Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) has challenged Namibia’s business community to embrace innovation for economic growth.
This comes as research has shown that those companies that embrace Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies—such as digitisation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and additive manufacturing—stand to boost performance, shape new business models, and drive sustainable growth.
MTC’s Managing Director Licky Erastus said it was important for businesses to recognise that in a rapidly expanding digital space that includes both public and private sectors, innovation must be the order of the day to achieve national economic development.
He made the remarks at the launch of the ‘High Tech Transfer Plaza Select (HTTPS)’ initiative by NUST and MTC, which aims to support a functional technologically inspired ecosystem for the university community, industries, development partners, and entrepreneurs.
Amplifying the chorus of innovation at the grand opening, Erastus said while the nation ought to celebrate the milestone between the two institutions, industry needs to accelerate and set itself fit for the 4IR.
“This is an Innovation hub where industry experts and academics will be appreciating and leveraging synergies to transform innovative ideas and concepts to life. Indeed, a national centre of engaged excellence that will explore and fuse innovation with the transformative power of technology, said Erastus, while adding that ignoring innovation will be to commit an economic suicide.
The HTTPS concept is to improve competitiveness through trans-disciplinary research and transfer of specialised knowledge and technology as it speaks directly to the fostering of innovation through the transfer of technology and knowledge between higher education institutions, business and various development partners.
Speaking at the same occasion, Minister of Information and Communication Technology Peya Mushelenga reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to playing an important role in fostering innovation through public policy.
“When it comes to innovations the policy default should be permission-less innovation rather than restrictive regulations. Permission-less innovation is the idea that experimentation should generally be permitted by default, even when innovation might lead to some short-term disruption of established business models. In the long run, the perpetual search for new and better ways of doing things drives human learning and, ultimately, prosperity for all should be the aiming point,” said the Minister.
Mushelenga stated that the government recently held a 4IR conference with the goal of validating the country’s readiness assessment and preliminary 4IR recommendations made by the Task Force, discussing challenges, gaps, and opportunities for Namibia, and providing a networking and collaboration platform for the private and public sectors on 4IR technology.
Meanwhile, NUST Vice-Chancellor Erold Naomab said the hub is aimed at ensuring that technological and scientific developments are available to a wider audience.
“It was indeed a momentous occasion, and it gives me great pleasure to note that in this short period, we have made notable strides towards fulfilling the mandate of this ecosystem, which is to facilitate a functional technological inspired space for the university, industries, development partners and entrepreneurs,” said Naomab in reference to the university’s work since the launch of the HTTPS.
The Innovation Centre aims to be a hub for testing, building and showcasing new technologies and consumer ICT applications, whilst the Mobile Home will offer customers services that include SIM card registration, account payments and top-ups, device sales, and self-help services amongst others.
Both facilities will be open to the NUST students, industry experts and serve as the hub where industry meets academia, while enjoying the services of MTC at the mobile home.
