There is a direct correlation between ICT investment and increased revenue turnover of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the continent, a survey on ICT usage in 13 African countries reveals.
The survey, conducted by the Wits University LINK Centre, aimed to identify obstacles that SMEs face in doing business and how ICT can help, says Steve Esselaar, a LINK Centre researcher who worked on the study.
A total of 3 691 businesses, made up of 1 504 informal, 1 139 semi-formal and 1 048 formal SMEs from 13 African countries including SA, Botswana, Cameroon and Nigeria took part in the research, he says.
The study showed that 82% of SMEs have fixed-line phones, 95.4% have mobile phones, 71.8% have a computer and 52.2% have an Internet connection, Esselaar says. Results also indicate that formal SMEs use ICT more for business transactions, he says.
Esselaar says the researchers defined an SME as a business that has brick and mortar premises, less than 50 employees, is independent and aims to generate income. This was to ensure uniformity, as the countries taking part in the study define SMEs differently, he says.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, a local ICT research company that participates in the annual SME Survey, agrees that ICT investment has a high impact on the ability of SMEs to win and retain customers, thus increasing revenues. ICT investment also lowers the cost of doing business, he says.
The survey performed by the LINK Centre has similar conclusions to the SME Survey which looks at resources, including ICT available to SMEs in SA, Esselaar notes. The difference is that the survey performed by the LINK Centre includes small informal businesses in the sample, he says.
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