A Roadmap to Ensure That Every Citizen in Zambia Benefits From the Digital Revolution

My colleague, Aze Malawo, who leads the operations in Sub-Saharan Africa for Global Tactics, an multinational advisory firm that helps clients understand how the world is changing, and how that creates opportunities to be seized and risks to be managed, splits her time between Washington, DC and her native Zambia. Since my first meeting Aze in the mid-2000s, I have heard about the beauty of the southern African nation and the business opportunities that exist in several sectors including the information and communications technology sector.

It was, therefore, with great interest to read a report published by the GSMA, a UK-based organization that aims to unify the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change, highlights how "the digitalization of the economy is a key driver of social and economic growth in Zambia." According to the report, "By taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization, the Government of Zambia can deliver on the development objectives that it has defined and achieve sustainable economic growth."

The report's key findings include:

• Adoption of digital technologies across both public and private sectors accelerates economic growth by promoting innovation and investment. It increases productivity across all sectors of the economy, improves access to global value chains (GVCs) and improves the efficiency and transparency of government and public services. Moreover, access to emerging technologies such as mobile money, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are desirable as drivers of digital and financial inclusion which in turn supports human development.
• This study identifies opportunities and quantifies the economic value of adopting digital technologies across selected sectors of Zambia's economy. Accelerated development of the digital economy would benefit both the Government of Zambia and the country's citizens in multiple ways. Economic growth would raise incomes, create jobs and raise tax revenues. Digital technologies would also provide direct benefits through enhanced access to information, productivity-enhancing technologies and improved educational outcomes.
• Mobile connectivity and mobile money both play a key role in digitalization. Mobile broadband connectivity provides the foundation for the digitalization process. Mobile money is also critically important, providing individuals and businesses an accessible and efficient route to financial inclusion.
• The mobile telecoms sector in Zambia has made steady progress in recent years but there remain significant challenges. These challenges include expanding access and increasing adoption of digital services, particularly among low-income households and in rural areas. This will require further network rollout and upgrades, support to ensure that devices and services are affordable for everyone and boosting adoption through stimulating demand for digital services.

The report importantly points out that "[p]olicy plays a critical role in the future development of the digital economy in Zambia. The growth and development of the digital economy is strongly influenced by policy and regulatory decisions taken by the government." The GSMA says its "study identifies how opportunities for economic growth and development can be unlocked through policy reforms. Overcoming the challenges facing the sector will require bold policy initiatives on the part of government to stimulate demand, reduce the cost of supply and promote investment in mobile telecoms networks and in mobile money services."

GSMA's report also "identifies a series of specific policy recommendations that, if implemented, would increase the number of internet users in Zambia by 2.1 million by 2028. This would reduce the internet usage gap by 9 percent points."

The priority policy reforms include:

• Reducing sector-specific taxes and fees on mobile telecoms services
• Reducing operating costs and improving the financial sustainability of the mobile business
• Modernizing the tariff regulation regime, to provide more certainty for operators
• Lifting restrictions on mobile money charges and removing the mobile money levy
• Stimulating additional demand for mobile telecoms services

If adopted, these policy reforms "will help Zambia to achieve its economic development objectives, including economic transformation across important sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. The potential macroeconomic impacts are summarized below in Figure 1."

Image: GSMA

In a press release issued by the GSMA, Angela Wamola, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa for the UK-based organization, said: "The Zambian government has demonstrated strong commitment to digitalization through its National ICT Policy 2023 and the Eighth National Development Plan. Now, more than ever, collaborative action between the government, industry, and stakeholders is needed to create the enabling environment for digital transformation. The future of Zambia lies in digital connectivity. With the right policies, we can close the digital divide, empower communities, and unlock new economic opportunities. The Zambia Digital Economy Report provides a clear roadmap to ensure that every citizen benefits from the digital revolution. Now is the time for bold action."

What are your thoughts about the report's findings? What digital transformation opportunities are you seeing in Zambia's mobile technology sector.

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Pakistan Has High Aspirations to Become a Digital Nation, Says GSMA Report

Over the course of my professional career, I had the opportunity to visit Pakistan a few times. Despite the security concerns that are prevalent throughout the South Asian country, I was routinely impressed by the strong desire Pakistanis had in utilizing life-enhancing digital technologies. It was, therefore, with great interest that I read a report published by the GSMA, UK-based organization that aims to unify the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change, that says Pakistan is poised to unlock its economic potential through accelerated digital transformation.

