Governments in Africa need to understand the integral role that technology plays in the economy, treating it as a single sector rather than a broad, cross-cutting and transformational issue, delegates to the 2017 World Economic Forum on Africa meeting heard here on Friday.
Panelists in the day’s session on Africa’s Unicorn Effect – comprising past and present Quartz Africa Innovators of the year – said policy-makers should recognize the positive role that innovation can play in improving economic efficiency and creating jobs.
The utility of innovations, which is clear to the innovators, needs to be highlighted to governments, who can stifle creativity with regulation, they insisted, observing that the region has huge potential to create more “unicorns”, or privately-owned technology businesses valued at US$1 billion or more.
Realizing success depends on creating a positive ecosystem for these vibrant enterprises to thrive and grow.
“Innovation is a conviction that something should be better,” said Rapelang Rabana, Founder of Rekindle Learning, Botswana. “It’s the tool that really helps us close critical gaps in our education and infrastructure.”
For inclusive growth to be a reality, skills development and education have to become faster and smarter than ever before. She said that innovation was already playing an important role in addressing socio-economic challenges, but needed more support from policy-makers.
Matsi Modise, Managing Director of SiMODiSA Start-Up, South Africa, said that government regulation and a lack of enabling policy have been a handbrake on the country’s ability to position itself as a hub for start-ups and high-impact innovation. Lobbying efforts have resulted in a reduction of the requirements for registering intellectual property, but more needs to be done to lift heavy regulation.
Ciiru Waweru Waithaka, Chief Executive Officer of FunKidz, Kenya, said small businesses were often viewed by policy-makers as fringe players in the economy, rather than as job creators and problem-solvers. Changing this perception would help improve the ecosystem for innovation.
Skills shortages are also an issue. “There is not enough skilled labour to operate the technology that exists,” said Waithaka.
Bright Simons, President of MPedigree, Ghana, said technology is not always recognized as a critical tool of empowerment, but rather regarded as an activity on the margins of the economy.
This attitude has undermined the significant contribution it can make to increasing economic efficiency and productivity. Governments need to mainstream technology in terms of policy and strategic thinking to raise its profile.
He said that, despite the growth of technology in Africa through start-ups and entrepreneurs, African governments still use their significant procurement budgets to buy technology solutions developed outside the continent, rather than taking advantage of the Africa-specific technology on their doorstep.
The panel also discussed the need for a shift in the way the education system works in order to foster entrepreneurialism in Africa. Currently, education tends to be content driven, with children fed information by teachers.
Panelists said the next frontier of human development is to cultivate independent thought and self-learning skills at school level to prepare children for a world where life skills are more critical than ever.
The 2017 World Economic Forum on Africa took place from 3-5 May in Durban, South Africa, under the theme ‘Achieving Inclusive Growth through Responsive and Responsible Leadership’.
The meeting brought together regional and global leaders from business, government and civil society to explore solutions to create economic opportunities for all.
It also provided insight from leading experts on how Africa would be affected by the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly in terms of safeguarding the region’s economies from negative disruption and exploiting opportunities for further growth and development.
Photo credit: WEF 2017
