The third industrial revolution changed our world. It brought a rapid wave of digitization and technology breakthrough which transformed the way we work and play. This revolution ensured that the world transited from analog to digital, improving productivity in all areas of life.

African countries came late to the party, as a result of the continent’s dependent on exportation of primary commodities to advanced economies. The continent’s transition to digital revolution has been tortuous as a result of the political leaders’ ineptitude, widespread poverty and illiteracy that are prevalent in different countries of Africa. 

Year on year, negative indicators are visible on Africa’s map in the area of digital and technological advancement. International Telecommunication Union, in its report, Measuring Digital Development Facts and Figures 2020, notes that in most regions, more than 90 per cent of the population has access to a mobile-broadband network (3G or above) but Africa is the region facing the biggest gap, where respectively 23 and 11 per cent of the population have no access to a mobile-broadband network.

In Africa, only 28 per cent of households in urban areas had access to the internet at home, while in the other regions of the world, household internet access in urban areas stood between 70 and 88 per cent, the report notes. 

However, in recent years, there have been rays of hope. There have been waves of digitization and technological breakthrough powered by vibrant young people of the continent. The real picture of the digital and technological breakthrough in the continent was painted by Cristina Duarte, the Special Adviser on Africa to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the former finance Minister of Cabo Verde, in her article published on International Monetary Fund (IMF) website. She notes that, “With no help from government, the digital technology industry has grown in Africa—through incubators and start-ups, tech hubs and data centers. Information and communication technology (ICT) activities are spreading across the continent, and young Africans are responding with digital technology to the challenges posed by COVID-19.” 

Writing further, she states that, “For example, at an ICT hub in Kenya, FabLab created Msafari, a people-tracking application that can trace the spread of infections. A similar application, Wiqaytna6, was developed in Morocco. In Rwanda, the government is demonstrating what enlightened policies can achieve. The country has invested heavily in digital infrastructure—90 percent of the country has access to broadband internet, and 75 percent of the population has cell phones. Early in the pandemic Rwanda parlayed that technological prowess into developing real-time digital mapping to track the spread of COVID-19, expanded telemedicine to reduce visits to clinics, and created chatbots to update people on the disease.”

According to her, “More than 600 technology hubs—places designed to help start-up companies—have emerged across the continent. Three have achieved international recognition: Lagos in Nigeria, Nairobi in Kenya, and Cape Town in South Africa. These tech hubs host thousands of start-ups, incubators, technology parks, and innovation centers driven by the private sector and young people who, despite adversity, are aware of how self-employment is linked to innovation.”

In Infrastructure Financing Trends in Africa, a report published by the International Consortium for Africa (ICA), it was reported that France committed $18m to the ICT sector for a regional project in East Africa for the expansion of the ETIX data center network. 

Africa is renowned for its success story in mobile telecommunication. According to data from The World Bank and African Development Bank, there are 650 million mobile users in Africa. A report by the London-based GSMA, an umbrella body for the mobile industry, GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2021, Mobile Money transaction boomed globally in 2020, especially in sub-Saharan Africa which accounted for 43% of all new accounts.  

From the foregoing, we can deduce that Africa has the potential and capacity to catch up with the technological advancement in other continents of the world. With the right infrastructure, conducive environment, and adequate investment in research and development (R&D), Africa should lead innovation as the world enter the 4th Industrial Revolution.