Okechukwu Okorie explores the potential impact ICT could have on development in African countries

Okorie, Okechukwu

LSE Research Online

‘Smart’	connected	Africa	leverages	technology	topromote	growth	but	will	ICT	be	Africa’s	saving	gracein	development?Okechukwu	Okorie	explores	the	potential	impact	ICT	could	have	on	development	in	African	countries.Conversations	in	the	past	two	decades	within	academia,	the	media	and	policymakers	have	mostly	centred	onrelatively	new	concepts	driven,	largely,	by	globalisation.	These	include	the	fourth	Industrial	Revolution,	popularlydescribed	as	Industry	4.0	and,	for	Africa	–	policymakers,	stakeholders	and	the	media	alike	–	the	AfricaRising	narrative,	one	which,	I	must	add,	has	recently	come	under	some	justified	criticisms.Industry	4.0,	or	I4.0	seeks	to	improve	the	productivity	and	efficiency	in	industrial	manufacturing	by	incorporating	thelatest	advances	in	ICT.	At	the	heart	of	Industry	4.0	is	digitalisation	and	big	data	driven	by	smart	networks	and	devicesand	the	Internet	of	Things.	The	Internet	of	Things	(IoT)	drives	“smart	connection”,	where	big	data	is	generated	andtransmitted	across	a	framework	that	includes	a	smart	device,	the	internet,	the	consumer	and	the	company.Most	of	the	research	on	the	Africa	Rising	narrative	–	a	term	coined	to	describe	the	rapid	economic	growth	in	sub-Saharan	Africa	since	2000	–	focused	on	numbers	from	the	World	Bank	and	other	economic	indices	as	an	indicationof	that	growth	–	and	for	good	reasons	too.	Until	2015,	the	impact	of	rising	commodities	prices	and	improvedgovernance	across	the	continent	triggered	a	sustained	period	of	optimism	as	never	experienced	before	on	thecontinent.	The	continent	posted	an	average	annual	growth	rate	of	0.8	per	cent	over	a	34-year	period,	1960-1994.However,	in	2014,	there	were	celebrations	as	Africa	was	on	course	to	mark	20	years	of	substantial	GDP	growth	of5.1	per	cent.	Within	that	period,	growth	rates	in	Africa	saw	a	tenfold	increase	in	FDI	and	a	fast-growing	middle	class.There	was	also	an	impact	in	the	education	sector,	with	enrolment	in	public	universities	doubling	in	Kenya	between2007	and	2012.	Infant	mortality	decreased	while	life	expectancy	increased	in	some	countries	on	the	continent,	anexpected	consequence	of	economic	growth.Minitiature	bicycles,	planes,	horse	carriages	are	made	out	of	100	per	cent	of	recycled	materialssuch	as	surgical	pipes	and	aluminium	cansImage	Credit:	Tanvir.Nottingham	via	FlickrAfrica at LSE: ‘Smart’ connected Africa leverages technology to promote growth but will ICT be Africa’s saving grace in development? Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2018-03-27Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2018/03/27/smart-connected-africa-leverages-technology-to-promote-growth-but-will-ict-be-africas-saving-grace-in-development/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/Criticism	of	this	narrative,	though,	persisted	despite	impressive	figures	from	the	continent	and	the	accompanyingaesthetics	of	new	shopping	malls	and	solar-powered	streetlights	–	symbols	of	improved	quality	of	life;	observersnoted	that	much	of	the	Africa	Rising	phenomena	was	driven	by	high	commodity	prices	which	was	weak	andunsustainable	in	the		long-term.	The	new	demand	on	Africa’s	natural	resources	was	largely	driven	by	China	andtherefore	dangerously	susceptible	to	shocks.	These	fears	were	realised	in	2015	and	subsequent	years;	the	red-hoteconomic	growth	cooled	and	pockets	of	political	instability	followed.	In	recent	months	and	years,	there	have	beenchanges	in	the	governments	of	Zimbabwe,	South	Africa	and	Ethiopia,	with	countries	such	as	Kenya	still	experiencingdisruption	post-election.	Sustainable	development	may	thrive	in	difficult	circumstances	but	hardly	in	politicaluncertainty	and	instability.Therefore,	the	question:	Will	ICT	be	Africa’s	saving	grace	in	development?	