The 21st century is an era of digital transformation. It’s almost impossible nowadays to imagine any form of progress in any sphere of life without the involvement of technology and innovation. Governments, business owners, civil societies and other institutions in the continent of Africa are beginning to recognize the transformative power of digital technologies and the importance of digital inclusion in achieving sustainable development and economy, having drawn inspiration from the progress in Europe and the Americas and even Asia. It’s encouraging that African leaders and people are beginning to understand the collective roles they can play in driving movement towards an integrated and interconnected global digital economy. This explains the increasing political and economic will to transition from analogous form of service delivery to digital usage to ensure efficient growth and productivity.

South Sudan, like most African countries, is still an infant when it comes to digital integration. However, it’s no stranger to technology. In its 11 years of existence as an independent nation, South Sudan has struggled to cope up with the rest of the world in embracing digital transformation in most areas. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimated that as of June 2018, only 8% of individuals use the Internet in South Sudan; It was 3.8% in 2014, meaning that the figure almost double in the period of 4 years. An impressive progress! Isn’t it? The percentage would have been even better than this had the country not experienced waves of protracted political and economical upheaval especially in 2013 and 2016.

Through it all, the country has always demonstrated resilience in catching up in the global effort to contribute in building a digital world. It is safe to say that the national government and the people of South Sudan have managed to make some good progress in bridging the digital divide by taking significant steps in building a vibrant digital economy. This claim can be backed up by the fact that today, there are three existing telecom companies offering telecommunication services to citizens; these are Zain, MTN and the recently launched Digitel. A number of Internet service providers such as RCS, IPTEC, 4G Telecom, Eden and others are improving their Internet services even in the face of economic hurdles. We have optics fiber connecting us to neighboring countries, making Internet available and affordable.

Additionally, an increasing number of people are owning digital devices such as smart-phones, tablets and computers, paving the way for access to information through Internet. It’s now possible to do financial transaction online, thanks to the introduction of mGurush, a mobile app that enables citizens to send and receive money and perform online payment both locally and internationally. It’s interesting that competition in the industry is increasing especially that Yeel App has also joined the market in facilitating financial transactions online. We have RABA, an Uber-like taxi app used for ordering taxi for transportation within Juba City. Recently, the government of Central Equatoria State launched e-government project which allows the state government and all its line ministries and agencies to share information with citizens in an effort to improve service delivery in the State. Moreover, today banks in South Sudan such as Cooperative Bank allows citizens to check their account balances and access other financial services online.

These are encouraging milestone to achieve for a country ravaged with two civil wars in a space of 10 years. However, when we compare this progress to that of other African countries, we realize that we still have a long way to go. Currently, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are at the forefront of digital revolution in Africa. In the neighboring Kenya, for instance, “eCitizen - Gateway to All Government Services” allows people to access national services. These services include national transport, immigration services, civil registration, and business registration, bringing government administration to the people. Countries like Nigeria and South Africa and even Rwanda are already talking about and implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, Big Data and other trending technologies. That is not a case in South Sudan which continues to face challenges such as poor digital infrastructure and high rate of digital illiteracy.

The International Telecommunication Unit (ITU) estimated a 12 percent Internet penetration in South Sudan in 2017, while other research findings, such as the 2015 Internews survey, indicated that the average Internet use was much higher when only the capital Juba was considered. The survey indicated a higher Internet usage in Central Equatorial state - where the capital is situated at 23 percent compared to the national average of 9 percent of the population in 2015. The survey further disclosed that among those with Internet access, 53 percent accessed Internet at home and 47 percent accessed from the offices. When it comes to gender gap in Internet use and access to digital media, only 5 percent of women in five states of South Sudan used the Internet to access news and updates compared to 14 percent of men. Male youths are most likely to have used Internet (17 percent) while adult women (3 percent) are the least likely.

DataReportal (2019) indicated that as of January 2019, the Internet penetration rate in South Sudan had grown 0.5 percent year on year between 2018 and 2019 and currently stands at 17 percent equal to 2.23 million users. Mobile Internet users represent 16 percent of the population or 2.13 million users, meaning that roughly 95 percent of Internet users access it through mobile phones. Levels of education also affect how the South Sudanese use the Internet. The Internews survey indicated that only 1 percent of those with no education have ever used the Internet compared to 16 percent of those with some level of education.

According to Digital Rights in South Sudan, UPR Submission, Session 40, access to the Internet is limited in terms of reach and affordability. For example, we have already mentioned that there are only three mobile broadband service providers: ZAIN, MTN and the third telecom company - Digitel - only started operating in April 2021 and there are hopes that this might drive competitiveness towards improved and affordable Internet services. The cost of data is high, compared to average income. Currently, the average cost of 100 megabytes of data is approximately US$1.11 daily while 1GB weekly is estimated at approximately US$5.5. Unlimited internet for an individual costs US$125 per month. According to the recent estimates by the World Bank, 82% of South Sudanese live below US$1.90 a day.

What does this data tell us? It tells us that we have less reason to celebrate but more to work hard to improve. And I’m hopeful that South Sudan can still cope up with the rest of the world in an effort to bridge digital divide and improve digital economy for all. Achieving that is a collective responsibility. It requires that all levels of governments, private sector and the civil societies in South Sudan come together to forge understanding and partnerships in supporting digital literacy and uplifting digital infrastructure and development to improve digital economy in the country. To achieve that, I suggest the following areas to invest on:

Firstly, there need to be a concerted and organized effort to invest in digital skills development. I dare to say that the university education our young people are getting now cannot help them become skillful in information technology. There need to be supplemented opportunities for skills development in coding and software Engineering. Coding Education is very crucial in achieving digital transformation. Without skilled labor force in coding, it will be very difficult to locally develop digital services and products that can make it to the digital markets. That’s why Coding Mentorship Initiative (CMI) and other local youth-led organizations and companies in South Sudan are investing in coding education to provide basic, medium and advanced hands-on training to secondary and university students who have no or little coding skill. The bottom line here is that when coding education is introduced to kids at the earliest stage of their studies, they tend to have chance to learn quickly and become productive. The ministry of General Education and Instruction needs to consider incorporating coding education into the curriculum in primary and secondary schools in South Sudan.

Secondly, governments and donors need to prioritize funding innovative ideas in South Sudan to ensure economic growth among the youth population. One of the major problems hindering efforts for digital transformation in South Sudan is the lack of adequate funding for digital ideas. There are brilliant young minds in South Sudan with innovative digital ideas that, if tapped into, can lead to economic progress, digital or otherwise. Making funding opportunities available to the youth to compete for is one way to identify those with brilliant ideas to translate their ideas into tangible products or services. Moreover, we have a growing number of local technology and innovation hubs and open spaces such as Scenius Hub, Junub Open Space, Koneta Hub, iHub Christian Students Hub and many others within Juba and other towns of South Sudan. The government of South Sudan, international partners and the business community should provide adequate financial, infrastructural and technical supports to these hubs so that they can serve the youth better. In other countries, such hubs contribute to turning young people into successful entrepreneurs and innovators. South Sudan cannot be an exception. When we do this, we will be making huge progress towards improving the digital economy in South Sudan.

Thirdly, it’s so important to invest on digital awareness. Most people in South Sudan still don’t appreciate the important and the power of technology in enhancing and improving their lives and businesses. That explains the main reason why there is less interest in investing on digital programs. Coding Mentorship Initiative works to engage other local and international organizations to increase effort on campaign in digital education and awareness to mobilize people to realize and invest on digital markets.

I believe that if we consider the above, South Sudan will be able to make important step towards improving digital economy in South Sudan.

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