WITH many companies underlining the critical place of IoT to their businesses, analysts believe what is currently happening is that these firms are using the African market to sell their products and services instead of having a real presence as IoT original equipment manufacturers.
Lions go digital: The Internet’s transformative potential in Africa, a report by the McKinsey Global Institute (2013) on Private-sector opportunities states: “The growth of the internet in Africa opens the door for established companies to expand their reach and add new business lines. But the competitive dynamics are intensifying. The internet gives start-ups the ability to scale up rapidly, and some may be sources of low-cost innovation that can disrupt entire industries.
“In addition, multinationals increasingly realise that Africa’s growing Internet penetration presents an opportunity to reach untapped markets. If local companies do not innovate quickly, they could lose out to multinationals that import solutions,” the report goes on.
“For foreign companies, the challenge will be tailoring their offerings to the needs of Africa’s diverse markets and competing with businesses that understand the local context and how to operate in it. It will be important to spot gaps in the market and move decisively, as first movers are likely to gain a significant advantage.
“Large telecom operators will need to prepare for a pronounced migration from voice to data. They can create consumer demand by pushing for low-end smartphones, providing transparent entry-level pricing, improving the network experience, educating customers on the utility of the internet, and ensuring that setup is hassle-free. In addition, there will be opportunities to leverage the mobile network to deliver ICT services to business customers,” the report adds.
The Nigerian entrepreneur behind the soon-to-launch Metro Africa Xpress, specialising in ‘mobile asset tracking’, Adetayo Bamiduro noted: “The beginning of the transformation of Africa [in recent years] started with the introduction of mobile tech. The moment mobile tech companies came into Africa and rolled out these services. It unlocked the latent energy that had been logged up for so long in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s not just mobile. It’s the opportunities that it unlocks. Any company that doesn’t have a solid Africa strategy is probably making a big mistake.”
There is growing evidence Africa is going kinetic to take maximum advantage of IoT. For instance, in May MTN Business unveiled the first truly pan-African IoT platform, providing African enterprises with greater control and advanced management features for their connected devices and sim cards. The launch also sees the introduction of a global machine-to-machine (M2M) SIM card, which gives customers the same rate for M2M activity across MTN’s footprint in Africa.
The new IoT platform is now live in South Africa, with other MTN operating countries set to follow over the next 12 months. The platform removes significant cost and accessibility barriers, ultimately enabling development on a broader scale, leading to the establishment of a vast ecosystem of scalable solutions addressing real-world needs.
MTN’s platform is the next evolutionary step in connecting and managing machines. The platform and its associated dedicated network enables MTN to connect an otherwise fragmented population of devices and systems. The open platform enables networked devices to exchange information and perform actions, responding intelligently to their environments without human intervention.
“To ensure a seamless customer experience for our customers, wherever MTN has presence, the IoT platform has a dedicated network, separate from the consumer network, for operational and business systems support. As a result, the platform is dedicated to managing all MTN’s machine-to-machine functions,” says MTN Group Chief Enterprise Officer Mteto Nyati.
The number of global IoT connections is expected to reach 360 million by 2018. “In South Africa, the wholesale Machine-2-Machine (M2M) market – one aspect of IoT – is already worth an estimated R350 million and expected to grow to R1.2 billion by 2017. This means there are significant business opportunities for aspiring developers in South Africa and the rest of the continent,” says Nyati.
As part of the IoT platform launch, application developers from across South Africa are participating in the inaugural MTN Business Mind-2-Machine Challenge. The initiative aims to identify and enable talented African developers to create scalable and relevant business solutions that solve real-world problems. The challenge is also the first of its kind in South Africa, and provides developers, including students, graduates and small enterprises, with a unique opportunity to participate in MTN’s Pan African IoT ecosystem and community.
Winners of the Mind-2-Machine Challenge will be able to monetise their solution with MTN Business and take it to market rapidly.
“As MTN, we are particularly excited about this programme as it gives developers the foundation they need to empower themselves in this new era of connectedness. With today’s launch of our IoT platform, MTN Business is well placed to further inspire innovative thinking and enable growth on the continent,” concludes Mteto.
In the case of Middle East operator group Etisalat, it said it would launch “the region’s first Internet of Things application development and device management platform”. It is working with Oberthur Technologies and ThingWorx to build and manage the platform, which will “enable customers to develop and deploy innovative new IoT solutions for the growing machine-to-machine market”.
In a statement, the operator said that the platforms would enable it to provide standardised components that can be shared horizontally to support rapid development and lower costs to improve existing industry operations.
“IoT application development platforms will help drive our IoT strategy and build the many innovative services that we are working to bring to market and we are looking forward to bring value to our prospective customers,” said chief digital services officer Khalifa Al Shamsi.
Etisalat has been a keen supporter of “smart cities”, and said the new platform would be “critical to the realisation” of such efforts.
“Enabling automation and connectivity to billions of objects will transform the way we live. With smart solutions as the norm, Etisalat today is providing the IoT development platforms that will power the future for business and government,” Al Shamsi said.
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