Bespoke design solutions.

As in the telecoms sector, African entrepreneurs are beginning to design IT solutions that are both technologically and financially appropriate to the continent. In Cameroon, a new company named Liquid Africa is attempting to set up the first pan-African online trading website. Managed by Cyrille Nkontchou, the company aims to create a network of brokers in every African country with a bourse. Many of Africa's stock exchanges list fewer than ten companies and so there is little need for stock brokers and little share turnover. The internet is therefore an ideal means of integrating stock exchanges across the continent, improving efficiency and hopefully boosting trading volume.

Online share dealing has so far failed to gain market share in the more advanced world financial markets which list a large number of companies. But after Africa took the lead with 'pay as you go' mobile pricing, this is another area where Africa could be at the forefront of ICT innovation. Again, how ever, online and financial security will need to be assured if investors are prepared to invest with remote stock brokers. Persuading Africans to invest within the continent rather than overseas will be another obstacle but putting the infrastructure and facilities in place would be a major advance. Whether Liquid Africa can make such a system work remains to be seen but the concept certainly seems sound.

The provision of online financial services in general is proving to be a very slow growth area, partly because of security concerns. As a result of corruption and irregular practices within the existing banking sector in Nigeria, for example, the government and regulatory bodies have been loathe to encourage online banking because of the fear that online financial crimes could further damage the country's reputation. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced at the start of July that only banks with a physical presence in Nigeria, and in possession of standard banking licenses will be permitted to set up online banking services, ruling out the growth of virtual banks which have sprung up in other parts of the world.

Online banking in Nigeria will only be available to Nigerians and should generally only employ naira accounts, while the CBN's Banking Supervision Department is to advise on online security. A CBN statement on the issue reads: "Sanctions would come if banks fail to seek CBN approval before launching, implementing or even enhancing e-banking services/products and if they fail to submit within the prescribed deadline the required information and documents."

Despite such apparently tight regulation, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), ABG Nigeria Limited and a local subsidiary of Development Ventures International of the US, called DVI Nigeria Limited, have come together to set up an online service called Netpost. As well as acting as an internet service provider (ISP) and offering internet access at major NIPOST post offices around the country, Netpost will offer online banking to Nigerians.

The cost of software is a major deterrent to the spread of IT in Africa but efforts are being made to reduce costs. Organisations such as the Shuttleworth Foundation are helping to make open source software available on the continent. Open source products are generally developed by philanthropic organisations and distributed online to users, often at no cost. The market driven spread of software is also possible when applications are written specifically for the African market within Africa itself. Ghanaian entrepreneur Hermann Chinnery-Hesse has set up a software company, aptly named Soft, to develop low cost software designed for African national markets.

Products such as the e-SuSu microfinance application and the Ndua system for timber companies can easily undercut internationally marketed brands. Chinnery-Hesse does not make any claims about his products being technically superior to US or European products, arguing that it is only by including what is strictly necessary for an African market that his products can compete. In an interview with the BBC, he discussed the company's software design: "First of all it needs to be simple and cheap. Then it must be tropically tolerant and able to cope with frequent power cuts."

RELATED ARTICLE: Geolink's cybercafes connect Africa.

Geolink is a world leader in satellite services, offering fax, internet, e-mail, data, voice and image transmission. They recognise that people and companies, from the smallest to the very largest, now need to be in touch with the flow of data and information that are instantaneously accessible via the internet, in order to be competitive.

But communication technologies that provide broadband internet access, such as ADSL or cable, are simply not available throughout most of Africa. Yet, as the Nepad initiative emphasises, Africa desperately needs affordable high-speed internet access to fuel economic growth and development.

