Zimpapers Logo

Business Reporter

WITH Africa’s share of the global workforce projected to become the largest in the world, the World Bank has stressed the need for the continent to increase the uptake of digital technologies to drive employment growth for the more than 22 million Africans joining the workforce each year.

Digital technologies are defined broadly to include not only digital and data infrastructure, broadband internet, smartphones, tablets, and computers, but also a wide range of more specialised productivity-enhancing digital solutions ranging from communications, management upgrading, and worker training to procurement, production, marketing, logistics, and financing.

In its latest report issued this week titled “Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs”, the World Bank provides a comprehensive analysis of how digital technologies can enable economic transformation and boost jobs in the region.

The report also sheds light into how policy and regulatory reforms can widen the availability and increase usage of digital technologies.

Of all the regions in the world, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) displays the largest gap between the availability of digital infrastructure and people’s actual usage, said the bank.

It noted that on average across countries in SSA, 84 percent of a given country’s population had at least some level of 3G mobile internet availability while 63 percent had some level of 4G mobile internet services.

However, only 22 percent were using mobile internet services at the end of 2021, said World Bank citing numbers collected by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association using a methodology focused on unique subscribers.

“The minimal usage of mobile internet is a lost opportunity for inclusive growth in Africa,” said Andrew Dabalen, World Bank chief economist for Africa.

“Closing the uptake gap would increase the continent’s potential to create jobs for its growing population and boost economic recovery in a highly digitised world.”

Although technology and innovation are known to drive long-term economic growth and can lead to much-needed modernisation in economic activities across agriculture, manufacturing and services, the World Bank said the digital divide continues to grow between large formal and micro-sized informal enterprises, between young men and older women-owned enterprises, and between richer, urban, and more educated households and poorer, rural, and less educated households.

The report highlights evidence that internet availability has a positive impact on creating jobs and reducing poverty in African countries.

“To transform internet availability into productive usage and job growth, the region needs affordable access, digital skills, and digital technologies that meet the needs of Africans,” said Christine Zhenwei Qiang, World Bank global director for digital development.

“Continuous sector reforms and targeted public investments that support digital economy foundations and digital uptake can help close the digital divide and unleash tremendous potential for more and better jobs for Africa’s growing population.”

To boost productive usage, the World Bank says governments should implement policies that support the development of more attractive digital solutions geared to the skills and productive needs people have while building broader awareness and education.

World Bank

Policies that foster innovation and support digital start-up entrepreneurs are essential to ensure that more Africans use the internet for jobs and learning, which will lead to higher standards of living, it said.