Skills, technology and the African transformation agenda: massive open online courses to the rescue?

In several issues of its flagship Economic Report on Africa, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has provided evidence to show that much of Africa’s recent growth has not been accompanied by significant job creation and poverty reduction.3 Nevertheless, growth with limited job creation is better than no growth at all. In any case, the continued economic expansion, undergirded by the rapid rate of diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT), is emboldening brave and innovative experiments by Africans and their Governments to transform their societies. It is also inspiring new continental visions such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and the realization of earlier visions, such as the Continental Free Trade Area. Continued economic expansion also raises the possibility that most African countries will meet the targets contained in the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and realize the aspirations contained in Agenda 2063.