"The privatisation of telecommunications facilities on the continent of Africa is creating the infrastructure necessary to leapfrog Africa to accelerated economic growth." This is the view of African strategist, Josie Rowe-Setz, who recently addressed delegates attending a conference focusing on the Internet and its power to transform the design environment. Speaking to resellers of design software from Autodesk, the mainstream design software specialist, and quoting the BusinessMap online FDI database, Rowe-Setz highlighted opportunities for economic development in Africa and prospects in the manufacturing sector and the built environment, in particular.

"Privatisation and concessions - and specifically the focus on the privatisation of telecommunication facilities - is building a foundation for strong Web-friendly development," says Rowe-Setz. "Now that there is at least one cellular provider in virtually every SADC (South African Development Community) country, the focus is on the privatisation of all, or parts of, these land line services. This is the next phase of liberalisation within at least eight SADC countries.

"Improved telecommunication facilities will also provide a better Internet infrastructure enabling Internet-savvy companies to leverage the power of the Internet so that they can run their businesses more efficiently, increasing profits."

Rowe-Setz says an indication of the opportunities in Africa is the fact that the value of recently announced projects in sub-Saharan Africa totals about $21,5 million. "And these are only the projects where we know the values. We still do not have values for many projects. About a quarter of these ventures are infrastructural developments. Investment in infrastructural projects is a good indicator of long-term optimism.

"Where there are profits to be made, there are always investors," says Rowe-Setz. "Confirming this is the fact that on a quarterly basis, foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa has increased by 54% in the past five years - from R2272 million in 1996 to R9676 million in 2000. In the long term, growing FDI augurs well for the future economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa."

At the same conference Errol Ashwell, Managing Director of Autodesk Africa, said that just as the introduction of the PC-based design platform 15 years ago transformed the design industry, a new design platform - the Internet - is revolutionising the design environment.

"The Internet does much more than accelerate design time. The power of the Internet has enabled us to create electronic trading environments where companies can source and purchase materials, enhancing their ERP and manufacturing model. They can also sell their finished product on-line, which enables them to look at servicing new markets and growing their market share. The opportunities are staggering."

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