In order to be more competitive globally, Africa’s tech scene would benefit from certain solutions designed to bolster the industry and attract investors.
Africa’s tech space competes for foreign direct investment with other emerging markets such as Asia, South America, and the Caribbean, and it is important for the sector’s players and stakeholders to address issues that relate directly to how competitive it can be on a global scale.
From entrepreneurial training at a younger age as standard to infrastructure development that will create jobs and attract investment, there are many improvements that can be made to assist the tech ecosystem across the continent.
Here are 10 solutions that will make Africa’s tech scene more competitive globally.
Entrepreneurship is not a subject that is widely taught as standard within schools, and this needs to change. Introducing the concept of entrepreneurship and providing young people in Africa with the tools to pursue a career as businessmen and women will act as a catalyst for a new generation of tech startup founders. Along with entrepreneurship training, schools need to embrace technology to ensure that learners reach their full potential and become comfortable with the tech when they are young, according to ITNewsAfrica.
African countries need to embrace innovation to remain competitive, and consider how something like mobile has been embraced across the continent as an example of how to apply innovation to current technologies. Africa is a leading light in global mobile technology thanks to its wide adoption, boosting industries related to mobile as a result. The mobile banking sector in Africa is expected to be worth $1.4 billion by 2020, according to Techmoran. An appetite for innovation and an understanding of how to leverage it effectively is what ensures that tech startups solve African problems through innovative solutions, and this needs to be encouraged.
Africa needs to focus on improving infrastructure, among a number of core issues that require special attention, in order to become more competitive and create more job opportunities for its growing young population. The right efforts in building infrastructure will certainly create jobs and attract investors, according to a KPMG report.
Unemployment is an issue in many African countries, but within the tech sector there is often an abundance of opportunities available for people with the right skills. By encouraging teenagers and those considering a career to learn coding, study robotics or master skills related to new technologies such as machine learning, we are preparing the African tech workforce of the future.
Internet connectivity has a defined impact on economic growth and prosperity, according to a Mckinsey report. Considering the fact that Africa’s internet penetration rate is at 35.2 percent, and the world average is around 54.4 percent, improving internet access across the continent can only benefit the tech sector and increase the market-size for online products and services.
There needs to be better access to affordable capital, enabling companies in the African tech scene to get their hands on the money they need to launch, exist and thrive. Capital needs to be available for those who struggle the most to access it at the moment. Kenya is an example of a country that has tried to make it easier for its youth and other marginalized groups like women and people living with disabilities to access capital by having specialized funds geared towards these groups, according to LinkedIn.
Technology and development are increasingly driving innovation, and in an emerging market such as Africa, this is even more important. Technological readiness across industries is a factor that translates into success for those sectors in Africa that are well placed to embrace and adopt new technologies. This enables businesses in those industries to compete globally, and builds the capabilities of the African tech space in response to the wider adoption of technologies, according to BBrief.
African governments need to promote intra-African collaboration to reduce the high level of fragmentation among businesses. By building partnerships and working together, countries can learn from each other and enrich their respective tech spaces through collaboration. Tech can also be used to enable cross-border trade and partnerships within Africa, according to Bizcommunity.
Emerging economies such as those in Africa need to implement a comprehensive, consistent and co-ordinated approach to policy-making while ensuring that over-regulation is a thing of the past in order to encourage investment and make it as easy as possible for a tech startup to be founded and thrive.
Financial market development is something that most African countries need a great deal of work on, as it relates to performance in terms of the financing through the local equity market, the regulation of securities exchanges, availability of financial services, as well as the soundness of banks. Having a solid financial market in place allows for better funding models and availability of more money to invest in the tech sector, according to WeForum.
