As the world prepares for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its member countries are set to brainstorm on accelerating Africa’s participation in the digital global economy to enable the continent fully explore the potential of the revolution for national development.
Speaking during a virtual, pre-annual meeting press conference on the bank’s upcoming annual meetings themed “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa” scheduled for May 23 to 27, 2022, in Accra, Ghana, the bank group’s acting chief economist and vice president for governance and knowledge management, Prof. Kevin Urama, pointed out that though many African countries are blazing the trail in the digital economy, the bank plans to support their efforts to get the best out of the era.
“Rapid acceleration of digital economies around the world, especially during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has fast-tracked the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Africa has been a trailblazer in digital banking and mobile banking options.”
Urama posited that the event will bring together innovators and entrepreneurs from the private and public sectors to start looking at how all the good things that have already happened within the digital economy on the continent can be leveraged and also expand the broadband access (especially bandwidth) which is the new norm for the future.
“We see also a lot of digital currencies that are already expanding around the world and Africa should not be left behind. So, this particular event is going to create options that will allow Africa to accelerate its participation in the digital global economy and also be able to benefit from it by leveraging the innovations already existing on the continent.
“I have to say youths and women in Africa are about the most innovative people, especially with regards to digital inclusion and digital economic revolution. So, we need to provide an environment that allows them to thrive and compete globally,” he added.
Earlier, the bank group’s secretary-general, Prof. Vincent Nmehielle, pointed out that the bank will engage participants in different sectors such as climate change, energy, agriculture on Africa’s development and the dialogues around it during its board of governor’s meetings and special knowledge events.
