Liberalisation lit the fuse for the communications revolution that has happened over the last three decades. Privatisation has proved far more problematic and has sometimes led to the very problems it was meant to solve. Balancing Act’s Russell Southwood, the author of Africa 2.0 – Inside a Continent’s Communications Revolution (Manchester University Press), discusses with Alison Gillwald, executive director, Research ICT Africa and Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town, what went right and what went wrong over those three decades.
They will also discuss whether the consolidation of Africa’s mobile operators is lowering the competition levels that liberalisation was designed to create, the tendency towards de facto monopolies in areas like mobile money and social media, and the policy implications of the barriers to further liberalisation and privatisation across the continent.
Although the digital divide has been reduced over the last three decades, it is very clear that there is an unfinished agenda. The speakers will debate what still needs to be done and how it might be achieved.
About the author: Russell Southwood is the Chief Executive Officer of Balancing Act, a consultancy and research company focused on telecoms, internet and broadcast in Africa.
We encourage in-person attendance to be able to engage with the speakers and enjoy light refreshments with us. For those who are not located in Cape Town, the event will be live streamed – follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for an announcement of the live streaming details.