Minister Siyabonga Cwele leads South African delegation at the third BRICS ICT Ministers Meeting

Minister for Telecommunications and Postal Services, Dr Siyabonga Cwele, leads the South African delegation at the third Brics ICT Ministers Meeting in Hangzhou, China

The Minister of Telecommunication and Postal Services Dr Siyabonga Cwele is leading the South African to the Third BRICS ICT Ministers Meeting that is taking place in Hangzhou, China.

The SA delegation consists of senior government officials, leaders of State-Owned Companies and ICT Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs).

The meeting takes forward the commitments made by the leaders of BRICS countries on matters relating to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

“One of our key area of success at this meeting is that our SMMEs have been very active in selling their solutions and seeking partnerships with companies in other BRICS countries. As BRICS Ministers, we have declared that we need to improve cooperation on the digital economy value chain, including e-Commerce and cybersecurity" said Minister Cwele.

He said the Ministers reiterated a need for cooperation on infrastructure, including the BRICS Cable that will connect the BRICS countries through an undersea cable.

“We also need to cooperate in innovation in areas such as applications, equipment manufacturing and operating systems to reduce our dependency on global monopolies that dominate these area. We need to enable BRICS countries to develop their own technologies, driven by SMMEs, which can be sold within the greater market of BRICS countries. Importantly, we need to facilitate the creation of an inclusive society by through the use of technology,” said Minister Cwele.

BRICS Ministers view ICTs as an enabler for driving innovation and development, contributing to GDP and the economy, empowering citizens and fostering security.

The South African Government has placed ICT innovation and technology change at the heart of the economic development strategy. It has prioritized access to quality, affordable and safe ubiquitous high-speed broadband by 2020 to all South Africans. One such initiative is the Internet for All programme, in partnership with the World Economic Forum on Africa and some local operators. The programme aims to connect 22 million South Africans currently offline, most of whom are in rural and underserved areas.

Minister Cwele invited BRICS counterparts to partner South Africans in rolling out the programme through connectivity; ensuring affordable services and handset devices; promoting e-skills and developing local content applications to increase uptake and usage.

Local SMMEs that are participating in the BRICS ICT Ministers’ Meeting include the following;

Millbug and Tuse Group:

Millbug Company

Millbug is an electronics manufacturing company located in Port Elizabeth. It developed Africa's first solar powered tablet PC in 2014. The company is erecting an SMT facility in the Coega Industrial Development Zone that will have the capacity to produce over 100 000 PCB reliant products a week. These products include, smart meters, IOT sensors, Set Top Boxes, automotive components, rail components, military products, and tablet PCs.

Tuse Company

Tuse is a company that has developed technologies that allow people in places with no signal the ability to communicate. Tuse was selected as one of the 10 most disruptive startups in the world at the 2016 Global Technology Symposium in San Francisco and was selected as one of the 5 Aspiring Innovators in Africa to Exhibit at the Gartner Symposium. After securing pre seed funding with a Draper fund, Tuse became the first African startup to participate in this year's Silicon Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum event in Chengdu, China. The Tuse team is constantly improving on the proven technology and is looking to roll it out at scale.

Vensy Telecoms

Vensy Telecoms provides internet carriage through mobile broadband, WiFi and Fibre. It is also involved in development of IT solutions and applications.

For media enquirers kindly contact
Siya Qoza 
Cell: 082 898 1657 
Email: siya@dtps.gov.za

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