By Patricia Kapulula
Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) Director General, Daudi Suleman says Malawi has potential to becoming the next big digital skills exporter if it positions itself to take new opportunities that have come with the digital economy.
He was speaking in Lilongwe on Monday during a Mobile Connectivity Index workshop.
The workshop aims to dive into the connectivity data and identify areas where Malawi can improve on its mobile connectivity.
Suleman said the world has moved into a digital economy hence the need for new skills that are aligned with new opportunities that come in.
“It is right to export human labour but we must also understand that there are more digital opportunities that are availing themselves across the world. Therefore, the more that we skill our people digitally, the bigger the opportunities that we are exposing for them.
“They should be able to compete on world level without moving from their homestead. What is key is to ensure that we have proper connectivity and our people have access to smart devices that will enable them to access these opportunities,” he said.
GSMA is facilitating the workshop which has brought together government officials, the regulator, mobile operators and the academia as well as interest groups such the Competition and Fair Trading Commission.
GSMA is a global mobile organisation that unifies the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation that helps business and society to promote mobile connectivity throughout the world.
In an interview, GSMA Senior Advocacy Manager, Anne Shannon Baxter expressed satisfaction that Malawi’s performance in mobile connectivity is improving.
“What is needed is for Malawi to find out how it can improve in digital affordability and content, among others. MACRA and other government agencies need to look at the data and uncover policy priority areas where they need to focus to further improve connectivity,” she said.
The workshop is focusing on key thematic areas such as affordability, consumer readiness, content in data, policy priorities to focus on in order to improve data affordability and spread connectivity throughout the country.
