Introduction

Unlocking South Africa’s economy with digital platforms

To unlock the full potential of South Africa’s economy, we must diversify and integrate digital technologies, as outlined in the Digital Economy Masterplan.

However, there is still no consensus on how to adequately define and measure the full impact of the digital economy.

Current approaches, particularly in global south economies, are inadequate and lacking in several areas: data, thought leadership, collaboration, consolidation, and appropriate terminology.

Naspers, as South Africa’s homegrown champion, addresses these gaps in a report that examines digital platform businesses. Our research employs three credible research approaches to thoroughly analyse the footprint, impact, and opportunity of digital businesses on the economy.

Our conclusions aim to initiate critical discussions about establishing a more accurate measure of economic value and recommend better industry actions, consolidation, and improved collaboration with government.

Key findings

Five drivers to boost South Africa’s economy by 2035

With the global economy fast transforming into a digital economy, the digital platform sector has the potential to add R90bn to South Africa’s economy by 2035.

Here are five areas that can help to stimulate this growth:

  1. Accelerating digitalisation of South Africa’s economy can bring immense growth
  2. Building global competitiveness in the digital platform economy is possible if South Africa doubles its current level of STEM graduates
  3. High-speed internet, advanced data centers, and reliable power supply are essential for leveraging AI’s full potential and advancing digital transformation
  4. Regulatory authorities must regulate digital platforms in line with the country’s level of maturity and development
  5. South Africa’s inclusive economic growth agenda can be significantly supported by the digital economy, which expands access to opportunities, goods, and services for most of the population

our-digital-horizon executive-summary

Download the report

Click the right-hand icon to download a full version of the report. To read the press release, click the link below.