The modernisation and industrialisation of Africa urgently require the adoption of science, technology, and innovation, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
He made the remarks yesterday while officially opening the Sixth Transform Africa Summit running from 26 to 28 April 2023 in Victoria Falls under the theme “Innovate, Connect, Transform” which he said provides an apt synopsis of three critical elements, for Africa’s successful adaptation to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Tied to this, President Mnangagwa said partnerships are essential for Africa to leap forward and build capabilities in science and technology.
“Equally, we must seamlessly integrate the frontier of science and technology with the unique needs and strategic socio-economic development goals of the Continent and our respective nations. The numerous innovations and start-ups by our talented youthful population require the support not only of our governments but also, from global capital. It is, therefore, pleasing that this Summit has a broad array of participants from both the public and private sectors, extending beyond the African Continent.
“Collectively, let us leverage on this noble Transform Africa initiative to accelerate the achievement of Africa’s Agenda 2063, ICT aspirations, and the Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no one and no place behind,” President Mnangagwa said.
The Summit comes at a time when lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic give impetus for Africa to develop its own capabilities, across the social, economic, and industrial spectrum. To realise the vision of Transforming Africa through ICT, President Mnangagwa challenged young African innovators to deploy the continent’s abundant raw materials for the production of ICT-related hardware and gadgets. He urged institutions of higher education and technopreneurs to be supported to design relevant software solutions that speak to the intricacies of African economies and communities.
In the case of Zimbabwe, the summit is convening against a backdrop of notable achievements stemming from the adoption of the Education 5.0 philosophy among other policy interventions.
Science and technology are becoming intertwined with the country’s social and economic development while innovative products and services are transforming the economy, meeting major national needs, and improving people’s quality of life.
Zimbabwe is taking deliberate steps towards food security and food sovereignty riding on the rapid innovations in science, communication, and digital technologies. These are encapsulated under the country’s SMART Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan, with emphasis on developing homegrown solutions.
Under the Smart Africa Alliance and Smart Agriculture Flagship programme, Zimbabwe is privileged to be spearheading the development of the AgriTech Blueprint for Africa. This has seen the Government adopting an Agritech Strategy and implementing an Integrated Agriculture Information Management System towards increasing agriculture productivity and value chain development as well as efficient land use and environmental management practices.
In his address, Mr. Lacina Koné, Director General of Smart Africa said his organisation thrives on multi-stakeholders collaboration and partnerships through practical projects and initiatives, with one shared vision: “Accelerating the creation of a single digital market by 2030”.
Smart Africa has grown from 7 member states in 2013, into an Alliance of 36 member states representing a population of more than 1.1 billion people and is still growing.
From 3 staff members with a capital of 600,000 dollars in 2013, the Secretariat of the Smart Africa Alliance has grown to more than 50 staff members and a capital of 23 million US Dollars.
The partners of the Alliance have grown over the years from all continents. It has worked and aligned interventions with more than 100 partners including development agencies and funding organizations such as BMZ/GIZ, EU, World Bank, NORAD, African Development Bank, and BADEA.
Smart Africa contributed to achieving continental strategic blueprints, toolkits, and policies, projects that cut across affordable, safe internet for all, digital identification for socio-economic growth, digital literacy for job creation, gender equity, and creating an enabling environment for businesses, just to name a few.
This ongoing growth of Smart Africa is a testament to the tangible value that it consistently delivers. However, over the years, the needs of the continent have grown.
“Many international organizations and partners such as the Africa Union, the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Telecommunications Union, and Smart Africa are positioned to support the development of digitalization in Africa, but African integration remains so far limited. Intra-African exports are merely 16.6% of total exports, compared with 68.1% in the EU, 59.4% in Asia, and 55.0% in America. Additionally, Africa is the continent with the lowest internet penetration rate at 39% of the population, compared to a global average of nearly 60%,” Mr. Kone said.
Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, the President of Malawi said the development of the continent of Africa has been delayed and derailed throughout history.
At one time, he said it was delayed by the detachment from the rest of the world, which deprived it of new ideas and innovations for economic progress.
“At other times, it has been delayed by superstitions that resist new inventions and solutions that threaten old ideas. For the longest time, it was also delayed by decades of colonial occupation, as foreign nations from the West scrambled for Africa’s resources and used them to develop their own industries while leaving Africa underdeveloped, the effects of which are still being felt today.
“And for a long time after that, Africa’s development was held back by oppressive regimes and wars that stifled freedom and the expression of liberty. More recently, we are seeing Africa’s progress delayed by a new scramble for Africa between the West and the East as they each seek to dominate the industries of tomorrow using Africa’s rich minerals and metals, all in collaboration with corrupt governments that are willing to sell their nation’s birthright to development and economic sovereignty for a song,” President Chakwera said.
He bemoaned the fact that Africa has been left behind in agricultural production, in standards of education, tourism, mining, health, security, infrastructure development, trade, and many other sectors.
He urged stakeholders to work hard on lifting the obstacles to the digitization and to work together on connecting the whole continent digitally so that Africa becomes a single digital market.
“That is why I am excited to be here to represent Malawi as the newest member of the Smart Africa Alliance. And I am grateful to His Excellency President Kagame of Rwanda for his leadership in this pursuit, and I look forward to engaging in these matters with all my fellow Heads of State who are gathered here. I also want to thank His Excellency President Mnangagwa for hosting this important summit that is key to enabling us to leapfrog decades of development stages and catch up with the rest of the world. As far as I am concerned, there should be more Heads of State here, because if we are going to rise as a continent and leapfrog into the 4th Industrial Revolution powered by digitization, then we must rise through technology, we must rise together, and we must rise now,” Dr. Chakwera said.