World Bank commits $2.2bn to ICT

The World Bank has made $2.2 billion available for 22 projects in Africa in an effort to promote research and development of technology and science in the telecommunications field, says Africa News.

The Bank's country director for Southern Africa, Ruth Kagia, made the announcement at a New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Summit held in SA.

According to Kagia, the allocated funds are intended to increase competition in the ICT sector throughout the continent.

Bharti Telesoft, a provider of integrated value-added service (VAS) solutions for mobile operators, signed a deal with Sofrecom, a subsidiary of the France Telecom Orange Group, to deliver VAS solutions in African, South-east Asian and Latin American regions, reports Wireless Design Asia.

Through this partnership, Sofrecom will provide strategic design of solutions, integration of systems and technical support services to Bharti Telesoft's clients, which include some of the largest telecoms companies in the region.

Jean-Francois Fallacher, CEO of Sofrecom, says: "This step marks a significant milestone as we expand our reach across these regions, delivering the latest telecom solutions that ultimately result in increased end-customer satisfaction."

IDC says it expects the enterprise application software market to slow considerably as a result of tightening IT budgets in the Arab Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, states Press Release Point.

''As IT budgets tighten in 2009 and 2010, vendors will have to emphasise cost-effective solutions,'' says Dhiraj Daryani, IDC research analyst for software, UAE, Middle East. ''During the economic downturn, natural dynamics will inevitably lead to consolidation and a resulting reduction in the number of players, providing an opportunity for vendors to support performers, weed out non-performing partners, and optimise channel structures.''

According to the IDC, Egypt was the fastest-growing market, followed by countries in the Maghreb region. Licence and maintenance spending in MENA reached 33.1% year-on-year growth in 2007.