One of two local tech start-ups will walk home with the bragging rights of being a Smart City trailblazer when Joburg announces winners of its maiden Innovation Awards later this month.
Vying for top honours is Malii Fintech and Speakk, both run by young tech boffins at the centre of pioneering innovative digital solutions against the scourge of Covid-19.
Read more: ZA: ‘Smart City’ mulls over announcement of tech boffins with best Covid-19 response
With the government now firmly focused on economic recovery, with planned infrastructure spend and job creation top of mind, there is renewed emphasis on skills development and community upliftment.
Yet key to this recovery and economic stimulation will be revisiting digital transformation objectives, and empowering public sector employees and leaders with digital tools and platforms that introduce efficiencies…while spurring much needed innovation.
Read more: A digital transformation roadmap to reimagine and elevate brand South Africa
The report that outlines SA’s strategy and planned response to the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has been gazetted.
This comes shortly after Cabinet approved its publication, charting a way forward for the framework that makes recommendations on how best the country can position itself in the global 4IR context.
Compiled by the Presidential Commission on 4IR (PC4IR), the report was promulgated in the Government Gazette dated 23 October 2020.
Read more: It’s time for a revolution: Government gazettes SA’s 4IR blueprint
The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a migration from physical work spaces in many sectors of the economy to online, digital services, supported by staff working from home. Parts of the economy such as mining, manufacturing and hospitality still require workers to be physically present. But other sectors have discovered that virtual platforms are effective substitutes for offices.
Online, however, requires digital infrastructure and services in information and communication technology (ICT). Digital infrastructure is essential to meet the new demand for virtual services as quickly and cheaply as possible. On top of this the potential of digital technologies to support economic growth is apparent. Many developing countries have comprehensive national strategies and initiatives to foster data mining, digital intelligence, e-government and e-commerce. These include India and China.
Read more: South Africa has failed to harness the digital revolution: how it can fix the problem
Now is the opportune moment to drive grassroots digitisation within SA’s economic and social structures, says Ryan Jamieson, CTO at Altron Karabina.
Although it is undeniably difficult to look back to February 2020 while still in the midst of a global pandemic, reflection can, in fact, reveal the many positive developments (and lessons) that the crisis has brought.
Read more: Embracing SA’s digital shifts to drive long-term economic growth post COVID-19