demand spectrum are some of the institutional challenges. In terms of implementation challenges, fiscal consolidation requirements have resulted in funding bottlenecks that have occasionally impacted the government’s ability to deliver on its e-government targets and commitments. Some observers point to an insufficient reliance on private sector investment, which is mobilized in a rather minimal way, to provide for more efficient, technical, and cost-effective implementation, particularly in rolling out some e-government platforms.
However, on the 27th of August 2024, Naspers and the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) launched a research report exploring the untapped potential of South Africa’s digital platform economy—a sector that includes online platforms that facilitate economic transactions. In recent years, e-commerce and digital services such as fintech have expanded rapidly across South Africa to meet soaring demand driven by the pandemic’s lockdowns. But the pace of digital transformation in South Africa is still relatively slow, while the regulatory environment is still evolving to fully address the complexities of the digital economy, Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, CEO of Naspers South Africa, said.
Correspondingly, Joel Netshitenzhe, the Executive Director of MISTRA, added that the report makes crucial observations and recommendations, given limited publicly available data on this emerging sector in South Africa. Titled “Our Digital Horizon: The economic opportunity of digital platform businesses in SA,” the research report points out that around the world, successful economies are fast transforming into digital economies while the pace of digital transformation in South Africa is relatively slow. Globally, there has been a significant shift towards digital dominance among the world’s top companies over the past decade. In contrast, South Africa’s leading companies have seen little change in composition during the same period, reflecting a more gradual pace of digital transformation, which is still in its early stages. The report highlights key opportunities, including how South Africa can drive digital transformation and attract new entrants in sectors like e-commerce and fintech, fostering innovation and greater inclusion. With the prioritization of 4IR, some major policy developments around broadband expansion, such as spectrum auctions, were temporarily put on hold. Despite the fact workers in the platform economy, such as gig workers and freelancers, are seeing both exciting opportunities and some challenges. These platforms offer flexible earning options, but they also mention important questions about job security, workers’ rights, and income stability. Also, local businesses are facing increased competition from online platforms, which is pushing them to innovate and stay competitive. While small businesses may find it tough to compete with larger platforms, the platform economy is creating new job opportunities and transforming traditional work patterns in positive ways. These challenges are seen as threats to South African growth and development.
In the section infra, the author emphasizes how digital transformation impacts development in various areas in the public and private sectors in South Africa.
What Works
From an industry/ecosystem perspective, traditional industry boundaries have become blurry, and concepts such as industry 4.0 have become popular, signifying the impact of digital technologies. The network perspective describes how the value network or value chains have been transformed from linear to more complex and dynamic matrix structures. The company perspective highlights the on-going digital transformation efforts that organizations are undertaking to harness the power of digital technologies and the emergence of the strategic contribution that digital transformation can bring to an organization. The individual perspective underscores the concept that people’s identities have been extended to include their online profiles due to the use of digital technologies. In line with this, South Africa is actively embracing digital transformation through a range of government-initiated projects that promise to enhance public services and streamline processes. Notable examples include the implementation of online tax filing systems, which have made it easier for citizens to manage their tax obligations efficiently.
The introduction of e-visas is another significant step, simplifying travel for international visitors and boosting tourism. Additionally, the rollout of e-health records is set to revolutionize healthcare by ensuring that patient information is accessible, secure, and up-to-date across the country. Looking ahead, these initiatives are just the beginning of South Africa’s digital journey. From a regulatory standpoint, policymakers are grappling with the need to balance innovation and customer protection. Regulatory frameworks governing the platform economy are still evolving, with ongoing debates around issues such as taxation, labor rights, and licensing. The combined impact of digital technology trends, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI), is changing the ways in which people, economies, and societies operate. The ability of countries, organizations, and individuals to participate in the growing social and economic revolution, to benefit from and to be enriched by it, increasingly depends on the acquisition and deployment of digital skills.
At the same time, the country is looking at boosting the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and implementation of emerging technologies. The Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR) was appointed in April 2019 to develop a 4IR strategy. 4IR became clearly the priority for the country, and since then, the development of digital policies, independent of the sector, has been increasingly shaped around the 4IR context. The telecommunications industry is undoubtedly playing a critical role in enabling digital transformation globally, since broadband infrastructure is one of the key enablers of the digital revolution. Meanwhile, the Post-School Education and Training Sector (PSET) and wider innovation ecosystem provide the crucial skills development infrastructure for developing intermediate and advanced digital skills. Thus, the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy of South Africa (2021-2025) identifies the need for clarifying the roles, inputs, and outputs of the Post-School Education and Training Sector (PSET) and wider innovation ecosystem. In particular, it is widely recognized that digital technologies open new opportunities for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, and it is crucial that these institutions embrace such technologies and regard the production of digital skills as one of their contributions to enhancing the individual and collective capacities of current and future labor markets. The strategy is a comprehensive initiative aimed at fostering digital skills development across the country. This strategy, adopted by the Cabinet of the Republic of South Africa in August 2020, focuses on building a digitally skilled society to participate in the evolving digital economy.
