Globalisation has been largely realised by the progressively expansive access to the internet and platforms that have made it easier for people to make use of and sense of how this resource can simplify their lives.
Amazon, Apple, Meta and Alphabet have over the years become the go-to providers, platforms and gateways for the access and dissemination of information and online products.
It is estimated that about 3 billion people make use of Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram platforms every month. Of these, more than 90 per cent are outside the United States.
Alphabet’s Google Search platform is used by more than 90 percent of the global population, and Google’s Android software is said to support at least three of every four of the world’s smartphones.
The term big tech is clearly an apt description for these technology companies that now control where and how we consume data products and content.
This scenario has led to the rise of another important global conversation – the decentralisation of the internet; a concept where this resource is owned by many, with millions of devices linked together in an open network.
No one actor should own it, control it, or switch it off for everyone. Decentralisation is seen as key to ensuring that the internet remains a public resource that is healthy and available to all and that it is not controlled by a tiny handful of organisations.
The advent of Covid-19 catalysed the adoption of digital solutions to enable businesses to continue to run, either completely remotely or via hybrid models. The demand for connectivity also shot up exponentially with businesses realising that digital transformation was no longer a choice and that digital connectivity was now king.
This global evolution has now led to big tech players expanding and increasing their physical presence in other markets. With the digital economy becoming one of the main drivers of growth in several African countries, accounting for more than 5 per cent of GDP, these multinationals have now set up shop on the continent.
Amazon announced a $280 million investment in their new African headquarters in Cape Town, payment processing platform Stripe acquired 100 per cent of leading African fintech Paystack, Google has invested in its first-ever Africa product development hub in Nairobi as part of its Sh115.5 billion investments on the continent over the next five years, and Microsoft has invested Sh3 billion in its African Development Centre that is said to be one of the largest engineering facilities in Africa.
With the entry of big tech into the country and the region, therefore, some of these homegrown technology companies will be disadvantaged. These multinationals have in recent months raided local technology companies for talent, making it increasingly difficult to retain exceptional human capital.
While more choice is always good for the consumer, there lies an intricate challenge that has to be addressed. Granting multinationals, that continue to pay millions of dollars in fines over data protection breaches across the globe, access to invest in infrastructure that supports sensitive national communication apparatus, is a red flag.
Research and global discourse suggest that the world is heading towards a future of vertically integrated silos controlled by a few large players.
Kenya’s content production industry is growing, and with digital platforms becoming a strategic repository for creative content, the global tech industry needs to be challenged to find ways to encourage and ultimately reinforce decentralisation if the true intent of the internet is to be realised – an information repository resource that can be accessed by all and not under the control of a few.
At the national level, there should be some level of regulatory control that ensures that the entry of big tech players does not result in them putting up infrastructure that could be considered cannibalistic to existing infrastructural investment by local players.
A good example is allowing these big tech entities to build their own submarine cable landing stations when the country has sufficient capacity in the existing landing stations to service new entrants.
Foreign direct investment is supposed to grow an economy, and not destroy or erode any gains that have already been made.
Comments on topical issues