The report begins by noting how "Countries around the world and in Asia Pacific, including Pakistan, have stepped up efforts to become digital nations. This entails integrating digital technologies and services into every sector of the economy as a means of building resilient economies with finite resources and achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth." GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of GSMA, has identified the following "five key components that must be in place for countries to realize their digital nation aspirations."

1. Infrastructure: Foundation upon which digital services and applications are created, stored, distributed and consumed;
2. Innovation: Ability to create and integrate new technologies to enable a variety of new solutions and use cases for the economy;
3. Data Governance: High data governance standards, with efforts to become more transparent, participatory and accessible.
4. Security: Advanced cybersecurity measures to help businesses to operate safely in a fully digital environment.
5. People: Change in culture and personal behavior, and the right levels of digital literacy and skills to be able to navigate an evolving digital world.

As the report points out:

These components are interconnected and must be developed together to avoid potentially costly gaps and delays in the implementation of digitalization initiatives. For example, a lack of adequate infrastructure could offset efforts to support innovation, while a lack of trust due to poor data governance and security could delay the full use of infrastructure investments. It is important to note that developing the components of a digital nation collectively requires significant investments from both the public and private sectors, particularly for capital intensive projects, such as the deployment of next generation telecoms infrastructure, as well as enabling policies and regulations to ensure the sustainability of those investments.

With respect to assessing Pakistan's digital nation aspirations, the report explains that "Digital Pakistan is the flagship initiative of the government of Pakistan to expand the knowledge-based economy and spur socioeconomic growth using digital technologies. Launched in 2018, the overarching goal of the initiative is to promote connectivity, improve digital infrastructure, increase investments in digital skills, and promote innovation and tech entrepreneurship. Over the years, the government of Pakistan has introduced various policies and initiatives to support the realization of Digital Pakistan and, by extension, set the country on the path to becoming a digital nation."

The report contains a table that maps the contribution of these policies and initiatives to the development of the components of a digital nation in Pakistan. The content of the table is listed below.

1. Infrastructure: Pakistan is taking strides towards digital transformation with the approval of the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2024. This legislation lays the groundwork for a digitally empowered nation by establishing two crucial bodies:

• National Digital Commission: As the policy-making hub, this commission, chaired by the Prime Minister and comprising federal and provincial representatives
• Pakistan Digital Authority: This operational arm will be responsible for translating the commission's policies into action.

While the potential benefits of this digital transformation are immense, challenges in infrastructure development must be addressed to ensure a successful transition.

2. Innovation: The government has been a driving force behind Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, with initiatives such as the Pakistan Startup Act and the establishment of incubators and accelerators across the country, providing an enabling environment for startups.

3. Data Governance:

• The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 is currently the primary legislation that provides a legal framework in relation to various kinds of electronic crimes and extends to unauthorized access to personal data.
• After a four-year consultation period, the government is in the final stages of developing the Personal Data Protection Bill (introduced in 2021). The bill is anticipated to be presented to the cabinet for approval soon.

4. Security: The National Cyber Crime Policy 2021 was approved by parliament in July 2021. It provides objectives aimed at addressing cybersecurity challenges and risk factors prevalent in Pakistan.

Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) have been established to address the emerging needs of security and safety with increased digitalization.

5. People: Much of the government's focus is on eliminating the digital skills barrier for unconnected populations. There is an opportunity to drive skills trainings at both the academic and professional development levels to create a digital-ready workforce.

The report's authors importantly note that "Despite these developments, current realities on the ground suggest that that the vision of Digital Pakistan may not be achieved, thereby slowing the country's progress towards becoming a digital nation. For example, Pakistan has witnessed rapid expansion in mobile broadband networks over the last decade, with 81% of the adult population now residing in areas covered by 3G or 4G networks, compared to just 15% in 2010, however, only 23% of the population currently subscribe to mobile internet services. This indicates a gap in actual usage versus availability and underlines the scale of the challenge to bring unconnected people online."

The report also emphasizes the importance of financial reforms and strategic initiatives. Recommendations include eliminating the 15% Advance Income Tax and the 19.5% sales tax on mobile services, addressing high spectrum prices, and introducing a smartphone financing policy to improve access to affordable devices. Additionally, the GSMA advocates for a rational approach to spectrum pricing ahead of the planned 5G spectrum auction in early 2025.