Nevertheless, in terms of network, South Africa boasts the continent’s most extensive backbone network infrastructure with almost universal mobile broadband coverage. This key strength of South Africa is supported by government institutions with well-defined remits and effective policymaking, notably the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and South Africa Connect (SA Connect), both enabling the country’s impressive broadband coverage and closing connectivity gaps in rural areas and underserved municipalities. The focus on universal access to services and connectivity has seen the creation of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA), which manages the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF), a facility to fund projects and programs promoting universal services and access to ICT. Concerning hard infrastructure, there are five submarine cables connecting the country to global networks, and via private investment, South Africa has successfully transitioned to an open competitive regime in its international connectivity. The country has had a national broadband policy since 2013, with an update to this policy pending.
As the regulatory environment for South Africa’s platform economy is evolving with promising developments designed to foster innovation, boost competition, and enhance customer protection, challenges remain due to regulatory uncertainty and inconsistencies, particularly in highly regulated sectors like financial services and transportation, where there is significant potential for growth. In the FinTech space, platforms are navigating regulations originally designed for traditional businesses, but ongoing efforts to modernize these rules, especially in data privacy, cybersecurity, and digital commerce, are paving the way for a more supportive environment, the report said. Explaining further, the report noted that these changes are set to unlock new opportunities for digital entrepreneurship and attract greater investment, positioning South Africa as a vibrant hub for innovation. As digital platforms continue to shape the South African business landscape, significant disparities are emerging in access to digital tools, platform use-cases, reach, and adoption by businesses and the addressable market.
However, the disparities skew the benefits of platforms across class and spatial lines. Urban residents stand a better chance of benefiting from the jobs, convenience, and safety generated by platforms in comparison with those in townships and rural peripheries. While South Africa’s tax authority plans to start imposing a 45% tariff and a value-added tax, or VAT, an indirect tax on the consumption of goods and services on orders of imported clothing that cost under 500 Rand, or $27. Some consumers are pushing back with an online petition protesting the higher import duties. Some South African companies and industry groups have lobbied the government to close an import tax loophole, a so-called de minimis rule, for small parcels of clothing. The loophole was introduced decades ago for items such as gifts before the advent of online shopping. The report projects that by 2035, the business activities of digital platforms could contribute R91.4 billion ($5 billion), or 1.38%, to the South African economy. This impact includes a cumulative tax contribution of R10.7 billion and the creation of over 341,000 and 157,000 full-time equivalent jobs, based on monthly earnings of R12,000 and R26,000, respectively. Looking ahead, the South African economy stands to gain significantly by fully harnessing untapped digital platform opportunities in sectors like gaming and the informal economy and by expanding platform services to underserved markets. This growth potential underscores the exciting future of digital innovation and economic development in the country.
The Next Steps
Locally, governments have a responsibility to create an enabling environment with policies and regulations that promote digital transformation, experts say. Political commitment at the highest level, ensuring stability and predictability of the policy environment, promoting a sustainable environment for the private sector to invest in, adopting regulatory best practices, and stimulating demand for digital solutions are all part of the enabling environment. A conducive enabling environment across foundation pillars and critical sectors for digital transformation is fundamental. Policymakers and regulators need to keep pace with advances in technology, address the new regulatory frontiers, and create the foundation upon which digital transformation can achieve its full potential. In South Africa, researchers indicated that it can take “up to 180 days” to secure various approvals. It also calls for the expansion of high-speed internet access to be fast-tracked, a greater emphasis on science and technology education, and incentives for local producers to sell on e-commerce platforms.
Despite the fact that cheap, accessible, and reliable information and communications technology (ICT) can provide a major boost to economic growth and employment, South Africa needs to rapidly conclude the transition from analog to digital television signals (digital migration) and allocate new spectrum to expand wireless broadband services. This will reduce ICT costs and create business opportunities for new entrants. Research by the National Treasury shows that a 50 percent reduction in ICT costs can increase GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points per year and create over 200 000 additional jobs over the next decade. Increased accessibility of broadband services, accompanied by enhanced affordability and service quality, leads to higher inclusion, according to the World Bank. Observers also opined that digital inclusion, in turn, has a positive impact on creating jobs and reducing poverty. In the same way, achieving a vibrant, inclusive, and secure digital economy requires more than basic access to the internet.
South African authorities should introduce regulatory’sandboxes‘, or controlled testing grounds, to spur innovation in the country’s growing digital platform sector, tech investor Naspers opens a new tab, and research firm MISTRA said. According to Reuters, “sandbox” allows testing of new services in the market, but within a controlled regulatory environment without having to undergo a costly and lengthy full authorization process first. Furthermore, the report highlights that digital platforms in South Africa have become essential to the country’s economic and social fabric, providing significant benefits while also presenting hurdles that need serious attention and actions to ensure that the potential of platforms is maximized. In retail, finance, education, transportation, and beyond, platforms have driven innovations, enhanced efficiencies, and expanded access to products and services. In this context, e-commerce is thriving, while other platform segments are only starting to emerge. The urge to scale faster and a combination of underestimated market limitations result in early exits that are likely to deter investment. However, the persisting issues surrounding digital platforms across all regions require continued and collaborative efforts to ensure that the benefits of digital platforms are shared and significantly contribute to inclusive growth. Experts call for a collective between business, government, civil society, and other digital platform ecosystem players who will work towards faster digital transformation, an increase in digital skills and infrastructure investment, an adaptable regulatory framework, and an inclusive digital platform market.
