An Informationalised Economy in Africa? The impact of new ICT on the Wood Products Industry in Durban, Kwa- Zulu Natal, South Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) experienced a process of marginalization in the global economy in the 1980s and 1990s. Some now assert this is being reversed by an information technology revolution on the sub-continent. SSA now has the fastest growing mobile phone penetration rates in the world and most people there now live under the “footprint” of mobile phones. However, while many claims are made for the poverty reduction potential of new ICTs, very little research has been done on how access affects firm strategies, and innovation and consequently may contribute to broader economic transformation; vital to sustainable poverty reduction. This paper contextualises the adoption of new ICTs and then examines evidence of the uses and impacts of new ICTs in the wood products industry in Durban, South Africa and its surrounding region. It finds that while ICT usage is being routinised in the sector, their impacts are incremental than 1 This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (USA), award number #0925151 with Professor James Murphy of Clark University, USA and a Senior Research Fellowship from the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The findings do not reflect the opinions of the NSF or the IRCHSS. Thanks to Dr. Ralph Borland for his research assistance. Thanks to Mark Graham and Jim Murphy for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.