Day 2 C2C Summit July 2016: Engaging Africa's Youth

1. Connect 2 Connect Summit
“Engaging Africa’s Youth”
Presentation by
Lumko Mtimde, USAASA CEO

2. The Legislative Mandate• The Constitution
– Constitution: “… improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each
person” and, in doing so, enables equality in the rights, privileges and benefits of
citizenship, including the guarantees of freedom of expression and association in the Bill of
Rights in digital world. “
• Public Finance Management Act, 1999
• Electronic Communications Act (ECA) - in terms of the ECA, the USAASA
must (amongst others):
– strive to promote the goal of universal access and universal service;
– foster the adoption and use of new methods of attaining universal access and
universal service;
– make recommendations to enable the Minister to determine what constitutes
universal access, universal service and under-serviced areas;
– conduct research into and keep abreast of developments in the Republic and
elsewhere on information communication technology, electronic communications
services and electronic communications facilities;
– make recommendations to the Minister in relation to policy on any matter relating
to universal access and universal service;
– advise the Authority (ICASA) on any matter relating to universal access and
universal service; manage the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF) in
accordance with the provisions of the Act;
– Provide incentives to network licensees to construct operate and maintain networks
in under-serviced areas. 2
Legislative Mandate

3. National Policies: NDP, New Growth Path & SIP 15
• National Development Plan (NDP):
The ICT sector by 2030 will underpin the development of a dynamic and
connected information society and a vibrant knowledge economy that is more
inclusive and prosperous. A seamless information infrastructure will…
• New Growth Path:
One of the job creation drivers identified as part of the New Growth Path, the
national 5-year economic plan for the country, is the element of the knowledge
economy – an economy that is underpinned by access to affordable high speed
broadband…
• Nine Point Intervention Plan:
Among the Nine-Point Plan priorities of Government aimed at igniting growth, is
that the State reform and boosting the role of state-owned companies; ICT
infrastructure or broadband roll-out; water, sanitation and transport
infrastructure.
Another is Operation Phakisa (a programme aimed at accelerate implementation
of the NDP). Operation Phakisa in Education is envisaged to, amongst other things,
address the need to train and prepare teachers to integrate ICT in their classrooms
and change their teaching practices aligned to the ICT resources.
• SIP-15: Expanding Access to Communication Technology :
AIM: 100% access to digital ICTs to all South Africans by 2020 as a driver of new
economic opportunities and digital equity. Interim implementing agencies include:
Sentech, Broadband Infraco, Telkom, SANRAL, Eskom, Transnet, USAASA, and the 3

4. Digital Opportunity Strategy : Youth in ICTs
• Youth with access to technology are coming of age as digital natives, the early adopters of ICTs and
better positioned than their parents to harness the power of ICTs in new and imaginative ways.
Education plays a pivotal role in uptake and use
of ICTs
• Around the world, youth disproportionately suffer from the malaise of unemployment.
• The scale of the problem is immense, holding back economic growth while stifling the aspirations of
people recently entering the workforce and at the beginnings of their careers.
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5. Youth in ICTs
• Youth make up 17 per cent of the
world’s population and 40 per cent of
the world’s unemployed, according to
the International Labour Organization
(Measuring the world’s digital natives” in
ITU, Measuring the Information Society
2013 (Geneva: ITU, 2013)
• Global Crisis : Currently, 73 million
young people are unemployed
worldwide, with more and more youth
finding longer lines for available jobs,
according to the International Labour
Organization. (International Labour
Organization, "Global Employment Trends
for Youth 2013,”)
Underemployed youth is triple the
unemployment rate:
Sub-Saharan Africa has a youth unemployment
rate close to 11 per cent, but three out of four
workers are engaged in the informal sector.
Although these jobs count as employment, they
do little to contribute to an individual’s well-
being and a country’s economic development.
World Bank 2105
People with more advanced ICT skills can take
advantage of an even wider range of
opportunities brought about by the growth of
the “app economy,” mobile phones, social
media, and the game industry.
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6. Agriculture
The agriculture sector is becoming more knowledge
intensive, and as this trend intensifies so too do
opportunities for ICT-related job creation
Timely access to information and communication
allows farmers to cope with and even benefit from
challenges like a growing population, constant price
changes, climate change, or the integration of food
markets.
Offshore services
Offshore services are a potential vehicle for low- and
middle-income countries to participate in the global
knowledge economy
These services include :
– information technology outsourcing (ITO),
– business process outsourcing (BPO),
– knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).
Health
• Healthcare is a global multi-trillion dollar
industry that is undergoing massive changes as
a result of ICT driven innovations
• Unequal access to affordable and high-quality
health services continues to be a critical
challenge in many low and middle income
countries.
• This has triggered interest in using ICTs, and in
particular mobile phones, to solve global
health challenges. 6
Economic Sectors Driving Youth Employment
Digital opportunities: Innovative ICT
solutions for youth employment ,February
2014

7. South Africa’s Response in Youth on ICTs
The South Africa Connect underpins availability, accessibility and affordability principles which are
central to Universal Service and Access.
• SA Connect is made up of a four pronged strategy:
• Both supply and demand side interventions will close the identified gaps between the current relatively poor status of
broadband in the country and the vision of a seamless information infrastructure by 2030
• The strategy will provide:
– Universal accessibility across the country at a cost and quality that meets the needs of citizens, business and the public
sector.
– Access to the creation and consumption of a wide range of converged applications and services required for effective
economic and social participation.
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8. HOW?

9. Digital Skills Training
• DTPS – HUAWEI Innovation Centre
• MICTSETA
• NEMISA
• E-Skills
• Partner to deliver digital skills
training that lead to employability
and entrepreneurship.
• Digify programme by Livity Africa
and supported by the likes of
Google is well placed to plug its
services into USAASA sponsored
schools enabling matriculants the
ability to be immediately
employable.
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10. ICTs in Education
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11. THE END
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