ICT investment to rise 9.9% in Africa

7 April 2011

New research has indicated that investment in Information Communication Technology (ICT) in sub-Saharan Africa will climb 9.9 per cent this year.

According to research conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), investment in IT will increase by $23 billion (£14 billion) this year, compared to 2009 figures.

In 2010 investment saw growth of 12.6 per cent, which was a notable recovery after the previous year's decline of 0.6 per cent, Macuhub reported.

IDC said there were "extremely positive" outlooks for the next few years, with average annual growth expected until 2015.

The vice-president of the firm for Africa, Jyoti Lalchandani, said that research showed there are many large investments expected over the coming years, especially in broadband.

"Executives are trying to leverage more links via undersea cables and manage domestic technological infrastructures using WAN optimisation and unified communication technologies," he added.

Elsewhere in the region, South Africa's ICT infrastructure is set for a boost as cities in the nation are to get access to a 1Gbps capable fibre optic broadband.

Category: ICT