Nereshnee Govender
In December, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made an impassioned plea for Africa to get the technological justice it deserves. Guterres, had paid a courtesy visit to President Cyril Ramaphosa at the President’s Official Residence in Pretoria after meeting with the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola.
During his meeting with Ramaphosa he delivered an address and made an impassioned plea for 2025 to be a year of justice for Africa.
“Africa cannot be left behind in the technological revolution or be denied a voice as the world develops guardrails to harness the benefits of this technology, and minimize the risks,” he said.
What is clear is that the country needs to push the frontiers of science and innovation on the home front but it also has to harness the partnerships and collaboration to access the technology and innovation that is clearly evident in other developing countries.
India, is one of the world’s fastest growing economies with a burgeoning electronics sector and its partnership with South Africa and Africa is viewed as a catalyst for accelerated global rebalancing and strengthening of the Global South.
The partnership between India and South Africa comes at a crucial time as India's electronics industry is on the brink of a transformative phase as it targets USD 500 billion in manufacturing output by 2030.
This extraordinary growth trajectory is projected to generate 12 million jobs by 2027, encompassing 3 million direct and 9 million indirect roles. Direct employment opportunities will span nearly 1 million engineers, 2 million ITI-certified professionals, and 200 000 specialists in high-demand fields such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science.
Meanwhile, non-technical roles will account for the bulk of indirect employment opportunities, reflecting the sector's potential to drive economic growth and create diverse career paths.
Despite its promising outlook, the electronics sector in India faces a significant talent gap that could impede its progress. This challenge is not just about numbers; it involves a critical shortage of skilled professionals essential for achieving the sector's ambitious manufacturing goals. Bridging this gap is crucial to strengthening India's position in the global electronics supply chain.
To address this issue, experts say workforce skills must be aligned with industry needs, particularly in high-demand areas such as semiconductors, electromechanical parts, and both passive and active components.
The talent pool is expected to come from specialised fields such as electronics and electrical streams, ITI-certified professionals, and other technical domains, while general education streams can effectively support indirect roles.
South Africa and India formalised relations with a bilateral agreement on Science and Technology cooperation in July 1995 and since then, the countries have cooperated on more than 96 research and development projects in the areas of astronomy, astrophysics, biotechnology, science and technology policy studies, right-sizing of technologies for rural application, indigenous knowledge systems and energy technologies.
Both countries have increased cooperation through their membership in BRICS and IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) a unique Forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges.
The promotion of solidarity and self-help among countries of the South has been an important feature for many years. Strengthening self-help initiatives among developing countries through cooperation in science and technology and human capacity development on similar experiences and circumstances have remained key themes.
Both South Africa and India have identified South-South relations as strategically important and use every opportunity to highlight the opportunities for cooperation.
This must extend to greater partnerships in science and technology.
* Dr Govender is an academic and a keen observer of issues related to international relations.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.