Despite being regarded as Africa’s most advanced economy, South Africa is failing to position itself as a future-ready nation. Unless we accelerate investment in digital infrastructure and create the right incentives for growth, we will continue to fall behind.
While Minister Malatsi has been a welcome addition to the Communications and Digital Technologies portfolio, there is still significant work to be done, and the pace of reform now needs to accelerate.
In July, there was a survey published by UCT researchers Martin Magidi and Tariro Chivige which was extensively covered by the South African media. The research looked at the state of skills in South Africa and some insights included:
- About 55% said workers demonstrated little or no proficiency in math or data skills
- At least 55% of the surveyed businesses believed their workforce had only basic digital skills and computer literacy. Just over half (52%) said it was difficult to find employees prepared for digital transformation while 70% rated their workforce’s technology skills as “poor” or “very poor”
These findings are supported by recently released data from NPO CollectiveX which identified 118 500 ICT vacancies – 36% of which were junior roles. They point to a glaring distinction between graduates with ICT tertiary qualifications and those being “work ready”.
This challenge is about far more than employment. It directly affects South Africa’s ability to compete on the global stage.
Each year, the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking assesses the world’s 70 most competitive economies. South Africa’s 2026 performance was encouraging, climbing to 54th globally, a welcome 10-place improvement from 2025.
The improvement was likely driven by governance reforms, including Operation Vulindlela and South Africa’s removal from the FATF Grey List in October 2025.
However, one of the key challenges IMD identifies was the lack of “provision of support for businesses in high-growth sectors” which is a great segue into the World Digital Competitiveness Report which looks at some of the digital-specific components impacting competitiveness.
Since 2021, South Africa has ranked between 54th and 60th but this only tells half a story.
If we analyse the 2025 data, South Africa actually ranks second in terms of the 69 surveyed economies in terms of “Total Public Expenditure on education” and sixth in the category of “Investment in Telecommunications” – based on those data points, we should be rapidly moving up the ranks as a digital economy.
However, here is the disconnect where we rank:
- 56th for International Experience
- 67th for Digital / Technology Skills
- 58th for Employee Training
- 55th for Graduates in Sciences
- 57th for Women with Degrees
South Africa also ranks in the bottom third globally for the “Scientific Contribution” cluster, which measures investment in research and development, high-tech patent grants and the use of robotics in education and research.
This raises an obvious question: how can a country investing so heavily in education continue to fall behind?
Part of the answer lies in South Africa’s weak technological framework. We continue to rank poorly for communications technology (61st), internet users (62nd) and internet bandwidth speed (62nd).
Even the frequently cited mobile internet penetration figures deserve closer scrutiny. While mobile connectivity has improved significantly, South Africa still ranks only 50th globally for mobile broadband.
This is precisely why we continue to advocate for accelerated investment in digital infrastructure. Without it, South Africa will struggle to remain globally competitive.
Despite these challenges, I remain an optimist. As an entrepreneur, I believe South Africa has the ability to change course.
These rankings raise an important question about who South Africa should benchmark itself against. On one hand, we have an exceptionally sophisticated financial services sector that competes with the best in the world, allowing parts of our economy to perform well above their weight. On the other, millions of South Africans remain structurally excluded from meaningful economic participation because they lack reliable access to digital infrastructure.
Meanwhile, economies such as Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana are increasingly competing with South Africa for investment capital through sustained investment in digital infrastructure. While they may not yet possess the sophistication of South Africa’s financial services ecosystem, they are attracting capital that ultimately translates into new infrastructure, improved skills and stronger long-term competitiveness.
We need to recognise that affordable, reliable digital infrastructure and internet access are no longer luxuries. They are foundational to economic growth, innovation, education and global competitiveness.
Across the continent, countries are investing in the digital infrastructure that will define tomorrow’s opportunities. If South Africa is serious about remaining globally competitive, attracting investment, creating jobs and unlocking the potential of its people, then building a future-ready economy begins with universal digital connectivity.
The question is no longer whether we can afford to prioritise internet access; it is whether we can afford not to.