What are your thoughts about Pakistan's high aspirations to become a digital nation?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Exploring Use Cases on How AI Delivers Impact in Africa

"AI holds immense potential to boost Africa's economy and to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the continent, says a report published by the GSMA, a UK-based organization that aims to unify the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. With funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the report's authors explain that "While AI is already being developed and deployed to support a range of use cases across African countries, little research has focused on building a body of evidence of AI use cases for development on the continent." They further explain that their "report is based on the analysis of over 90 use case applications identified in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa – which benefit from thriving tech ecosystems – across agriculture and food security, energy, and climate. While many AI use cases are relatively nascent, with some being deployed as part of projects or pilot schemes, a number of commercially viable solutions have also emerged. Often, AI is being incorporated into existing digital products and services, acting as an enabler to make digital solutions more relevant and efficient, amplify their impact, and facilitate scaling."

The report importantly points out that "The agritech sector is seeing most of the AI innovation, especially in Kenya and Nigeria where agriculture continues to play a significant role in the economy. AI is already being used for agricultural advisory, with companies like TomorrowNow and ThriveAgric providing farm-level insights to farmers, and for financial services with companies like Apollo Agriculture developing alternative credit assessment methods."

AI is also "being deployed in the energy sector, especially in Nigeria, where emerging technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) act as an entry point for advanced data analytics in smart energy management. Use cases such as energy access monitoring and productive use asset financing, developed by companies like Nithio, remain at a developing or nascent stage but present significant potential to reduce energy poverty. AI is also supporting climate use cases especially for biodiversity monitoring and wildlife protection in Kenya and South Africa, driven by large tech companies like Microsoft's AI for Good Lab and nonprofit organizations such as Rainforest Connection."

Regarding high-level recommendations, the report says different stakeholders – governments, development partners, development finance institutions (DFIs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), large tech companies and startups, and research and academic institutions – "can take a number of actions and collaborate to ensure that impactful innovations in Africa can be deployed and scaled. This involves investing in domain-specific and local language data, adopting participatory approaches to data collection, unlocking access to existing data sources, and ensuring data privacy and security."

The report adds that "Strengthening baseline infrastructure and promoting renewable energy, providing hardware and cloud credits, enhancing edge computing capabilities and building institutional capacity will be essential to boost local compute capacity. In addition, fostering academic-industry collaboration, raising awareness and building capacity in the public sector will be essential to create a pipeline of AI talent while ensuring informed policymaking. To foster adoption and usage of AI-enabled services, enhancing digital skills among end users and integrating emerging skills like prompt-engineering into upskilling programs will be key, especially as generative AI solutions gradually grow in Africa."

Moreover, "Stakeholders across sectors can also focus on supporting the wider tech and AI ecosystem to foster an environment conducive to innovation and AI deployment across use cases. This involves engaging in partnerships to unlock access to critical resources for AI entrepreneurs and researchers, and to support the development of the AI ecosystem through data-sharing or infrastructure-sharing initiatives."

I concur with the authors that:

Adopting a consortium-based approach has the potential to help address the financing gap, while adopting innovative finance mechanisms can de-risk investments. Combining funding with technical assistance and go-to-market support can also help founders in their scaling journey. Increased R&D spending will be essential to support local research capacity, while local-global knowledge exchange can drive further momentum and raise awareness about local innovation. As countries work on developing national AI strategies, it will be critical to ensure a collaborative and inclusive process, to include principles for the ethical and safe use of AI, and to establish a clear roadmap for implementation. Policymakers can also consider rolling out regulations in a phased manner to allow innovation to flourish.

Do you agree with the recommendations on how different stakeholders can deploy and scale impactful AI innovations in Africa?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Mobile Revenues Will Reach $227 Billion in Asia Pacific by 2030, Says GSMA Report

"The mobile industry continues to underpin the rapid digital transformation in Asia Pacific, with advanced mobile networks enabling innovative use cases for consumers and enterprises," according to GSMA's annual report on the state of the mobile industry in the Asia Pacific region. The UK-based organization, which aims to unify the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change, adds: "The role of mobile infrastructure and services will become even more vital to the way society functions as governments increasingly use digital technologies to tackle some of the most pressing social and economic challenges."

The report points out that "By the end of 2023, 1.8 billion people in Asia Pacific (63% of the population) subscribed to a mobile service." What is more, Growth in mobile internet penetration has been remarkable. At the end of 2023, 51% of the region's population used mobile internet, equating to just over 1.4 billion users – almost triple the figure a decade earlier. However, large swathes of the population across the region still remain unconnected, most of them within the usage gap." The GSMA importantly notes that "Addressing the usage gap is crucial to closing the digital divide and enabling life-enhancing applications around finance, health and education."

