Aside from producing higher demand for PCs and servers in the telecoms segment, mobility is generating greater interest in Internet and various access devices, including PCs.

Says Roy Blume, services division manager at BMI-T: "We have witnessed a growing realisation among business and political organisations that ICT can drive economic growth in Africa. One of the areas where ICT can help is that the mostly cash-based economies of most African states result in the cash resources being held by the population, ICT has been identified as a tool to assist in bringing the cash into the formal banking sector. The potential for sustainable economic growth and development in the majority of African countries may stimulate ICT development as a means of attaining this growth."

The ongoing privatisation initiatives undertaken by major African states are expected to add further impetus to IT spending in the telecoms, insurance and banking/financial services sectors in the near future. In addition, funding by organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank is on the rise, and is driving ICT sector growth in many African countries. BMI-T expects the continuously falling average selling prices (ASPs) on desktop and notebook PCs to increase the availability of PCs for the general African population, notably in the consumer segment.