Digitalization of Africa attracts special attention of Russians
Ethiopia’s capital and the headquarters of the African Union (AU) - Addis Ababa - hosted a round table, ‘On the road to the Second Russia – Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum’ on July 12th.
The main topic of discussion was trade and economic cooperation and social and humanitarian partnership between Russia and Africa. Participants from 25 countries joined the event while representatives were drawn from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, AFROCOM, relevant ministries, industry and business associations.
Prospects for the development of Russian-African economic and social partnership relations in the fields of agriculture, education, energy resources and digitalization of the economy were the primary focus during the discussion.
During the meeting, some focus was on such fields as agriculture, education, energy resources and digitalization of the economy.
Chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AFROCOM), Igor Morozov, noted from the outset that, the “digitalization of Africa attracts special attention of Russians”, since we live in a digital world and, without a doubt, the future of civilization lies with the digital economy.
Indeed, digital transformation has been carried out in all regions of Russia for 20 years. Russia has the world’s best B2B, B2C digital platforms, product and educational service labeling, and Moscow has become the “best city in the world” in terms of living comfort and digitalization of the services offered. Only Toronto and Singapore are in the top three.
“We certainly have something to share with our African partners, especially since they are already ready for a new experience” through the African Continental Free Trade Area, which has begun to operate.
Morozov observed that many countries of the continent, including Ethiopia, are creating science and technology parks and IT clusters.
As part of the round table, Alexander Makarov, General Director of TraceCORE LLC presented the company’s most advanced solutions in digitalization of the economy, which help increase tax revenues by reducing the tax gap and reducing the black and informal economy.
“The result of the implementation of such solutions will be a reduction in the VAT gap, an increase in tax collection in the b2b segment by 150% across the country.
“In addition, VAT revenues in the b2c segment will increase by 165%, and the black economy will be reduced by at least 30% in certain product groups, the country will be able to receive millions of new taxpayers,” Alexander Makarov, General Director of TraceCORE LLC, said.
He said the new solutions could cover Ethiopia’s missing tax gaps, boost GDP and help pay off $55 billion of the current government debt in up to 10 years.
The Second Russia-Africa Summit and the Economic and Humanitarian Forum will be held in St. Petersburg at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Centre from July 27 to 28, 2023.
The events are focused on the comprehensive strengthening of Russian-African cooperation and are intended to determine the trajectory of the development of Russia’s long-term relations with African countries.