Digital transformation is redefining
industries, making new business models
possible and providing businesses with
unparalleled opportunities for value
creation. But unleashing that value
requires relentless effort. New research
from Accenture offers South Africa an
unprecedented opportunity to maximise
the benefits of digital.
Understanding how digital technologies
create value and how this value can
be captured for government, industry
and society is key—it can help lay
the groundwork for national digital
transformation strategies, guiding efforts
and investments to effectively power
economic growth across sectors to the
benefit of all.
Accenture and the World Economic
Forum (WEF) developed a pioneering
value-at-stake framework as part of
WEF's multi-year Digital Transformation
Initiative (DTI). The framework measures
the impact of digital technology on
government services, business and
society, and peers 10 years into the future
to quantify the value these technologies
can create, effectively providing a map
and a compass to help stakeholders align
and optimise their efforts to realise this
value.
The value-at-stake framework was initially
piloted in the UK, Denmark and the Indian
state of Telangana, and presented at
annual WEF meetings in Davos in 2016
and 2017. It has now been applied to
South Africa.
For South Africa, the analysis—based
on the value-at-stake framework, expert
interviews, local statistics, and other
inputs—delivers extraordinary insight into
the value that digital technologies can
deliver per industry sector. It is a highly
granular level of insight never achieved
before and the value at stake is immense.
Our analysis reveals that South Africa
could unlock over R5 trillion in value
over the next decade—with value of
R1.4 trillion created in 2026 alone—by
implementing 96 digital initiatives
across nine industries and five
government services.
We are confident that these findings
will help initiate broader dialogue on
the impact of digital technologies in
South Africa and—importantly—inspire
the collaborative action needed by
stakeholders in South Africa to define
effective digital policies and strategies,
and guide investment in digital
transformation to deliver the greatest
benefits for all.
FOREWORD
Joost de Haas
Accenture Strategy Lead
Vukani Mngxati
Country Managing Director
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