EXECUTIVE NOTE: Africa, Technology and the Quest for Disruption and Opportunities

By Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen

It is a great honour to be among great African leaders and to listen to the stories about great milestones and initiatives. In the past century, there have been development programmes targeted at supporting Africa, or may l call it “saving Africa?” There was the “Colonial Development and Welfare Acts (1940 and 1945). The British government initiated these Acts to fund development projects under British colonies, including those in Africa. These projects focused on infrastructure, education, and health services.

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Another notable programme was the “Point Four Programme (1949)” announced by U.S. President Harry Truman, which provided technical assistance and support to developing countries, including African nations. Between the 1960s and 1980s, we had the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (1965): The UNDP was established to coordinate international development efforts and provide funding and technical assistance to developing countries, including those in Africa.

There was a target programme known as the “African Development Bank (AfDB) (1964): created to foster economic development and social progress in African countries, the AfDB provides loans and grants for various development projects. This was followed by the “First UN Development Decade (1960s): an initiative aimed at accelerating economic growth in developing countries, with a focus on industrialisation, education and health.

The 1980s to 2000s, saw more targeted programmes aimed at poverty and reforms in Africa. They included the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) (1980s and 1990s), initiated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. SAP aimed to stabilise economies and promote growth through economic reforms in African countries. These programmes, however, were controversial and had mixed results.

Then in 2001, the “New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)” was birthed. NEPAD was an African Union initiative set up to address critical challenges such as poverty, development and Africa’s international marginalisation.

In the early 2000s, just as I was starting my career in Satellite Technology, the buzz about town, was the “Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000-2015), launched by the United Nations. MDGs aimed to address global issues, including poverty, hunger, disease and education, with specific targets for African countries.

Africa is plagued by inappropriate programme design and implementation

Currently, the focus has remained on the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015-2030): The SDGs, adopted by all United Nations member states, provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. They include 17 goals with specific targets for African development. Most of these programmes have struggled to fully achieve their desired outcomes in Africa; mostly plagued by economic challenges, institutional weaknesses, inappropriate programme design and implementation, external dependencies and inadequate understanding of local context.

I have always had challenges with such programs, the Top-Down Approaches: Many programs have been designed without sufficient input from local communities, leading to solutions that do not align with local needs or realities. Solutions that were not created and led by Africans themselves. This could be largely due to my philosophy which is nicely captured in Randolph, Intindola’s quote. Sometimes you’re the only one that can save yourself; for no one is coming to save you”.

Many programs have been designed without sufficient input from local communities, leading to solutions that do not align with local needs or realities.

Secondly, most of these programs are more visionary and aimed well into the future hinged on the assumption of scarcity. A lot of it is based on what we lack compared to an ideal defined by others, a huge comparison to the Western world. It has been based on scarcity or lack rather than on our strengths, resources, capacity, and capability. It’s been very futuristic. I have always wondered why most of the plans were targeted far off with little accommodation for what can be done now with what exists.

These programmes should rather be based upon the principles of balance and dualism, catering for the future and the present, making the Africa take its rightful place. Today, we are at a point of inflexion, where I believe technology can do that.

One of the beauties of Technology and its disruptive nature is its ability to reset and give each person’s culture, race and continent, a level playing field. Currently, Africa with over 1.2 billion people, mostly youths (40& below 15years compared to the global average of 25%), has the advantage of youth, thus, huge opportunities for economic growth and innovation.

We have the advantage of being technology natives, not afraid to try and use tech; the young not afraid to try and use something new, whether it is robotics, AI, blockchain, biotechnology, cyber-security. This is the Africa we can have today.

Africa has fewer legacy challenges to deal with

When it comes to digital-enabled socio-economic development, Africa has fewer legacy challenges to deal with and is therefore, adopting digitised solutions faster out of necessity. For Africa, the current moment offers a leapfrogging opportunity as technologies indicate the scale and speed at which technology is transforming traditional socio-economic sectors.

Emerging technology can reset that clock as no one has the upper hand. We can start today without the baggage of yesteryears. We can use digital technology which can impact various and most sectors to create a digital economy, support traditional sectors and create new ones.

We can build our LLMs, and drive smart agriculture and E-commerce, automate manufacturing, create remote opportunities for jobs and launch our own satellites. I work for the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, operators of the NigComSat-1R satellite company owned by the Nigerian government. NigComSat-1R is a geostationary satellite in space covering most of Sub-Saharan Africa. NIGCOMSAT Limited is looking towards launching more satellites in the next few years.

We are aware of the need for technology infrastructure in Africa, live connectivity to enable digital services and drive a digital economy in Africa. We are open to collaborating and partnering for “Africa for Now”. We believe that with technology, we can bridge the digital divide and give access to Africans in remote, underserved and unserved areas, enabling businesses and sectors in these unserved areas, for a truly inclusive economy.

We believe in the role of Africans in building an Africa for today; one that can navigate current disruptions, and is positioned for enhanced opportunities of the future.

Egerton-Idehen is the Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Abuja Nigeria. She presented this discourse as a Special Guest of Honour at the recent African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Summit 2024, in London.