{ "title": "Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte", "overlayPath": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/index.md", "summary": "In rebuilding after COVID-19, African policymakers must invest in innovative technology to leapfrog obstacles to inclusive development, writes Cristina Duarte, special adviser on Africa to UNSG António Guterres.", "sections": [ { "heading": "Overview", "content": "- Author: CRISTINA DUARTE, special adviser on Africa to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and former finance minister of Cabo Verde.\n- Publication: F&D Magazine, March 2021.\n- Core thesis: As Africa rebuilds from COVID-19 disruptions it must not return to a pre-pandemic reality; it must build a better reality that recognizes the need for innovation, particularly digital technologies, as a prerequisite for addressing poverty, health, productivity, competitiveness, economic diversification, food security, climate change, and governance." }, { "heading": "Key statistics and findings", "content": "- Rwanda: 90 percent of the country has access to broadband internet, and 75 percent of the population has cell phones.\n- Continental internet usage: Only 28 percent of Africans use the internet.\n- Technology hubs: More than 600 technology hubs have emerged across the continent; three have achieved international recognition: Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya), and Cape Town (South Africa).\n- AfCFTA: The African Continental Free Trade Area aims to create a single market with a combined GDP that exceeds $3.4 trillion and includes more than 1 billion people.\n- Entrepreneurial activity: The World Economic Forum’s Africa Growth Platform noted entrepreneurial activity was 13 percent higher in its initial stage than the global average.\n- Policy gap: According to a 2018 WEF report, 22 of 25 countries analyzed had no public policies focused on an ecosystem for innovation.\n- Economic impact: An International Telecommunication Union study found that 10 percent greater mobile broadband penetration would generate a 2.5 percent rise in Africa’s GDP per capita." }, { "heading": "Digital divide and structural constraints", "content": "- The digital divide is multifaceted: access to the internet is only one dimension; electricity, literacy, financial inclusion, and regulatory frameworks are often missing and limit effective use of digital solutions.\n- Millions face overlapping deprivations—conflict, food insecurity, lack of electricity, clean water, education, and health care—leaving them unable to benefit from online services, a situation exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing.\n- Civil society and the private sector have driven much of the digital progress (incubators, start-ups, tech hubs, data centers), while top-down policymaking and public investment in digitalization lag." }, { "heading": "Opportunities accelerated by COVID-19", "content": "- The pandemic contains opportunities to innovate and reimagine Africa’s economic structure, service delivery systems, and social contract, accelerating trends such as digitalization, market consolidation, and regional cooperation.\n- Examples of digital responses to the pandemic:\n - Kenya: FabLab created Msafari, a people-tracking application to trace spread of infections.\n - Morocco: Wiqaytna6, a similar application.\n - Rwanda: real-time digital mapping to track COVID-19 spread, expanded telemedicine, and chatbots for public updates." }, { "heading": "Ongoing initiatives signaling receptivity to change", "content": "- African initiatives cited as indicators of receptivity:\n - AfCFTA (see above).\n - South African government’s new Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum (WEF).\n - WEF’s Africa Growth Platform to help companies grow and compete internationally." }, { "heading": "Policy recommendations and priorities", "content": "- Shift focus from managing poverty alone to retaining and creating wealth, better resource management, inclusiveness, moving up global value chains, economic diversification, optimizing the energy mix, and centering human capital.\n- Prioritize investment in research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) to reboot economic structures and close technology gaps.\n- Scale up digitalization forcefully by policymakers—digitalization cannot be left mainly to civil society and the private sector.\n- Build an ecosystem for innovation that includes:\n - Well-calibrated regulatory frameworks.\n - Investment in digital infrastructure.\n - Investment in digital skills and human capital.\n - Promotion of financial inclusion.\n- Address legal and ethical implications of technology adoption, including privacy, data governance, and tax evasion, recognizing that weak institutions may struggle to protect citizens’ rights against market forces.\n\nSource: Africa Goes Digital – F&D Magazine, CRISTINA DUARTE, March 2021.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة\n - إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- 非洲，迈入数字时代 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 -2021年3月号·第58卷\n - 非洲，迈入数字时代 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 -2021年3月号·第58卷 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - 非洲，迈入数字时代 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 -2021年3月号·第58卷 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D\n - Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021\n - África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- L’Afrique passe au numérique\n - L’Afrique passe au numérique (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - L’Afrique passe au numérique (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года\n - Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: CRISTINA DUARTE", "Published: March 1, 2021", "Author: CRISTINA DUARTE, special adviser on Africa