Why Africa needs to leverage digital to transform now

Africa needs digital transformation. In order to create an integrated and inclusive digital society and economy in Africa that transforms the lives of communities, economies and citizens, it must leverage digital technologies and innovations.

Africa offers massive economic opportunities in almost every industry, and the continent's youthful demographics represent a huge opportunity in this digital age, so Africa needs to make digital socio-economic development a high priority. Digital transformation is a driver of innovation, inclusiveness and sustainable growth. Innovation and digitalization are spurring job creation and helping to address poverty, reduce inequality, facilitate the delivery of goods and services, and contribute to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). In addition, Africa has fewer legacy challenges to address and thus can adopt digital solutions more quickly.

"For Africa, the current moment offers an opportunity to leapfrog.World MobileIts mission is to connect the unconnected with high-speed broadband, which is a key part of breaking down the digital divide and ensuring Africa has the modern tools of a digital economy. "

The importance of digital infrastructure

Digital infrastructure facilitates the development, supply, use and sharing of digital systems (products and services). These include fixed and wireless telecommunication networks, including broadband and high-speed networks; terrestrial fiber optic networks, power line fiber optics, submarine cables, satellite communications, mobile communications, IXP; data centers; digital and smart devices.

Affordable, accessible and reliable digital infrastructure is the foundation for inclusive digital transformation. Several studies have shown that high-speed broadband penetration and broadband quality are key factors for economic growth.

“According to a World Bank study, it was estimated that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration in low- and middle-income countries, the share of GDP increases by 1.38%.”

Other studies have also shown positive economic impacts, both directly through the employment created by the deployment of broadband infrastructure and indirectly as a result of “spillover” externalities, such as increased productivity and accelerated innovation to create new products and services.

This all points to the need to expand national broadband coverage and access. There is also a need for an enabling regulatory environment and the provision of digital platforms as an application layer on which multiple public and private sector organizations can build new or better services and solutions. Currently, Internet penetration in Africa is estimated at only 36%. It’s not just people who need to be connected (the Internet of Things includes sensors, voice-activated devices, geospatial instruments, machine-to-machine communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, etc.). Additionally, the intelligence of networks and digital systems resides in the cloud rather than the devices themselves, thus requiring ubiquitous connectivity. so,

Digital platforms are also a key element of digital infrastructure. They serve people, businesses and government agencies in all aspects of life, including healthcare, education, commerce, transportation and public welfare. Users can access monthly pension payments, securely log into government e-service portals, pay utility bills, file complaints, access public information, or find someone to rent their car or motorcycle. These platforms can provide a seamless service delivery experience, increasing user convenience, savings, and agency.

For governments, digital platforms can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of core functions and services, reduce unnecessary duplication of systems, combat fraud and corruption by increasing the security and traceability of transactions, and improve citizen engagement and accountability . For businesses, business platforms are an effective mechanism that can help businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), expand market access, exchange goods and services, and leverage underutilized assets and human resources, potentially in local Create more and better job opportunities.

"Nearly 300 million Africans live more than 50 kilometers away from a fiber optic or wired broadband connection; thus, the lack of widespread availability of high-speed broadband Internet remains a significant barrier to Africa's ability to realize the full potential of digital transformation."

Mobile devices are still the main way people access the internet today, as there are few dedicated internet connections in homes and offices (such as fiber-to-the-home) except in some capital cities. Reliance on mobile broadband rather than fixed-line broadband means unmetered or unlimited data usage, which is uncommon in Africa. Therefore, achieving coverage and access to mobile broadband Internet connections and reducing connection costs remainWorld MobileKey barriers to digital transformation that are directly addressed.

Benefits of Digital Transformation in Africa:

1 - E-Commerce

While digital trade represents a multi-trillion dollar market globally, Africa currently accounts for only a small fraction of e-commerce revenues. Still, digital trade in Africa is growing rapidly, with McKinsey predicting that the value of e-commerce will increase from $8 billion in 2013 to $300 billion in 2025.

New digital technologies give customers direct access to previously controlled products, thereby entering previously closed markets and removing demand distortions. Rapid technological developments have created new markets that now connect consumers, lower transaction costs, and reduce information asymmetries. For cross-border trade, there is an opportunity to export a wider variety of goods to more countries.

"Despite the opportunities, African countries still face a number of constraints, some of which are related to current digital infrastructure and technology gaps."

