25 Feb 2019

The use of Value Added Service (VAS) is an important aspect of life if Botswana is to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Vision 2036 ideals, which sees Botswana as a modern, knowledge based economy.

Speaking at a reception she hosted for participants who attended the InterVAS summit in Gaborone, British High Commissioner to Botswana, Ms Katy Ransome said investment in VAS would help transform and modernise a range of sectors important to Botswana.

She said the sectors include health, education, agriculture, mining, social services and environmental sectors, and would also help the private sector to align with regional and international markets. She added that VAS would also help streamline business operations, reduce costs, improve efficiency and maximise profits.

Ms Ransome said the digital value added services sector or “ecosystem” was made up of a range of stakeholders who ensured services were delivered across digital platforms. She noted that they include mobile network operators, mobile value added service developers, content developers and aggregators, system architects and designers and platform developers.

She said supporting such an ecosystem required enabling legislation and regulation, investment in mobile infrastructure and skills development.

“I hope the discussions today from the summit will, I am sure, have covered many of these issues and considered the challenges and solutions for digital growth in Botswana, and I am very pleased that the Botswana Value Added summit has provided the opportunity for an in depth consideration of the benefits of incorporating VAS,” said Ms Ransome. 

Chief technical officer InterVAS Botswana office, Mr Mumbi Musunga said in the telecommunications domain, value added services, also known as VAS, were mobile products and services that completed the telecommunications industry’s core services.

He said digital value added service enabled differentiation in all user interactions by leveraging real-time insights, optimised network applications and streamlined content services. 

He added that such mobile value added services could be categorised as VAS for consumers, mobile network operators and for businesses.

Mr Musunga said there was rapid growth in the adoption of mobile value added services across all the three categories around the world, which has seen governments and businesses adopt and integrate.

He said the question was when should digital VAS be fully implemented across both government and businesses in Botswana, and he answered now, stating that mobile VAS represented a growing collaboration between the private sector and the development community. He added that it has demonstrable positive impacts on economic growth in developing countries.

Mr Musunga said mobile communication also opened up information sharing, and gave a voice to the traditionally unheard, adding that it was also a tool to enhance economic, health and educational activities. ENDS