South Africa and the rest of the continent are in a race for the development of critical and emerging technologies which are rapidly evolving with the potential to transform society and their economies.
In Africa, innovations promise to boost economic growth by improving productivity through the creation of new jobs and business opportunities.
Emerging technologies go further than just job creation, especially for young people - a sore point in the South African economy with youth unemployment sitting at more than 44%- by improving citizen’s access to information and spurring more dynamic economies.
According to the World Economic Forum, Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies are expected to contribute around $1.5 trillion to Africa’s GDP by 2030, driving transformative changes across various sectors.
The continent is also expected to have more young people in its population by 2030, and it is hoped that they will drive the innovation that can contribute to enhanced agricultural productivity through precision farming, improving the efficiency and responsiveness of government services, expanding access to quality healthcare, supporting environmental sustainability, and revolutionising education through personalised learning.
However there are challenges in realising these ambitions in the next five years, including addressing the continent’s digital infrastructure - this is where the lessons learned from other developing economies can be crucial. India’s External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that technology is becoming a greater game-changer, impacting balances of power as much as they do, the daily routine of our lives.
He said that technology accelerates the growing tendency to leverage a broad range of activities; the era of chips and Artificial Intelligence, electric mobility, green and clean tech, as well as drones and space, all hold transformational possibilities.
“But the perennial games that nations play still continue unabated, perhaps become even more intense. Sharpening great power competition has given it an added edge, making it now a structural feature of contemporary times. Some of what awaits us is already visible on the horizon. All this this points to a volatile, uncertain and even turbulent world in the years ahead,” Jaishankar said, during his address at the Palkhivala Memorial Lecture ‘India and the World’ delivered in January.
With sharing technologies in mind, Jaishankar said India’s global positioning is that of a reliable partner and a dependable friend and their endeavour is to maximise friendships and minimise problems.
He pointed out that though committed to multilateralism, India also has to deal with the reality of greater competition and a deeper gridlock in the world.
“This encourages engagement through issue-based agendas and partnerships.”
He said while BRICS is a notable example, India’s ability to reconcile these memberships is worth noting.
“Understandably focused on competitive international relations, what also distinguishes Indian foreign policy is its post-colonial sentiment. We have a deep solidarity with the Global South, whose members often see it as their voice. The underlying outlook of the Global South is of fierce independence, respect for sovereignty and resistance to being pressurized on issues of national interest,” Jaishankar said.
The digital era has also brought forth its own set of challenges, focused on trust and transparency and individuals and societies can no longer be agnostic about where their data resides and how and by whom it is harnessed.
South Africa’s digital transformation is progressing rapidly, spurred on by the increasing adoption of emerging technologies across various industries. But, the digital revolution has also exposed a concerning skills gap, with businesses struggling to find professionals with the necessary digital expertise to drive innovation and growth.
Another issue that must be dealt with is the concerningly high unemployment rate amongst the country’s youth, which must be addressed for South Africa to ride the wave of Africa’s emerging technologies and the contribution it will make to economic growth.
* Dr Govender is an academic and a keen observer of issues related to international relations.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.