The report's key findings include:

• 5G continues to rapidly grow, but 4G will remain the dominant technology for the foreseeable future
• By the end of 2030, Asia Pacific countries will be on both ends of the global 5G spectrum
• Mobile data traffic in Asia Pacific will quadruple between 2023 and 2030
• Licensed cellular IoT connections in Asia Pacific will reach 270 million by 2030
• By 2030, mobile revenues will reach $227 billion in Asia Pacific
• At the end of the decade, mobile's economic contribution will reach $1 trillion
• The fiscal contribution of the mobile ecosystem reached $90 billion in 2023 and 5G will add almost $130 billion to the Asia Pacific economy in 2030
• Satellites and non-terrestrial networks can help reduce the connectivity gap, by bringing communications to the region's challenging terrains – including archipelagos, rainforests, deserts, and mountain ranges – where traditional infrastructure is expensive and difficult to build.
• Operators across the Asia Pacific region are harnessing the power of generative AI (genAI) to drive internal transformations and seize new revenue streams through AI investment.

I appreciate how the GSMA explains that "The impact of mobile connectivity is evidenced by its contribution to the economy." For example, "In 2023, mobile technologies and services generated 5.3% of Asia Pacific's GDP, a contribution that amounted to $880 billion of economic value added, and supported around 13 million jobs across the region."

With respect to the mobile industry's impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, the GSMA says the mobile industry continues to achieve its impact on SDGs "driven by the increased reach of mobile networks and growing take-up of mobile internet services. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 4: Quality Education were the most improved SDGs in the region between 2015 and 2022. The growing use and adoption of smartphones and mobile internet is contributing to mobile's impact on the SDGs."

Infographic: GSMA Intelligence

What do you think of the report's findings? What localized mobile services are you developing for the Asia Pacific region?

 

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

SBA's Guide Aims to Help Businesses Plan and Recover From Disasters

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Small and medium-sized businesses are focused on solving a problem for their customer by providing a service or product of the highest quality. While most businesses are focused on growing their sales, too many are not prepared for how an immediate disaster like a hurricane, earthquake, unseasonably cold weather or a pandemic can adversely impact their operations. A new document shows how these risks could disrupt business operations and planning for them will enable owners to rebound quicker and avoid a recurrence.

In announcing the launch of its Business Resilience Guide, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says its publication serves as "a comprehensive resource for small business owners who may not be familiar with disaster preparation." The government agency whose mission is to help power the American dream of business ownership, adds that its "guide, which has six sections to plan and recover from disasters, includes best practices and template forms to help mitigate disasters for America's entrepreneurs and help them build back stronger."

The SBA's Guide correctly points out that "[w]hen disaster strikes, even the best run businesses can be impacted. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about 25 percent of businesses do not reopen after disasters. Some businesses can cope with adversity better than others – they are less disrupted by an event, resume operations sooner, recover faster, and adjust for the future based on their experience. These businesses are described as resilient."

What is more, "For a small business, being resilient involves understanding risks, planning for them, identifying employee needs and responsibilities, and ensuring back-ups and redundancies are in place. This Guide can help small businesses determine how to anticipate the impacts of a disaster on operations so disruptions can be minimized."

SBA's publication leads business owners through creating a robust resilience plan, covering crucial areas such as:

• Understanding their current landscape: This involves documenting essential operations and identifying dependencies.
• Identifying key partnerships: It is crucial for seamless business continuity to recognize and nurture relationships with important vendors, suppliers, and collaborators.
• Safeguarding vital resources: The guide emphasizes the importance of data backup, cybersecurity measures, and infrastructure protection.
• Strengthening financial readiness: Strategies for managing cash flow, securing emergency funding, and minimizing financial losses.
• Embracing proactive mitigation: This section delves into strategies for minimizing the impact of potential disruptions through risk assessment and mitigation tactics.

The last section on embracing proactive mitigation also includes an overview of the SBA's post-disaster lending programs that can help business owners mitigate the effects should their business be impacted by a disaster. "SBA loans can assist with expenses related to the repair or replacement of property and can provide support for essential business operations in the aftermath of a declared disaster. These low-interest subsidized 30-year loans have 0 percent interest for the first year as well as deferred payments for the first year after the loans are disbursed."

The Guide also mentions how the SBA "offers a mitigation option as part of the post-disaster loan program that enables a property owner to increase their physical disaster loan by up to 20 percent of the verified loss (or a maximum of $500,000) to pay for interventions that will make a property more resilient in the future. Mitigation reduces a property's risk of damage from future events so people can return to their home or business more quickly after a disaster. The section on embracing proactive mitigation also includes multiple examples of hazard mitigation efforts at different price-points."

