## Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte) ## Other formats - [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) ## Bibliographic details - Authors: CRISTINA DUARTE - Published: March 1, 2021 --- ### Overview - 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. ### Key statistics and findings - 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. ### Digital divide and structural constraints - 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. ### Opportunities accelerated by COVID-19 - 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: - Kenya: FabLab created Msafari, a people-tracking application to trace spread of infections. - Morocco: Wiqaytna6, a similar application. - Rwanda: real-time digital mapping to track COVID-19 spread, expanded telemedicine, and chatbots for public updates. ### Ongoing initiatives signaling receptivity to change - African initiatives cited as indicators of receptivity: - AfCFTA (see above). - South African government’s new Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum (WEF). - WEF’s Africa Growth Platform to help companies grow and compete internationally. ### Policy recommendations and priorities - 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: - Well-calibrated regulatory frameworks. - Investment in digital infrastructure. - Investment in digital skills and human capital. - Promotion of financial inclusion. - 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. *Source: Africa Goes Digital – F&D Magazine, CRISTINA DUARTE, March 2021.* --- ## Content in this bundle - **إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة** - [إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ar/duarte-ar.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [إفريقيا تتحول إلى الرقمنة (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ar/duarte-ar.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **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** - [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)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/chn/duarte-chn.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [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)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/chn/duarte-chn.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D** - [Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/en/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-en.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Africa Goes Digital – IMF F&D (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/en/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-en.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021** - [África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/es/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-es.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [África se digitaliza ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Marzo de 2021 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/es/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-es.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **L’Afrique passe au numérique** - [L’Afrique passe au numérique (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/fr/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-fr.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [L’Afrique passe au numérique (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/fr/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte-fr.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года** - [Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ru/duarte-ru.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Африка переходит на «цифру» – Финансы и развитие – март 2021 года (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/march/ru/duarte-ru.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/africas-digital-future-after-covid19-duarte_