to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and former finance minister of Cabo Verde.", "Publication: F&D Magazine, March 2021.", "Core thesis: As Africa rebuilds from COVID-19 disruptions it must not return to a pre-pandemic reality; it must build a better reality that recognizes the need for innovation, particularly digital technologies, as a prerequisite for addressing poverty, health, productivity, competitiveness, economic diversification, food security, climate change, and governance.", "Rwanda: 90 percent of the country has access to broadband internet, and 75 percent of the population has cell phones.", "Continental internet usage: Only 28 percent of Africans use the internet.", "Technology hubs: More than 600 technology hubs have emerged across the continent; three have achieved international recognition: Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya), and Cape Town (South Africa).", "AfCFTA: The African Continental Free Trade Area aims to create a single market with a combined GDP that exceeds $3.4 trillion and includes more than 1 billion people.", "Entrepreneurial activity: The World Economic Forum’s Africa Growth Platform noted entrepreneurial activity was 13 percent higher in its initial stage than the global average.", "Policy gap: According to a 2018 WEF report, 22 of 25 countries analyzed had no public policies focused on an ecosystem for innovation.", "Economic impact: An International Telecommunication Union study found that 10 percent greater mobile broadband penetration would generate a 2.5 percent rise in Africa’s GDP per capita.", "The digital divide is multifaceted: access to the internet is only one dimension; electricity, literacy, financial inclusion, and regulatory frameworks are often missing and limit effective use of digital solutions.", "Millions face overlapping deprivations—conflict, food insecurity, lack of electricity, clean water, education, and health care—leaving them unable to benefit from online services, a situation exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing.", "Civil society and the private sector have driven much of the digital progress (incubators, start-ups, tech hubs, data centers), while top-down policymaking and public investment in digitalization lag.", "The pandemic contains opportunities to innovate and reimagine Africa’s economic structure, service delivery systems, and social contract, accelerating trends such as digitalization, market consolidation, and regional cooperation.", "Examples of digital responses to the pandemic:", "African initiatives cited as indicators of receptivity:", "Shift focus from managing poverty alone to retaining and creating wealth, better resource management, inclusiveness, moving up global value chains, economic diversification, optimizing the energy mix, and centering human capital.", "Prioritize investment in research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) to reboot economic structures and close technology gaps.", "Scale up digitalization forcefully by policymakers—digitalization cannot be left mainly to civil society and the private sector.", "Build an ecosystem for innovation that includes:", "Address legal and ethical implications of technology adoption, including privacy, data governance, and tax evasion, recognizing that weak institutions may struggle to protect citizens’ rights against market forces.", "**إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة**", "**非洲，迈入数字时代 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 -2021年3月号·第58卷**", "**Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D**", "**África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021**", "**L’Afrique passe au numérique**", "**Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года**" ], "related": [ { "title": "إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ar/duarte-ar.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ar/duarte-ar.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ar/duarte-ar.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "非洲，迈入数字时代 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 -2021年3月号·第58卷", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/chn/duarte-chn.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/chn/duarte-chn.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/chn/duarte-chn.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/en/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-en.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/en/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-en.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/en/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-en.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/es/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-es.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/es/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-es.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/es/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-es.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "L’Afrique passe au numérique", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/fr/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-fr.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/fr/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-fr.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/fr/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-fr.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } }, { "title": "Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ru/duarte-ru.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ru/duarte-ru.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ru/duarte-ru.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } } ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/index.md", "json": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-15T06:46:12.554Z" }