Do you find SBA's Guide useful to help your business plan and recover from disasters? What would you add?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Report Presents Current Use Cases and Election Risks of Utilizing GenAI

"Since OpenAI (US) launched ChatGPT in November 2022, AI, especially generative AI, has been driving investment for corporate entities, "According to a white paper published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). "Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple (all US) have all been racing to be the most valuable companies in the world, with Nvidia leveraging its chips, Microsoft its cloud, and Apple its iPhone and other hardware. They are all looking to create a compelling ecosystem, even though this may put them even further in the crosshairs of regulators." The report crucially asks: "is progress in AI moving the technology from an experimentation to an implementation phase?"

The report looks "at how companies have been using generative AI to date, and whether AI-generated content has had a major impact on elections so far in 2024." Key findings include:

• The launch of ChatGPT and similar services has democratized the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in many industries, and companies are now experimenting with and implementing the technology.
• The main use cases so far for generative AI have been to improve operational efficiency, enhance innovation and support customer service through using chatbots.
• Most businesses still rely on non-generative AI, however, and it remains important for them to understand the limitations of generative AI technology, such as hallucinations.
• The biggest impact in the short term will be felt during democratic elections, particularly in countries with a polarized electorate, a fragmented information ecosystem and global influence (including the US).
• As AI implementation continues, sustainability will become a major barrier, given that generative AI systems use a lot of electricity and have a large carbon footprint.

Addressing how companies are using generative AI, the report points out:

Companies in multiple industries have been experimenting with generative AI. Although the technology is new, two of the three major use cases across sectors are typical of many digital transformation strategies. The first is to improve operational efficiency, either in terms of increasing productivity or improving manufacturing and operational processes, often to cut costs. In the tech sector, this often includes using AI to speed up coding, or it can optimize internal processes such as training. Companies are also looking at technology to drive new revenue streams: generative AI is driving innovation across multiple sectors such as energy, financial services or healthcare, for example by making it easier to digest and analyze research papers. It is also used in customer services or to create better client-facing customer experiences. As the technology runs on large language models and is capable of dealing with vast amounts of text (as well as other media such as images), this is an area where development will continue across several industries, not just to interact with customers, but also for marketing purposes.

The EIU provides examples on how companies in certain sectors are using generative AI to drive innovation, efficiency and improve customer service:

• Automotive
• In-vehicle voice assistants
• Chatbots to facilitate sales leads online
• Consumer Goods
• Creating custom products
• Voice/text enabled customer service assistants
• Inventory management
• Energy
• Aiding oil and gas delivery
• Customer apps to optimize energy demand
• Financial services
• Insurers use it for underwriting
• Custom GPT based on internal data for advisors
• Cashflow management
• Healthcare
• Drug development
• Custom GPT-based database to help with research and development
• Chatbot for public healthcare

Regarding how AI-generated content can have an impact on elections, the report notes: "Generative AI is not only being integrated into the corporate world; it is also infiltrating the political world. With 2024 being a year of multiple elections, and more than 4bn people called to vote, the impact of AI-generated content (both legitimate and fake) in election campaigns is only just emerging and will only increase."

As for sustainability becoming a major barrier to AI adoption, the EIU explains that "AI will continue to be implemented in 2025, but we expect that the main focus will be on sustainability. The 2024 Electricity report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that global electricity demand from data centers, driven by AI usage, could double between 2022 and 2026, adding to the grid the equivalent of Germany's national consumption. Regulators are already looking into the issue."

Moreover, "In the US, the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 was proposed in March 2024 to assess and mitigate the environmental impact of AI; however, it is unlikely to become law before the November 2024 elections. The EU is further ahead, with the European Commission adopting the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) in March 2024, which Germany has already implemented into law. From September 2024 data center operators will be required to report on areas such as data volume, renewable usage or waste utilization to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions."

I support the EIU's conclusion that "The implementation and evolution of AI will be an ever ongoing process. The technology needs to be scaled up, and proponents need to move away from overoptimistic forecasts of artificial general intelligence (AGI) happening before the end of the decade. AI does not need to be perfect to have an impact. In fact, everyone should be aware that it is not perfect, and its usage will depend on the use case and require critical human oversight."

How is your business utilizing AI?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Mobile Internet Adoption Continues to Accelerate Among Women in LMICs, But Further Action is Required to Close the Gender Gap

In its annual report that explores the latest data on the mobile gender gap, the key barriers preventing women's equal access to and use of mobile, and what is needed to close the mobile internet gender gap, the GSMA says "Mobile phones and mobile internet can be life changing, enabling people to stay connected to each other and access information and services from anywhere, including health care, education, e-commerce, financial services and income generating opportunities. In 2023, the world was more connected than ever before with more than 3.7 billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) accessing the internet on a mobile phone." Moreover, according to the report, "Mobile is the primary way people are accessing the internet in LMICs, accounting for 84% of broadband connections in 2023. This is especially true for the underserved, including women and those who live in rural areas. In 10 of the 12 countries surveyed for this report, women who use the internet are more likely than men to access it exclusively on a mobile phone."

