Login

Lost your password?

Sign Up

Register

Login

Login

Lost your password?

Register

Sunday, May 22, 2022
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion

Africa's
Investment
Gateway

The Exchange
  • Login
  • Register
Subscribe
This Month's Edition
Previous Editions
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
LOGIN
An illustration of Africa/ telecomreviewafrica.com

An illustration of Africa/ telecomreviewafrica.com

Accelerating Africa’s digital transformation

The rapid spread of the internet across the African continent has been heralded as a key driver of prosperity and a sign of the continent’s technological coming of age 

by Kanyali Muthui
April 3, 2022
in Business, Tech & Business
0
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
  • A report by the African Development Bank notes that today, at least a quarter of the continent’s population has internet access, a nearly fifty-fold increase in internet usage since the turn of the millennium.
  • Mobile technologies alone have already generated 1.7 million jobs and contributed US$144 billion to the continent’s economy, or roughly 8.5 percent of GDP
  • Accelerating digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, robotics, and 3D printing – have obvious and important implications for education, employment, and the future of work

 

Leaders on the African continent must work harder to harness emerging technology to boost government performance, transparency, and inclusivity as the continent recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

They also need to ensure that the growing technological advancements across the continent are not used as a tool of repression, division, and conflict.

According to a study by the World Health Organization, 13 percent of all new or modified technology developed to respond to COVID-19 is African.

Across the African continent, there is a rapid spread of the internet which has been heralded as a key driver of prosperity and a sign that the continent’s technological ecosystem is coming of age.

A report by the African Development Bank notes that today, at least a quarter of the continent’s population has internet access, a nearly fifty-fold increase in internet usage since the turn of the millennium.

“By 2030, the continent could achieve rough parity with the rest of the world when three-quarters of Africans are projected to become internet users,” the report further states.

Additionally, mobile technologies alone have already generated 1.7 million jobs and contributed US$144 billion to the continent’s economy, or roughly 8.5 percent of GDP.

Platforms like Kenya’s M-Pesa have helped propel Africa ahead of other areas as a hub for mobile peer-to-peer lending. The continent registers close to half of the world’s mobile money accounts, according to the AfDB report states.

Although this is no small feat, a lot more still needs to be done to fast-track the uptake of digital technologies across the continent.

The role of education in accelerating digitization in Africa

Low-income Africans in rural areas without affordable internet and stable power will be unable to tap into the opportunities availed by internet access.

Because most African countries are low-income and tend not to rank among the world’s major technological powers, it is often assumed that the terms and conditions under which African states access and use new technology is beyond their control.

A study by the African Development Bank reveals that accelerating digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, robotics, and 3D printing – have obvious and important implications for education, employment, and the future of work.

This is especially true for African countries which have over the past decade seen the share of the continent’s under-20 population expand by more than 25 percent.

Social, behavioural and non-repetitive cognitive skills are increasingly in demand around the world, whereas specialized job skills are becoming less relevant. Africa’s need for software engineers is rising while the need for accountants, mechanical technicians and administrative assistants is declining.

READ: Africa should tap frontier technologies for economic growth

Africa digital transformation
As China and the West battle it out for control of Africa’s physical and virtual digital infrastructure, the continent needs to assert its own voice/ Maendeleo Group

Develop cross-border flows for digital data

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the development and policy implications of cross-border flows of digital data will be a key area of importance in accelerating Africa’s digital transformation.

This as data is core to all fast-evolving digital technologies, such as data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and other Internet-based services.

Data by UNCTAD reveals that despite increased uptake of digital technologies in Africa, only 20 per cent of people in the least developed countries (LDCs) use the Internet, when they do, it is at relatively low download speeds and with a relatively high price tag attached.

The report further states that while up to 8 in 10 Internet users shop online in several developed countries, the figure is less than 1 in 10 in many LDCs. Further, within countries, there are significant divides between rural and urban areas and between men and women. The largest gender divides are observed among LDCs and in the African region, the report adds.

Rapid digitalization is affecting all aspects of life which have seen data and cross-border data flows become increasingly crucial to accelerating Africa’s digital transformation.

The numbers never lie 

There has been a significant uptick in investment in African tech start-ups over the past few years which is expected to grow exponentially in 2022.

Africa: The Big Deal reports that in the first seven weeks of 2022, rounds of finance raised by African entrepreneurs exceeded  US$1 billion in US dollars.

The same amount was raised in 2021 in 21 weeks (4.8 months) and in 36 weeks (8.3 months) to put this increase in perspective. In 2019, it took African startups 46 weeks (almost a year) to achieve the US$1 billion thresholds.