Increasing digital infrastructure and deploying the right policies for e-commerce will enable large informal sectors and businesses to access global markets, receive payments and make purchases with international buyers, thereby scaling up their activities beyond their local markets.

2 - Digital Financial Services (DFS)

Digital Financial Services (DFS) is also another area in need of further development, offering users the flexibility to conduct financial transactions and banking online and anytime, anywhere. It is also a means of settling trade payments, digitizing government transactions through central banks, and moving from traditional paper-based banking to digital and automated systems that are more efficient, easier to track and monitor, and faster to access.

The link between financial inclusion and development is widely recognized, and financial inclusion can play an important role in achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The use of financial technology, especially mobile money, is becoming more prevalent in several African countries. For example, Kenya ranks 26th globally in the digital financial inclusion rankings, while Africa uses more mobile banking than all the rest of the developing world combined."

Mobile financial services are becoming an important part of Africa's financial services landscape, from payments and current accounts to savings, loans, investments and insurance. Therefore, the DFS market in Africa looks very promising.

3 - Education

In Africa, the introduction of educational technology has generally been unsuccessful at scale. There are many promising pilots, but scaling up has encountered implementation challenges, including technical hurdles, policy and regulatory constraints, and the ability to manage technology integration.

If the continent is to realize the potential of digital technologies in education, it must connect Africa's universities, skills training institutes and secondary schools to broadband internet. In addition, all young people need basic and intermediate levels of digital skills if they are to use technology. Integrating digital skills training into the core curriculum of formal education programs for all learners, regardless of their major, is essential.

4 - Digital Wellbeing

Digital health systems have the potential to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to ensure good health and well-being for all at all ages.

"Universal access to affordable high-speed broadband communication technology is expected to help health systems deliver higher quality and more patient-centred care, especially in rural and remote areas."

That means giving health workers the tools to do more, make better decisions and tap resources that were previously only available in major urban centres. It also promises to give patients firm control over their health data and help improve the security of that data.

Despite Africa's progress in digital health, significant obstacles remain as the foundational elements have not been adequately addressed. Barriers to scaling up digital health interventions include poor infrastructure and access to equipment (including reliable electricity and affordable high-speed broadband Internet connections, especially in rural areas), lack of adequate and consistent funding for digital health projects, and limited Human resource capabilities and digital skills.

5 - Agriculture

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Africa is expected to be home to about 2 billion people by 2050. This population growth has increased the ever-increasing demand for food and soaring food prices. Therefore, agricultural productivity must accelerate faster than the global average to avoid sustained mass starvation. It is clear that sustainable solutions to decent employment in agriculture in Africa must address the intertwined issues of minimizing drudgery while maximizing return on effort. This can be achieved by taking advantage of opportunities for agribusiness entrepreneurship and innovation to increase productivity and competitiveness.

Recognizing agriculture as an important driver of economic development in Africa and a sector of great opportunity for Africans, leveraging opportunities for agribusiness entrepreneurship and innovation along the value chain, including ICT innovation, will help improve the sector's profile . It will also increase productivity and return on investment, provide new job opportunities, and attract more young people. Access to cheaper and more reliable ICT equipment, especially mobile phones, and increased broadband Internet connectivity are prerequisites.

Digital technologies have opened up huge untapped potential for farmers, investors and entrepreneurs to increase the efficiency of food production and consumption in Africa. Technology can bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits from precision agriculture to efficient food supply chains.

"By dramatically changing the industries that employ most of its citizens, extreme hunger in Africa could be dramatically reduced within this generation."

Three features of African food systems make them ideally suited to benefit from digital technologies. First, food systems are large and complex, with many players. Digital technologies have the potential to connect Africa's hundreds of millions of rural residents, many of them farmers, to the emerging multi-trillion dollar African food market. It will link upstream input suppliers – whether seeds, machinery, fertilizers, financial or advisory services providers – with farms and farm businesses. It will also more effectively connect food buyers and sellers, both domestically and across borders.

Second, massive inefficiencies in resource use and marketing represent an opportunity for digital technologies to transform African agriculture. Food production is at risk, in part because of limited information about weather patterns, soil characteristics, future market demand and other variables.

