Marrakech, 25 March 2019 (ECA) – The 2019 Adebayo Adedeji Lecture on the theme, “Digital Transformation of Africa: Hype or Reality”, was delivered by Ms. Omobola Johnson, Former Minister of Communication Technology of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Board Member of the Web Foundation.
The lecture, which is given annually in respect of the former Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Executive Secretary, Professor Adedeji, interrogates leading issues in Africa’s development to increase awareness and influence policymakers on such issues.
Although a lot has been written in the popular press about Africa’s digital transformation, not a great deal is known about how much of that is just hype and how much of it is reality. The objective of the 2019 Adebayo Adedeji Memorial Lecture was to raise issues that will help policymakers to disentangle the hype from reality for them to make evidence-based and reality-informed policy choices and decisions.
Said Ms. Johnson: “The digital transformation of Africa is no longer a luxury or a nice-to-have. It has become a necessity; a necessity spawned in fact by Africa’s developmental agenda setters. This is because none of our documented aspirations - the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Agenda 2063 – the Africa we want, Africa Continental Free Trade Area, Boosting Intra Africa trade, the Single African Air Transport Market can be achieved without significant advancements in information and communication technology.”
Put another way, she added, these aspirations are attainable only because of the power of ICTs to enable us leapfrog in our journey towards development.
Ms. Johnson explained that digital transformation was not just technical but strategic policies as well that can condition the African economy to leapfrog. The role of governments to set the vision and define policies is paramount for any digital transformation to occur, she said.
“To have an enabling environment where digital transformation can be effective countries need to collaborate. We need to bring all African countries to the table and regional integration to open up and play the game differently in a digital world,” the former Minister added.
“The real excitement is that innovation around mobile enabled technology is providing many more Africans with things they really need but cannot get in an offline world.”
The lecture had two main discussants; Amel Saidane, Member of the Advisory Board, ECA Morocco, Digital ID and Digital Economy Initiative and Tawanda Sibanda, a Partner with McKinsey in South Africa.
Ms. Saidane complimented the main lecture by giving an overview of the present digital environment.
“The main players today with commercial digital platforms is the United States and China. Their aim and goal is to lock the customer so that they become dependent on their market. US platforms can enter African markets but not vice versa,” she said.
“It is difficult for Africa to own their own platforms, they will only be users of American or Chinese platforms. To build their own platforms African start-ups must come up with initiatives to compete on a global level. This will be difficult and almost impossible if there are no change in policies by African governments.”
Mr. Sibanda gave a brief history of the evolution of the digital market in Africa.
“Since 2013, over 200 million people entered the workforce in the digital field. There has been a massive increase in smart phones and social accounts have grown from 50 to 100 million,” he said.
However, despite these figures, Mr. Sibanda advised that; “Africa is not there yet. The digital agenda cannot progress if the social dimension is not tackled. Infant mortality is high, lack of access to education and other social indicators are still very low. Education is a key. The African population must own its digital transformation to go to the next step.”
The Lecture opened dialogue, identified action areas, and proposed tangible consideration for policymakers. It was also a way to increase awareness among African policymakers of the promise and perils of the digital economy and promote high-level dialogue on these issues.
The lecture was closed by the ECA Deputy Executive Secretary, Ms. Giovanie Biha, who told participants to remember that the success of recent continental initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, Boosting Intra-African Trade and the Single African Air Transport Market, will depend on digital tools and skills.
The late Professor Adedeji was one of Africa's foremost development thinkers and the longest serving ECA Executive Secretary.
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