How technology can propel Africa’s growth, by experts – The Nation Newspaper

For African countries to move from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based and innovation-driven one, there is the need to efficiently harness the power of technology, experts have said.

At the sixthedition of the Lecture Series and 10thAnniversary of the Verdant Zeal Group, held in Lagos, recently, experts noted that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) needed to embrace the power of technology to help Africa develop exponentially.

Verdant Zeal Group Executive Vice Chairman Mr. Tunji Olugbodi cautioned that oil, which Nigerias economic mainstay, would dry up in the next 50 years. He, therefore, advised policy makers and governments to do the right thing by embracing technology and innovation.

The way to go is for Africa to gradually move from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy, Olugbodi said, noting that some African countries have embraced technology to drive economic development and growth.

According to him, this has helped to impact youths, as many of them have embraced the Internet, using it to share ideas, content and commercial opportunities seamlessly across the globe.

These giant strides have happened regardless of red tape bureaucracy that typifies governance across the continent, he added.

He said Internet penetration woud continue to grow, as Africa seeks to close the gap in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Noting that Nigeria leads the continent, he projected that the country would be among the top 10 Internet users in the world by 2018.

Olugbodi, however, said: Amid these giant strides in technology, there still remains a large demography of young people, mostly women, who remain in rural and semi-urban areas, below the poverty line and seem unable to tap into this new economy.

Also, the guest lecturer and Founder, JC Capital (PTY), South Africa, Joel Chimhanda, said Africans should think as Africans and be aware that it cant compete globally without industrialisation. He regretted that over 90 per cent of Africans are not banked, even with the $25 billion that flow into Nigeria yearly as Diaspora fund.

He frowned on African governments for not encouraging ICT development on the continent, adding that Africa needs its own Silicon Valley.

According to Chimhanda, Nigeria can help change the African narrative for the better. He said with a population of about 200 million, Nigeria can lead the pack if she so wishes.

We have to come up with regulations that will spur innovation not just in Nigeria, but across the continent. Chimhanda admonished, pointing out that the continent is not growing from the manpower perspective because we do not have a well structured education system.

He called for all hands to be on deck to move the continent forward in terms of technological advancement rather than wait for the West to help determine the continents narrative or depend on aids.

The JC Capital founder regretted the colonial mentality in Africa that makes Africans believe that their problems can only be solved by a White man. In South Africa, about 20 Afrikaans control the economy; globally, only about eight countries control the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.

Chimhanda said sadly, in Africa, rather than creating African products that will solve Africas problems, her political leaders go cup-in-hand for aids, and in some instances, sell off the continents common patrimony for a few dollars.

According to him, African nations, spear-headed by Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya should tap into the opportunity provided by technology through some of the telecoms companies and the rich Africans who are trail blazers in different fields of the economy.

He also canvassed the need for a different education system in the country that will aggregate the interest of over 200 million people. He insisted that the educational system cannot bring the nation out of the woods, as 60 per cent of what is thought in the university is different from what the competitive work place is looking for.

To underscore the need for African economies to embrace technology, the Founder, Lifebank, Mrs. Temie Giwa-Tubosun, said her firm has deployed technology to assist help givers offer speedy and quality healthcare to the public.

Lifebank is a company that uses technology, big data and smart logistics to solve the problem of blood shortage in Nigeria. Giwa-Tubosun, who expressed regrets that Nigerians spend over a billion dollar yearly on health tourism in India, asked government to make the sector robust enough to drive quality health care through technology.

Co-Founder, Leads Africa, a digital media company which focuses on young professional African women, Ms Afua Osei, canvassed the need for women entrepreneurs to access finance, skills and technology.

Osei, who also worked with the former US First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama, said her organisation has enabled women to use social media to acquire skills and communicate across borders.

She called for the reduction of data prices, stressing that it is the only way this class of people can take advantage of payment platforms that will drive their businesses.

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How technology can propel Africa's growth, by experts - The Nation Newspaper