Third, African food systems are characterized by inequalities in access to technology, information and markets, and digital innovations can help overcome these inequalities. Even in rural environments with poor connectivity, advanced offline digital farming technologies can provide opportunities to help illiterate farmers. Digital agricultural information platforms or mobile financial solutions can level the playing field for marginalized groups, such as women, who traditionally have less access to information and markets. The Farmer Identification Scheme helps to better target support services to vulnerable farmers.

6 - Digital ID

A digital ID or digital identity is the unique identification of an individual through digital channels. The benefits of digital identity span not only the entire social and economic sphere, but also human rights. Digital IDs are a key mechanism to advance the United Nations concept of a legal identity for all and support the achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

A digital ID could form the basis of a basic identity card as part of civil registration. Other functional elements such as National ID, Refugee ID, Non-Resident ID, etc. can be 'stacked' or built on top of. Through digital IDs, in particular using biometrics (fingerprints, irises, facial recognition, etc.) stored in a secure, trusted, immutable way such as blockchain, people are able to positively and uniquely identify themselves. It also allows them to control who has access to their credentials in a way that paper identities cannot.

Many African citizens do not have legal means of identification. Comprehensive civil registration forms the basis of a well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system. However, many civil registration and identification systems in African countries are fragmented and under-resourced.

"This has resulted in a current situation where approximately 542 million people in Africa do not have a basic identity and are therefore 'invisible'. Of this figure, approximately 95 million children under the age of five have never had their birth recorded and 120 million children have not been born prove."

This lack of identity means that roughly half of the continent's population is not only unable to meaningfully participate in the productive processes that generate economic growth, but also deprived of services that improve their well-being.

Citizens without legal status have difficulty asserting their rights, including citizenship. Legal identity can stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship by reducing transaction costs and enhancing product traceability. Legal status also strengthens the capacity of state institutions and their ability to provide basic social services to citizens.

The rapid modernization and urbanization of African societies and the increasing complexity of business transactions have exacerbated the need for legal identity. ID is required for access to medical services, tax certification, travel documents, opening bank accounts, exercising franchises, establishing credit, and more. In addition, conflicts in Africa have resulted in the internal displacement of large numbers of people, all of whom are in need of humanitarian assistance. Without legal status, it will be difficult to deliver them to them or return them to their communities/countries after hostilities have ceased.

In a recent study, nearly one in five unbanked people cited a lack of necessary identification documents as the reason. In low-income countries, women disproportionately lack identity, leading to higher levels of exclusion. For example, in low-income countries, 45% of women over the age of 15 lack an identity, compared with 30% of men.

Several African countries are taking advantage of rapid advances in digital technology to establish national digital identity platforms or systems, which are an important part of the digital economy. Without this, it will be impossible to fully participate in Africa's emerging digital economy.

“Digital identity is driven by acknowledgment of the fact that African economies must evolve and even transform to achieve sustainable, inclusive growth. Digitization is therefore a key enabler that will enable African citizens to participate in the digital economy, especially empowering women and the empowered. repulsor power."

The infrastructure for digital identity exists and is growing. This includes coverage and affordable access to the internet, digital security, biometrics, smart devices and cloud services. The trend in each of these areas is to improve service and performance at lower cost. The underlying digital infrastructure supporting digital IDs continues to expand in reach and decrease in cost. However, after nearly 25 years of ICT development on the continent, ICT readiness (infrastructure and access) remains low in many African countries, with only seven African countries having “affordable Internet”. All of these improvements mean that the technology required for digital IDs is not only available now, but more affordable than ever. This situation makes it possible for African countries to move beyond paper-based identification methods.

Finally, digital identity and the digital economy thrive on trust. Data privacy breaches, cyberattacks and online fraud are on the rise globally, impacting productivity, revenue and customer trust in the digital economy. While digital IDs are designed to alleviate the low level of trust in the digital economy (especially e-commerce), the success of a digital ID system also requires a high level of trust, so,

"African countries must have adequate regulation, especially in terms of data governance and digital platforms, to ensure trust is maintained during digitization."

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The advantages of digital transformation are enormous. An inclusive digital economy will greatly improve the quality of life of Africans in areas such as e-commerce, DFS, e-education, digital health, e-agriculture and digital ID. However, none of the above areas can support development without an affordable, accessible and reliable digital infrastructure. Tens of millions of Africans who currently do not have access to the Internet must do so.World MobileIt will leverage high-speed and high-quality connectivity and provide infrastructure and platforms for digital ID and other digital services to help Africa achieve its goal of an inclusive and comprehensive digital economy.