The report points out that "Across LMICs, 83% of women now own a mobile phone, 60% own a smartphone and 66% use mobile internet. However, mobile access and use remain unequal. Women are still less likely than men to have access to mobile phones, mobile money, mobile internet and other mobile services." Disappointingly, "Women are also less likely than men to have equal use of these services, particularly the most underserved women, including those who have low literacy levels, low incomes, live in a rural area or have a disability."

The GSMA says its "latest data shows that the mobile internet gender gap narrowed from 19% in 2022 to 15% in 2023 due to women adopting mobile internet at a faster rate than men. This brings us back to where we were in 2020, but it is not yet clear whether this trend will continue. It is essential for women, and societies more broadly, that this momentum continues and the mobile gender gap continues to close."

What is more, "Addressing the mobile gender gap provides significant social and commercial benefits to individuals, societies and economies. Connectivity is vital to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those related to health, education and financial inclusion. GSMA analysis has estimated that closing the gender gap in mobile ownership and use in LMICs over an eight-year period could deliver $230 billion in additional revenue to the mobile industry. The Global Digital Inclusion Partnership estimates that 32 LMICs are on track to lose more than USD 500 billion in GDP in the next five years due to the digital gender divide."

The report importantly explains: "We know that once women start using mobile phones and mobile internet, they usually see the benefits and it improves their lives to a similar degree as men. In 2022, we found that across the 12 survey countries, most people who use mobile internet believe it has had a positive impact on their lives and use it every day, with little difference by gender."

I concur with the following assertion made by the report's authors: "Ensuring that women can access and use mobile is essential, especially in our increasingly digital world. Mobile can enable women to be more resilient in the face of economic, climate and political crises and shocks. More attention, effort and investment are needed to close the mobile internet gender gap – a goal we must continue to strive to meet so that women, their communities and society can reap the full, life-changing benefits of mobile."

The UK-based organization that aims to unify the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change, presents the following recommendations for all stakeholders to close the mobile gender gap:

• Ensure there is a focus on gender equality and reaching women at an organizational and policy level through senior leaders championing the issue and setting specific gender equity targets.
• Understand the mobile gender gap by improving the quality and availability of gender-disaggregated data, and understanding women's needs and the barriers they face to mobile ownership and use.
• Explicitly address women's needs, circumstances and challenges in the design and implementation of mobile-related products, services, interventions and policies. This includes addressing the barriers women face related to affordability, knowledge and digital skills, safety and security, access and the availability of relevant content, products and services.
• Collaborate and partner with different stakeholders to address the mobile gender gap. Targeted intervention is needed from industry, policymakers, the development community and other stakeholders to ensure that women are no longer left behind.

While it is encouraging mobile internet adoption is accelerating among women in LMICs, further action is required to close the gender gap.

Do you agree with GSMA's recommendations for stakeholders to close the mobile gender gap? What would you add?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Silicon Valley at the Top of the Global Startup Ecosystem in 2023

The 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network was released at London Tech Week, in collaboration with the Founders Forum, Informa Tech and London & Partners. Presented by Stephan Kuester, Managing Partner at Startup Genome, the GSER analyzes data from over 4.5 million companies across 300+ entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems and features rankings that indicate which ecosystems are currently driving innovation and deep knowledge about startup trends around the world.

Global key findings from the the 2024 GSER include:

