News coming out of Somalia have these days increasingly positive components such as the recent report from Mogadishu that people in the capital are increasingly using electronic or mobile shopping for making payments every time they make purchases. There are resorting to the latest marketing tools not because of fear of terrorism or crimes.
They are doing so because they have the internet infrastructure and services available to resort to e-shopping which is safer, faster and profitable for private servers or for the providers of internet service. This also demonstrates how, despite decades of war and terrorism, the Somali people have kept their indomitable spirits and the knowledge and skills to catch up with the latest inventions in modern marketing.
There are tangible reasons for the newfound optimism. First of all, life is slowly but certainly returning to normal in this once war-torn Horn of Africa country. The World Bank has a positive outlook on the economy which is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent this year. Somalia has overcome the statelessness under which all kinds of violent tribal groups have been proliferating and criminal elements were controlling the day-to-day lives of Somalis in Mogadishu and in the whole country.
This beautiful seaside capital was turned into Apocalyptic rubbles whose images were almost daily broadcast by global media outlets. Nothing but devastation, suffering, bombings, assassinations and explosions filled the media. This is changing slowly because Al Shaba, the most brutal and vicious terrorist group is on the defensive and retreating from the areas it once controlled and ruled with its characteristic brutality as an affiliate of Al Queda.
The weakening of Al Shabab is the result of years of struggle by AMISOM and Ethiopian peace keeping forces that played an indispensable role in changing the balance of forces inside Somalia. Contingents of AMISOM forces and fighters have paid with their blood for turning the situation in favor of peace. stability and normalization in Mogadishu in particular. The international community and the United States in particular have provided invaluable logistic and financial contributions to turn the tide in favor of the Somali government forces and the federal administration in Mogadishu.
Secondly, the holding of an election and the setting up of an elected government in the capital was also an indispensable condition for the creation of a new Somali state capable of administering the country and taking the security situation in its own hands. Nowadays, the talk in Somalia and in the Horn is not about when Al Shabab would retake Mogadishu of carry out dramatic attacks elsewhere in the country.
The talk is about when the Somali government is going to take full responsibility for the country’s security with the help of the defense forces of the country. Preparations are reportedly under way to realize this objective before UNISOM contingents leave the country after handing over the command of forces to the Somali army. This would be a huge success not only for the Horn but also for the international forces fighting against terrorism anywhere in the world.
Another sign that life is coming to normal is the fact that an increasing number of well-educated and prosperous Somali Diaspora members are returning to the country with their money skills and vision of a better Somalia. Some of them are investing in the country’s economy while others are reportedly engaged in the dynamic IT sector.
Even under the terrible conditions of war, Somalis proved innovative and courageous by opening private radio and TV stations and mobile phone networks that served the people of Somalia in their struggle against the dark forces of tribalism and terrorism.
Somali TV stations are famous for their reporting even when they operated under fire and many journalists of private channels lost their lives as a result. There is a kind of order in Somalia’s chaos and imaginative Somalis are taking advantage of any opening in the economy to promote private investment and entrepreneurial skills.
True, Somalia is still suffering from the consequences of the conflicts and close to 10 million people are now reportedly facing starvation as a result of food shortages due to the war and drought. Appeals are being made for international intervention against epidemics and famine. However, this is only one face of Somalia.
There is also the other brighter and optimistic face of the country which is rising from the ashes. This is the entrepreneurial and creative spirit of the Somali people. As indicated above, the Somali IT sector might be small but it is proving dynamic and promising. While most African countries have made slow progress in this particular area, Somalia that has not fully recovered from decades of conflicts, has developed a reportedly vibrant sector.
The Somali mobile phone sector is run by private companies and there is no state regulator that might play politics with the telecom sector as it is the case in many African countries including Ethiopia until very recently. This has apparently released the creative initiative of the private sector and that of the ordinary citizens that are experiencing the advantages of free enterprise.
Compare this to the situation in Ethiopia where the state is controlling the telecom sector, using it as a cash cow or as a tool of political control for the last 30 years or so. It is only now that the reform process launched a little over a year ago that the telecom sector has been targeted for privatization.
Despite its huge potentials where more than 100 million people are possible customers in the long run, the sector’s growth and modernization has been held back due to the state’s suffocating hold on the sector that is generating tens of millions of dollars annually.
The need for privatizing the telecom sector in Ethiopia is long overdue. It is however better late than never. The new reformist administration led by Dr. Abiy Ahmed has displayed political courage and economic realism to make Ethio-telecom a modern, fully or partially privately-run and efficient medium of communication, marketing, technological innovation and economic growth.
There is already a huge mobile telecom infrastructure in the country although mobile phone penetration is still one of the lowest even by African standards. This is however due to the large and ever growing population of Ethiopia that has long passed the 100 million mark. A big population is not only a challenge but also an opportunity as a big a big market for private telecom operators.
Ethiopia has also a growing number of young IT engineers and a creative pool of young innovators who, given the opportunity, would turn into successful entrepreneurs. They are impatiently waiting for the privatization of the telecom sector to unleash their creative energies.
There is ample evidence corroborating the virtues of private enterprise in telecom business in Africa. Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt and north Africa are few examples. Internet penetration in these countries is far greater than in countries where the state is the sole regulator of the IT sector.
Somalia with its relatively tiny population might serve as another case of the success of private enterprise in the telecom sector. Kenya and Uganda have already made long strides in the growth of their IT sectors. The South African MTN mobile server has brought a real revolution there. Vital lessons can also be learnt from the success stories of these countries.
Tens of thousands of consumers in the capital Mogadishu are reportedly enjoying the benefits of mobile shopping. In Ethiopia, mobile banking has barely started but since it is controlled by a single state regulator , its prospects for growth are understandably limited. Ethiopia can no more afford to live in a technological ivory tower as it used to live in the past, It is no more forgotten by the world and the world cannot forget Ethiopia anymore.
The time is now ripe for the world to come to Ethiopia and Ethiopia to go out to the world. There are more than enough reasons for Ethiopia to open up to the digital world today and not tomorrow. Suspicion of outsiders might be an Ethiopian malaise in the past. Nowadays, Ethiopia has a lot to gain by embracing modernization and trusting the outside world . It has a lot of catching up to do in the telecom sector in particular.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 15 September 2019
BY MULUGETA GUDETA
