The South African government is looking to develop the biggest tech hub in Africa. The hub will house a co-working, co-creation space and a coding and programming Academy as well. The space will be for youths and start-ups in particular.
The Minister of Small Business Development, Lindwie Zulu on Friday said “Through the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), my department, in partnership with the Department of Telecommunication and Postal Services, has started a conversation to develop the biggest Tech Hub in Africa.” She said while addressing an engagement session with the creative industry in Johannesburg under the theme ‘Leveraging on digital platforms for 4IR creatives’.
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The Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana led the session. It focused on broadcasting, audio-visual, new platforms and, the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). Zulu said the technological revolution must improve and advance the lives of South Africans. “It also becomes important that Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and Cooperatives embrace this radical reshaping of the relationship between technology capabilities and business opportunities. Incubators must focus on creating a new generation of South African Start-ups that will drive the creation of disruptive technologies in the creative industry,” she said.
She also said South Africa is well placed to benefit from the future potential in information and communications technology. She said the size of South Africa’s GDP, its levels of per capita income and productivity gave it a lead in the ICT sector in Africa.
“If South Africa wants to build on its existing strengths, it must not wait longer with making meaningful, and sometime bold, changes. It must overcome its current complacency, political complexity, and inertia to act. South African initiatives are likely to be successful only if they happen in an integrated manner and, importantly, create more scale and scope for growth across Africa and create the conditions that allow a greater role for consumers and businesses to drive the impact of new technologies through their effective use,” the Minister said.
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