Geolink believes it has a viable solution to Africa's problem. It is called CyberSat-Cafe or CSC for short, and the aim is to open more than 100 internet cafes in around 15 African countries. Geolink Access, with Isercom Informatique and Internet Cafes en Afrique, have also introduced broadband connections in Senegal. Over 12,000 people use cybercafes in Senegal, and more than 100,000 people log on to the Internet on a regular basis. Geolink Access and Isercom have set up a new cybercafe in Saint Louis. Unlike the normally very expensive satellite transmission solutions such as VSAT, Geolink Access relies on standard digital TV broadcast technology that is very reliable, requires modest equipment costs and offers Iow transmission costs.

Geolink, with Eutelsat, are also backing an initiative by France's La Poste group to provide Geolink Access two-way broadband Internet access to post offices throughout Africa. La Poste has just installed the first two interactive cyberkiosks in Burkina Faso. The cyberkiosks--installed in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, and in Dinare, a rural community 30km from the capital--were inaugurated by the country's president, Blaise Compaore.

Geolink claim that their CSC system can be installed in just a few hours by local satellite engineers. Once installed and commissioned, the terminal communicates two-way by satellite with the systems Europe based hub, connected to the worldwide internet backbone, offering a high-speed internet access to the users of the PCs.

RELATED ARTICLE: MSI broadens network in Africa.

MSI, a Belgium based international telecoms conglomerate, is broadening and improving its network service in a number of African countries. Currently, the company is licensed by 12 African governments to operate GSM cellular networks. These networks are mainly branded "Celtel".

MSI has operations in Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Chad, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Sudan and Niger. In Tanzania, MSI has a 35% equity stake and management control of Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL). TTCL launched the Celtel Tanzania cellular network as an independent subsidiary company. In Egypt, MSI is a founding shareholder and minority partner in Vodafone Egypt. In total, the African countries where MSI operates represents more than one-third of the population of the African continent.

In recent months MSI have announced major developments in three African countries: Uganda, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

UGANDA

MSI-Cellular has established a microwave link between Uganda and Tanzania. "This is yet another indication of our commitment to the physical integration of Africa", declared Issa Omari, chief operations officer of MSI Cellular. "We don't want to be left out of the efforts to build an African Union".

The new connection between Uganda and Tanzania will also provide a better link between East Africa and neighbouring African countries. Prior to this link, if one wanted to call Kenya or Tanzania from Uganda, it would first be routed to a satellite to either Europe or the US before being directed to the intended destination. However, with this latest innovation, a call will be routed without a satellite up-link.

Uganda Celtel's managing director, Lars Andersen, says "the new microwave link begins a new chapter in communications--not only for Uganda but for the whole of the East Africa region. It is part of Celtel's bid to provide improve usability and accessibility of communication as it will enhance the quality of calls and eliminate the risk of echoes".

NIGERIA

As part of its development in Africa, the international carrier, LinkAfrica, part of MSI-Cellular, has signed two interconnection agreements with private operators in Nigeria.

With this move, LinkAfrica (which is already interconnected with more than 10 African countries) has achieved an important goal--penetrating Africa's biggest market. "Nigeria represents an extremely important market in the telecommunications industry. With the new interconnections, LinkAfrica will be able to consolidate its presence in Africa through the constant development of its international network and an increase of its volume of traffic which has already tripled during the last 12 months", said Jean-Michel Trumpff, LinkAfrica's managing director.

Of the two contracts signed in Nigeria, one is with a licensed operator for international and national connections, and the second is with a mobile phone operator.

SIERRA LEONE

Further developments in West Africa include Celtel Sierra Leone, the leading mobile phone operator in that country, which has introduced new technology to further improve its customer services.

With the June launch of its own International Telephone Gateway, Celtel Sierra Leone now has instant access to 190 countries world-wide, including all African countries. The new system has also brought several benefits to Sierra Leone, notably lower tariffs, instant access to some of the most difficult places in Africa, world-wide telephone roaming (subject to mutual agreements with other networks), access to satellite telephones, and has facilitated global short message services (SMS).

The International Gateway uses state of the art technology with a current capacity of 150 duplex telephone channels and the possibility of further expansion. International carrier services are being provided by LinkAfrica, a sister company owned by MSI.