With investors looking beyond the continent’s post-pandemic future, Africa is expected to draw even more foreign investment as entrepreneurs in the continent get off to a promising start in 2022. The record 1 billion dollars raised in just seven weeks up until mid-February 2022 shows that the continent’s burgeoning IT scene appears to have gained herd immunity against the economic impact of Covid-19, as reported by Africa: The Big Deal in its Paystack newsletter service.

Although Tunisia and Ghana are also doing quite well, they aren’t as well-known as the “Big Four” (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt) in terms of venture capital funding and deals, respectively, with 76 per cent of the funding and 78 per cent of deals going to startups based in one of these countries.

Additionally, a report by GSMA shows that by the end of 2020, 495 million people subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing 46 per cent of the region’s population – an increase of almost 20 million compared to 2019. This number is expected to grow to 615 million people subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025, equivalent to 50 per cent of the region’s population.

“With more than 40 per cent of the region’s population under the age of 15, young consumers owning a mobile phone for the first time will remain the primary source of growth for the foreseeable future,” the report noted.

Moreso US$155 billion of economic value added will be generated by mobile technologies and services across the continent by 2025. In 2020, transactions on mobile money platforms reached US$490 billion.

As African economies recover and restrictions ease, mobile technology will be even more integral to how people live and how business is conducted throughout the continent.

As a result, new digital solutions for small and large businesses as well as assistance for the increasing use of online channels by consumers will be visible.

“Strong investor confidence and consumer interest in digital platforms point to a digital-centric future for Sub-Saharan Africa, with mobile at the centre of the creation and consumption of innovative solutions,” GSMA stated.

READ: Innovative financing key to Africa’s private sector development

Tags: accelerating digital transformationAfricaArtificial intelligencecross-border tradedigital data flowDigitalisationEducationemploymentpremiumsoftware engineers

STATE OF ECONOMY - GET THE REPORT

ASSESSING EAST AFRICA

Loading...

Kanyali Muthui

Kanyali Cynthia is a Kenyan-based financial journalist with key specialisation in data and tech reporting and over eight years of experience.

Related Posts

Congo joins the EAC (www.theexchange.africa)
Business

What does it mean for regional trade, investment after DRC became EAC’s 7th Member State?

May 18, 2022
Twiga Foods launch new subsidiary
Investing

Twiga Foods invests $10 million to launch new subsidiary

May 18, 2022
Nigeria Interswitch secured US$110 million
Tech & Business

Nigeria: Interswitch secures US$110 million investment to scale up operations

May 18, 2022
Next Post
Diversified services group Bidvest shows strength in numbers literally from an operational and financial perspective.

Diversified services group Bidvest shows strength in numbers

US-Russia tensions

Africa refuses to be a pawn in US-Russia tensions

Tushop

Social networks driving up sales across Africa

Please login to join discussion




This months edition

May Edition

Features

EdTech role in African development
Tech & Business

EdTech’s role in African development

by Kanyali Muthui
May 16, 2022
0

Due to the pandemic, the topic of innovation in education has never been more crucial.  While most developed countries moved...

Read more
investment in African science and technology
Tech & Business

Investing in Africa’s science and technology: Where are we now?

by Kanyali Muthui
May 16, 2022
0

The continent’s digital revolution can largely be driven by building the necessary skills for the short- and long-term future, and...

Read more
Fintech revolution in Africa
Tech & Business

The Fintech Revolution in Africa’s FX Markets

by Kanyali Muthui
May 11, 2022
0

With over 548 million registered mobile money users in sub-Saharan Africa, increased internet access and readily available mobile money solutions,...

Read more
www.theexchange.africa
Countries

US – Nigeria Trade Relations: An Overview

by Wanjiku Njugunah
May 2, 2022
0

Nigeria is currently the United States' 54th largest goods trading partner, with US$7.8 billion in total goods trade as of...

Read more
A previous conference for African Insurtech sector. The Insurtech boom is deepening insurance uptake in Africa. www.theexchange.africa
Tech & Business

Insurtech boom deepening the uptake of insurance in Africa

by june njoroge
May 2, 2022
0

Kenya-based Pula is another distinguished insurtech making waves in the continent. It provides small scale farmers with agricultural insurance and...

Read more

News

Banking
Industry & Trade
Investing
Money Deals
Regional Markets
Tech & Biz
Opinion

Countries

Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Burundi
Rwanda
Southern Africa
Ethiopia

More

My Account
Contact us
Advertise
About us
Help Center

Subscribers Center

E-paper
Premium Stories
Education Rates
Corporate Subscriptions
Weekely Newsletter

  • My account
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy – The Exchange
  • Sitemap

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2021 The Exchange - Powered by MediapixManaged by Supported by Digihandler,

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In