• Top three global ecosystems: Silicon Valley remains at the top, followed by New York City and London tied for #2.
• The number of new unicorns in 2023 was down 58% from 2022 and 87% from the 2021 peak. With 15 unicorns, Silicon Valley again led all ecosystems for the most new unicorns in 2023, though this was down 80% from 2022. The Tashkent, Lyon, and Rhineland startup ecosystems welcomed their first unicorns in 2023.
• Series A funding amount in 2023 was down 46% from 2022, and the value of large exits ($50M+) fell 47% over the same period.
• In 2023, the Series A funding amount share for Top 40 ranked GSER 2024 ecosystems was 65%, down from 79% for these ecosystems in 2019. The share of Series A funding amount for the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems reached 19% in 2023 vs. 13% in 2019.
• Q1 2024 has projected higher Series A funding amount and deal count than Q4 2023.
• Generative AI saw a surge in funding, with nearly 20% of all VC funding in 2023 going to GenAI-focused startups. GenAI VC funding increased 3x in 2023 compared to 2022. Deal counts nearly doubled.
• In 2023, more than half of new unicorns were in the GenAI and Deep Tech sub-sectors, a higher rate than in 2021.
• Late-stage Cleantech startups raised 2.5x more funding in H2 2023 than in H1 2020. Europe has outperformed the U.S. and China in terms of Cleantech Series A funding growth from 2021 to 2023.
• Seoul moved up three spots, now ranked #9, entering the Top 10 ecosystems this year.
• Tokyo has entered the global Top 10 for the first time, marking the most significant improvement among the Top 10 ecosystems.
• The top two Chinese ecosystems Beijing and Shanghai, have dropped in the overall rankings to #8 and #11. Shenzhen has shown impressive growth, moving up seven spots to rank #28.
• Europe is the most represented region in the Emerging Ecosystems Ranking, with a 42% share in the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems, followed by North America with 27%.
• Madrid moved up 12 ranks, claiming to #1 in the Emerging Ecosystems Ranking.
• Barcelona moved up two positions in the Emerging Ecosystems Ranking, reaching #2.
• Athens has entered the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems Ranking, reaching the 51-60 range in 2024.
  
• Greater Lausanne Region moved up 16 positions, reaching #11 in the Emerging Ecosystems Ranking.
• Jakarta (#6) and Metro Rhein-Ruhr (#9) both entered the Top 10 Emerging Ecosystems Ranking.
• Melbourne is ranking as the #32 Global Startup Ecosystem, moving up one spot from GSER 2023.
• Mexico City has shown impressive growth, reaching the 21-30 range in the Emerging Ecosystems Ranking from the 41-50 range in 2023.
• The top five ranking sub-Saharan African Ecosystems are Nairobi, Lagos, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Accra.
• Tel Aviv is the only MENA ecosystem ranking in the Top 40, globally moving up one place to #4 (tied with Los Angeles).

Now in its 12th year, the GSER provides insights into the world's leading startup ecosystems, emerging trends, and key challenges facing entrepreneurs. As explained in Startup Genome's press release, "The 2024 edition ranks the top 40 global ecosystems, a ranking of emerging ecosystems, and expanded regional rankings. The report, driven by a consortium of representatives from 40+ countries, looks at the current state of startup activity and related investment. It also highlights startup communities from a regional perspective, separately ranking ecosystems in Asia, Europe, Latin America, MENA, North America, Oceania, and sub-Saharan Africa. Contributions from thought leaders further enrich the report's extensive, evidence-based findings, which are the product of over a decade of Startup Genome's independent research and policy work."

I appreciate how the GSER is designed to provide valuable perspective on the global startup landscape and actionable recommendations for entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and other stakeholders looking to drive innovation and economic growth even in these challenging times.

What are your thoughts about GSER's key findings?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

5G is Pivotal for Ongoing Transformation Efforts in Eurasia

"The early stages of 5G development are underway in Eurasia," according to the GSMA's latest report on the state of Eurasia's mobile economy. Governments in the region, which for the purposes of this report include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, "are prioritizing the technology's integration into national development plans, and operators are investing in 5G infrastructure and applications to meet the growing demand for enhanced connectivity."

What is more, "The Eurasia region is expected to experience a significant increase in 5G adoption in the next few years, based on a return to stable conditions, with projections rising from less than 1% currently to just over 40% by 2030. Although 4G will remain the dominant technology for the foreseeable future, 4G adoption levels will begin to decline from 2026 as 5G gathers momentum because of the availability of more affordable 5G smartphones."

Available in English and Russian, the report's other findings include:

• 5G will add almost $23 billion to the Eurasian economy by 2030, with 5G adoption rising from less than 1% in 2023 to 41% by 2030. 
• The mobile industry added $200 billion of economic value to the Eurasian economy in 2023 – equivalent to 7.9% of GDP – and supported 770,000 jobs, highlighting the importance of mobile to the digital economy.
• However, there is a significant Usage Gap in Eurasia which is widest in Turkmenistan (51%) and Tajikistan (48%), compared to a global average of 37%.
• Operators are rallying behind the GSMA Open Gateway initiative and integrating AI to enhance customer services and optimize networks.

Addressing artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities for operators, the GSMA says "Mobile operators in the region are integrating AI, particularly generative AI (genAI), to enhance customer services, sales, marketing and network management." For example, "Operators such as MTS and Veon, are increasingly developing use cases, including climate-action solutions and platforms that support local languages to improve the customer experience. Furthermore, operators are prioritizing the ethical use of AI and developing partnerships, such as the collaboration between the GSMA and IBM." The report adds that "Although interest is growing in Eurasia, AI adoption remains limited in the region."

