Page 4 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2023

EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS

A Resilient, Sustainable Digital Future

Sustainable ICT development in the future impact on the sustainability of the planet’s
requires access to new financial resources, health and the environment we live in. Already,
innovative funding approaches, new financial having approached the end of the first
instruments for creating investor confidence, quarter of the year 2023, we have numerous
and an overhaul in the way cooperation imperatives to work on, new approaches to
across industries is built and sustained. devise, and difficult challenges to overcome.
Incentives, complemented by only resilient For all collaborations and intra and inter-
and evidence-based regulation, would play a industry initiatives to yield good outcomes
critical role in this regard. Moreover, the role for socio-economic transformation and
of leading financing institutions, such as the service delivery, adequate underlying ICT
Islamic Development Bank, can help timely infrastructure is crucial, well-supported
boost ICT development, digital enablement, by Telecom Operators and financially
and fulfilling the global goal of achieving sustainable to absorb and maintain all future
universal access. energy efficiency and sustainability needs.
Bocar A. BA
The Telecom/ICT Industry is creating new It is important to recognize how digital Chief Executive Officer
opportunities, digitally enabling business solutions and ICT infrastructure can help our & Board Member
and societal functions, and is enabling region in achieving digital-economy goals SAMENA Telecommunications
new experiences. Interestingly, as Digital as well as in realizing green, low-carbon Council
Economy expands forward and crosses and high-productivity based economic
paths with the likes of Space Economy transformation, which should be human-
– defined by OECD to encompass a wide centric, digitally-powered, and be mindful of
range of activities and resources for creating the needs of the next generations and the
value and benefits for humans with respect environment.
to exploration, research, management,
sustainable utilization of space resources – Advancing a truly, inclusive, sustainable
the role of the ICT Industry gets ever more digital economy is a necessity and requires
engraved in how the society and business accelerated digitalization. It does also require
work in the current times. It has also become innovation, partnerships, participation of a
an integral determinant of success for new diverse group of stakeholders, ranging from
modes of educational delivery, financing Academia to a complex chain of investors,
services and digital financial inclusion, and services providers, regulators, and vision-
improved city-management processes – as setters.
highlighted by the New York City Mayor’s
Office in the SAMENA Council’s RISE Ultimately, all aspirations to digitally and
conference earlier this year. sustainability transform should also be
directed to meeting sustainability goals,
Any meaningful, inter or intra-industry relating to how digital communications are
collaborations to work, requires creating a carried out and protected; how investments
sustainable ICT environment as the enabler are made; and how adverse impact of
of sustainable digital transformation and ICT digitalization is successfully mitigated
development, which is both a challenge as across environmental, social, and
well as an opportunity area and has direct governance planes.

4 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023