becomes	imperative	against	the	backdropof	familiar	foes	and	zero	peaks	in	commodity	prices.	For	much	of	Europe,	leveraging	components	of	Industry	4.0	haslargely	driven	growth	in	a	region	with	bespoke	problems	of	low	population	growth	and	an	ageing	population,	incomparison	to	Africa.	A	PWC	study	for	instance,	predicts	that	the	digitalisation	and	interconnection	of	products	andservices	will	ensure	competitiveness	among	European	companies,	increasing	additional	revenues	of	2	per	cent	to	3per	cent	per	year	on	average,	amounting	to	€110	billion	annually.	If	the	digital	technology-enabled	circular	economy,as	practised	in	much	of	Europe,	North	America	and	Asia	is	driving	sustainable	development,	will	the	same	modelresult	in	success	if	deployed	in	Africa	–or	will	it	fail	to	rejuvenate	the	Africa	Rising	phenomena?Digital	technology	can	enable	Africa’s	leaders	and	citizens	to	extract	and	analyse	data	to	create	cities	that	arecircular	by	design	and	boost	employment.	ICT	can	be	a	saving	grace	for	development	in	Africa	and	not	the	savinggrace	if	development	is	meant	to	be	sustainable	and	resilient.	Gartner’s	2016	projection	for	mainstream	adoption	ofIoT	in	Africa,	was	projected	to	take	the	next	two	to	five	years	and	is	expected	to	have	the	most	transformationalimpact	on	local	businesses	in	the	same	period.And	this	is	currently	visible;	from	Addis	Ababa	to	Lagos	to	Nairobi	to	Kigali	and	to	Johannesburg,	Africa’sentrepreneurs	and	businesses	are	leveraging	on	IoT	and	ICT	to	drive	most	parts	of	their	business.	The	sharingeconomy,	as	seen	in	the	inroads	Uber	and	Airbnb	have	made	in	Africa,	creating	employment	and	driving	localisedideas	and	competition.There	seemingly	is	a	“boost”	in	development	enabled	by	ICT.	However,	like	the	boost	driven	by	high	commodityprices,	this	current	enabling	of	development	in	Africa	through	ICT	may	be	historicised	as	a	myth	if	there	are	nocountry-wide	and	continent-wide	frameworks	to	support	it.	Frameworks	that	should	have,	at	its	heart,	infrastructuraldevelopment.	These	frameworks	should	be	designed	around	sectors	(agricultural,	air	travel,	banking	etc)	that	areuniversally	important	across	the	continent.	Of	course,	it	is	difficult	to	apply	a	sweeping	solution	to	all	54	countries	inAfrica.	However,	all	54	countries	have	similar	priorities	in	challenges	and	a	teeming	youth	population.	“Economicvariables	for	turmoil,”	as	the	New	York	Times	once	put	it.	Using	these	variables	to	leverage	the	potential	of	ICT	andIoT	can	be	and	should	be	a	sustainable	and	resilient	saving	grace	in	Africa’s	development.This	article	is	part	of	the	#AfricaAtWork	series,	looking	ahead	to	the	2018	LSE	Africa	Summit	20	and	21	April.Follow	this	link	to	secure	your	ticket.Okechukwu	Okorie	is	a	PhD	researcher	at	Cranfield	University,	United	Kingdom.	His	research	area	is	centred	onManufacturing	Informatics	and	the	Circular	Economy,	with	a	focus	on	remanufacturing.	The	views	expressed	in	this	post	are	those	of	the	author	and	in	no	way	reflect	those	of	the	Africa	at	LSEblog,	the	Firoz	Lalji	Centre	for	Africa	or	the	London	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.Africa at LSE: ‘Smart’ connected Africa leverages technology to promote growth but will ICT be Africa’s saving grace in development? Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2018-03-27Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2018/03/27/smart-connected-africa-leverages-technology-to-promote-growth-but-will-ict-be-africas-saving-grace-in-development/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/

'Smart' connected Africa leverages technology to promote growth but will ICT be Africa's saving grace in development?

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'Smart' connected Africa leverages technology to promote growth but will ICT be Africa's saving grace in development?

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