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The COVID-19-inspired international border closures and lockdowns in West Africa and in several countries around the world, and the resultant necessity for virtual offices and workspaces represents a game changer that is facilitating the integration of regional and global economies. This is the submission of Chimere Mbonu, the regional managing director for MTech Communications, Ghana, in an interview with MARTIN-LUTHER C. KING in Accra. He predicts a surge in digital payment and trade ecosystems in the post-COVID-19 world, as they answer questions of safety, transparency, accountability and efficiency, to name a few. Excerpts:
Most parts of the world, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are either under lockdown or gradually easing lockdowns; many international borders still remain closed. How long do you predict that this situation will play out?
I wouldn’t be able to say for certain. I am not an expert in this regard. However, in my opinion, we are looking at last quarter of the year before we return to any semblance of normalcy. This is also dependent on a number of factors, one of which is the ability of countries within the sub-region to address the pandemic issue effectively, as an unsolved issue in one territory could pose a danger to other territories within the sub-region, which may bring about some form of extension of the closure of relevant borders.
How would all these affect the way the world works, and, ultimately, global economy?
We would be looking at more effective ways of doing business and carrying out transactions, all driven by technology. I see a surge in digital payment and trade ecosystems, as they do answer the questions of safety, transparency, accountability, efficiency, just to name a few.
We would be forced to rethink a lot of our other processes, some of which we are currently testing and seeing the results, which have been very effective in some cases. For example, working from home and connecting digitally to colleagues, partners and stakeholders. Most of the time spent in our ‘big city’ traffic has been channelled to more productive online or voice call meetings. In other cases, deeper thinking would be required to make our lives more productive with little effort, resources and health risk.
With advanced health systems, the developed world, including the United States, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and France, among others, are seemingly at a loss to secure their citizens against the virus.
Are you disappointed that science has taken this long to discover a cure for the virus?
I wouldn’t say I am disappointed. This was unforeseen, as far as we know. In order to combat it, we would need to study it, understand it and then come up with solutions in terms of a cure. The issue is, time is not on our side, as more people are affected as this progresses. The irony of it all is this also presents an opportunity for local solutions to this pandemic in terms of local cures by local practitioners. One thing is clear, the world needs all the help it can get right now and this is an opportunity for new players to emerge. Do I dare dream that they would emerge from our part of the world?
Ghana is the headquartres of the new Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), not Nigeria, which is the largest economy in Africa. Nonetheless, how can Nigerian businesses in Ghana fully exploit the opportunities and benefits inherent in the AfCFTA, as it formally comes into operation this July 1?
I believe Nigeria has the largest opportunity, apart from the host, in terms of the benefits the agreement would offer. This is for a number of reasons, which include the relationship, proximity, language the two countries share, all of which are hewn into a garment of culture, if I may put it that way. There are quite a number of established businesses and Nigerians in Ghana. This can be viewed as a launch-pad for other Nigerian businesses wishing to take advantage of the AfCFTA.
Against the backdrop of West Africa’s experience with the ECOWAS bloc, including issues with establishment and cross-border trading among ECOWAS citizens, what do you think are the general prospects of the new AfCFTA?
I am optimistic regarding the agreement, despite the challenges inherent in our other associations. I believe that has equipped us with the experience on how to approach this, especially with the benefit of being exposed to a much larger market. We are Africans. We are good at rolling up our sleeves and facing the challenges. We find a way, especially when we can see the prize at the end of the tunnel, even though the process could be better.
What is MTech all about?
MTech is a digital solution services provider, developer of web, mobile, stand-alone applications with mobile integration.
How long has the company been in Ghana?
MTech Communication Limited was founded in 2000 in Nigeria and has expanded its operations to over 14 African countries. Our operations in Ghana started in 2007. In essence, we have been operating in Ghana for 12 years.
Apart from network operations, what other service does MTech offer?
Our offerings include application development, digital and mobile billing integration, digital content distribution and aggregation, digital marketing; MOOVEE, which is Ghana’s first online cinema, www.moovee.movie; and WORCHIT, which is Ghana’s first video-on-demand service, at www.worchit.com.
In these days of social distancing and the need for virtual offices and workspace, how much of a contribution is MTech making to meet the demands arising from the peculiarities of the new reality?
We are currently working with a number of NGOs and organisations to educate the general public on information concerning the pandemic. We would soon deploy solutions around the areas of entertainment and education, where students are able to learn remotely.
Artistes, including in Ghana, constantly complain of not making money from their works, despite the fact that such works attract huge downloads. It does not seem that your digital content distribution services is being received well by artistes in Ghana and around West Africa. How do you respond to that?
Yes, it is true that certain digital contents do well in our markets and the artistes could do better in terms of how much they make. We have tried on numerous occasions to work with the artistes to address this issue from the source leveraging on our wealth of experience in the industry and our platform. However, I must say it is quite unfortunate that this has not been taken advantage of.
Kindly tell us about yourself?
My name is Chimere Mbonu. I have 13 years’ experience in telecommunications and IT industry development, managing various content, services and initiatives. I currently hold the position of regional managing director for MTech Communications.
Do you have any final words?
We are no longer inching but leap-frogging closer to the true definition of a global economy. This brings to our forefront exciting times as we are now able to reach beyond our geographical limits in safe and efficient ways. I do hope that, in embracing this new future, we would benefit for ourselves all the good it has to offer.