Regarding the financial technology sector, this growing sector "has experienced remarkable growth in Eurasia as digital payments continue to be a dominant service. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in particular possess thriving fintech landscapes thanks to initiatives such as open banking and the introduction of digital currencies. Diverse payment methods, including mobile payments, QR code transactions and buy now, pay later (BNPL) services cater to individuals and businesses, fostering financial integration." The report adds that "Operators in both countries have introduced mobile payment options to explore opportunities to generate revenues beyond core services and to enhance the customer experience. The further expansion of fintech in Eurasia will offer opportunities for operators, particularly with growing 4G and 5G adoption."

Infographic: GSMA Intelligence

As for the mobile industry's impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Eurasia, the GSMA explains that "driven by the increased reach of mobile networks and growing take-up of mobile internet services, the mobile industry continues to achieve its impact on SDGs. "In Eurasia, between 2016 and 2022, the mobile industry had the highest impact on SDG 4: Quality Education, which also improved the most compared to the previous year, along with SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. Growing smartphone and mobile internet adoption is contributing to mobile's impact on SDGs."

What are your thoughts about the report's findings? What are your recommendations for accelerating AI adoption in Eurasian region?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.

Growth Is Proving Surprisingly Resilient in the Face of High Interest Rates and Geopolitical Risks, Says EIU Report

In its latest global economic outlook report, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) "forecasts more fragmentation and regionalization in the world economy in 2024-28 as alliances tighten and competing blocs form." What is more, "The return of industrial policy, including sanctions and the provision of new incentives, will push firms to adopt more inefficient supply chains, stoke trade tensions in strategic sectors and make it difficult to compete across the global marketplace. These developments will drag on growth potential." The EIU expects "global real GDP will expand by 2.8% a year on average over the next five years—below the 3% of the 2010s, which was hardly a stellar decade for the global economy."

The UK-based organization adds that "In the near term, however, the global economy is showing resilience in the face of international conflict and higher interest rates. This mainly reflects the remarkable strength of the US economy, which is driven by strong household finances, a rising trend in manufacturing investment and a booming technology sector. Elsewhere, the picture is less dynamic but short of a downturn." Moreover, "Momentum in Europe will build gradually in 2024. Modest government stimulus in China is helping the economy to in the Middle East as the conflict in Gaza continues. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, shows no sign of resolution. Flash points in Asia, such as in relation to the South China Sea and Taiwan, will pose a persistent threat to the fragile stability that has developed in US-China relations. The diffusion of global power and uncertainty over the direction of US foreign policy underpins this rise in geopolitical risk."

Other key findings from the report include:

• 2.5% global real GDP growth in 2024 (compared with 2.4% previously), meaning growth will be unchanged rather than slowing from 2023. Growth is proving surprisingly resilient in the face of high interest rates and geopolitical risks.
• The change in global growth reflects another upward revision for US growth in 2024 to 2.2% (from 2% previously), upward revisions for several European economies that have pushed euro area growth to 1% (from 0.8%) and an upward revision for Brazil to 2.1% (from 1.8%).
• Reduction of expectations for future monetary policy loosening, removing one 25-basis-point cut from the loosening cycles of both the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) and the European Central Bank in 2024-25. In contrast, the EIU now expects the Bank of England (the UK central bank) to cut quicker than previously forecast, lowering its rate to 3.5% by end-2025 (compared with 4.25% previously).
• The US dollar effective exchange rate is now forecast to appreciate for a third consecutive year in 2024—the EIU previously expected a mild depreciation. This reflects a stronger depreciation in the yen's value than previously forecast and the fact that the EIU is no longer forecasting euro appreciation.

On the topic of how climate change and AI may threaten global convergence prospects, the report says:

The green transition and technological change will be among the major trends shaping global economic prospects over the next five years. In both cases, they seem set to diminish convergence prospects for developing economies. Poorer countries will be disproportionately affected by climate change and will struggle to secure financing to mitigate its impact. Although we are skeptical about the scale of productivity gains from artificial intelligence (AI), those improvements that do emerge will accrue mainly to developed economies; this will create challenges for countries aiming to move up the manufacturing and services value chains. We still expect some emerging markets to stand out, however, helped by being fairly insulated from geopolitical tensions and rising trade barriers. India is forecast to expand the fastest of any major economy in 2024-28, and Mexico will benefit from nearshoring trends.

Do you agree with the report's findings? How are you preparing your business for a rise in geopolitical risk?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.