One dollar investment can yield Sh1,070 in digital economy, says new study

A one-US-dollar (Sh130) investment in digital transformation can yield a $8.3 (Sh1,070) return in the country‘s digital economy, Huawei’s Global Digitalisation Index (GDI) findings have revealed.

The new Global Digitalisation Index, jointly created with the International Data Corporation (IDC) measures the maturity of a country‘s ICT industry by factoring in multiple indicators for digital infrastructure, including computing, storage, cloud, and green energy.

The report predicts that digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will drive 70 per cent of global economic growth over the next five years.

However, Huawei warns that while some countries are pouring resources into their digital future, others increasingly lag behind. “Our hope is that the GDI will give every country a clearer vision of and plan for its digital and intelligent transformation,” said Leo Chen, Senior Vice President, President of Enterprise Sales at Huawei.

 Data siloes

According to the report, less than 50 per cent of devices are currently connected, and computing is unaffordable, energy-intensive, and in short supply. Also, AI penetration in industries and industry scenarios is just 12 per cent. 

The gaps in ecosystem maturity, talent readiness and policy establishment and implementation are also difficult to overcome.  

“This is not to mention more granular issues such as data siloes and complexity in the integration of various processes within an industry, retraining a workforce used to heavy lifting and onerous labour, to be able to perform more agile tasks, and inevitable cybersecurity concerns related with uploading industry information to cloud-based services,” Leo observed.

He noted that such complexities could be managed through multiple parties working together to develop tailored, agile and secure solutions, which would then deliver cost reduction, efficiency improvement and new business models.

“This is already emerging across multiple industries such as the energy industry, where AI and Internet of Things (IoT)-driven insights can optimise resource allocation and utilisation, minimise waste and streamline processes,” Leo said.

The tech giant is also collaborating with partners to create industry-specific solutions, including a national government cloud solution and an ICT talent cultivation programme.

The GDI is projected to help policymakers and business leaders evaluate their digital transformation progress.