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South Africa Public Disclosure Authorized Digital Economy Diagnostic Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized December 2019 Public Disclosure Authorized © 2019 The World Bank Group 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbankgroup.org Some rights reserved 1 2 3 4 21 20 19 18 This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank Group with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank Group, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank Group does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 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All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; email: [email protected]. i TABLE OF CONTENTS About the DE4A ................................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... viii List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................................. ix Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... xi 1.Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 2.Digital Infrastructure .................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ...................................................... 5 2.2. DIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS: CURRENT STATE OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ............................................ 7 2.2.1. Analysis of the Broadband Market ........................................................................... 7 2.2.2. First Mile: South Africa’s International Connectivity .............................................. 11 2.2.3. Middle Mile: National Backbone Infrastructure ..................................................... 11 2.2.4. Last Mile: Reaching the End-Users ......................................................................... 12 2.2.5. Invisible Mile: Key Policy and Regulatory Issues..................................................... 14 2.3. RECOMMENDATIONS & NEXT STEPS ....................................................................................... 15 3. Public Digital Platforms ......................................................................................................... 17 3.1. BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR DIGITAL PLATFORMS ..................................... 17 3.2. DIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS: CURRENT STATE OF PUBLIC DIGITAL PLATFORMS ....................................... 18 3.2.1. Institutional setup for e-government development ............................................... 18 3.2.2. Data policy and frameworks ................................................................................... 20 3.2.3. Interoperability, Back-office systems, and shared services.................................... 22 3.2.4. Digital Identity ......................................................................................................... 23 3.2.5. Digital Services ........................................................................................................ 25 3.3. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS .................................................................................... 26 4. Digital Financial Services ....................................................................................................... 28 4.1. BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES ................................................ 28 4.2. DIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS: CURRENT STATE OF DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES ...................................... 29 4.2.1. Role of Banks in provision of DFS............................................................................ 30 4.2.2. Role of Fintech and non-banks in DFS .................................................................... 31 4.2.3. Policy and Regulatory Environment........................................................................ 32 4.2.4. Infrastructure: Retail Payments Infrastructure ...................................................... 35 ii 4.2.5. Infrastructure: Credit Infrastructure ....................................................................... 35 4.2.6. Leveraging recurrent payments to increase usage of DFS ......................................... 36 4.3. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS .................................................................................... 37 4. Digital Entrepreneurship ........................................................................................................... 39 4.1. BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ................................................ 39 4.2. DIAGNOSTICS FINDINGS: CURRENT STATE OF DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ..................................... 40 4.2.1. Policy Framework and Business Environment for Digital Entrepreneurs ............... 40 4.2.2. Support Organizations ............................................................................................ 42 4.2.3. Financial Capital ...................................................................................................... 42 4.2.4. Markets ................................................................................................................... 44 4.2.5. Entrepreneurship Culture and Talent ..................................................................... 45 4.3. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS .................................................................................... 46 5. Digital Skills ............................................................................................................................... 48 6.1. BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL SKILLS ................................................................... 48 6.2. DIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS: CURRENT STATE OF DIGITAL SKILLS ......................................................... 49 6.2.1. Digital Literacy......................................................................................................... 50 6.2.2. Professional Digital Skills......................................................................................... 50 6.2.3. e-Business Skills ...................................................................................................... 51 6.3. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS .................................................................................... 51 7. Conclusion: A Way Forward ...................................................................................................... 52 Annex 1: Table Of Recommendations .......................................................................................... 52 Annex 2: References ....................................................................................................................