Young tech superstars and Africa’s digital future
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), addresses questions on young innovators as a driving force for sustainable development.
What inspires you most, as Secretary-General of the United Nations agency for digital technologies, when considering technology and innovation opportunities on the African continent?
Across Africa, many young innovators are finding local solutions to the most pressing issues – and contributing directly to progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some amazing innovations from African entrepreneurs were showcased recently at SDG Digital.
The SDG Digital event on 17 September in New York – organized by ITU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from diverse partners – underscored how digital technologies can help accelerate progress on those 17 global goals for everyone’s benefit worldwide.
One SDG Digital GameChangers Award winner – Herfrica’s EquipHer4Growth initiative in Nigeria – has equipped over a thousand women farmers and traders with digital skills and devices. The runner-up was an e-waste tracking solution from Rwanda – one of 13 African countries leading the way on policy and regulation for discarded electronic equipment (e-waste) globally.
I’m also hugely inspired by African innovations like M-Pesa – one of the 17 game-changing digital solutions showcased at SDG Digital – which has enabled millions of unbanked Africans to participate in the formal economy. In evolving from simply send-receive funds into a multi-function super app, M-Pesa (highlighted in this ITU video) has disrupted the traditional banking sector.
It’s now looked to, globally, as a model for the future of money. African innovations like this can transform the world.
Other young innovators finding sustainable development solutions include Zimbabwe’s Tafadzwa Muusha (recipient of the WSIS Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize), whose automated smart walking stick detects physical objects and serves as an artificial-vision tool for visually impaired people; and Denis Ogwang of Uganda, who developed a water monitoring app after watching his friends suffer from preventable water-borne diseases.
With digital technologies evolving so rapidly, what social and economic blind spots should we be aware of, and what mitigation measures must we put in place?
We need to make sure emerging technologies can be shared equitably so that everyone can benefit.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing at a breakneck pace. Generative AI tools are expected to add up to USD 4.4 trillion of value to the global economy annually.
But one third of humanity – the estimated 2.6 billion people who remain offline today – are being left out of the AI revolution entirely. Without their contributions, without their diverse perspectives, the whole world loses out on valuable innovation potential.
I worry about how much the AI revolution will benefit Africans. How much of that potential USD 4.4 trillion value will they see?
Countries worldwide are on unique AI journeys, with many struggling to keep pace. Many have not even started. We’ve got to avoid creating yet another divide in an already unequal digital world.
I’m also very concerned about the human cost of training AI algorithms and large language models. Without outsourced testing among African workers, we wouldn’t have ChatGPT in its current, moderated form.
The UN system, through ITU and other agencies, is actively working to champion equitable and responsible AI use. That means putting the right technical, ethical, and human rights guardrails in place, and ensuring AI develops in line with core UN values such as inclusivity.
Harnessing AI in an inclusive way – rather than letting AI drive the agenda – is the idea behind ITU’s AI for Good platform. Through a machine learning challenge run by ITU in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Bank, a team of students from Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia is working on a solution to reduce energy consumption across a city-wide 5G network in Hong Kong.
AI for Good bridges knowledge and opportunity gaps between pure technologists and those trying to craft policy solutions. As an open and inclusive multi-stakeholder platform, it creates a collaborative environment where everyone can leverage emerging tech to address global challenges responsibly and effectively.
Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa being under age 30, according to the Office of the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). How can Africa ensure that young people are empowered to realize their potential to benefit the continent’s growth?
As Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said at SDG Digital, Africa’s vibrant youth and digital entrepreneurs only need a real opportunity to compete in the global market. Of course, to benefit from digital technologies and AI, young Africans need to be connected in the first place.
Young people are the driving force of connectivity globally. But we’ve got to close glaring connectivity gaps. Only 55 per cent of 15-24-year-olds in Africa are connected, compared to 98 per cent in Europe.
To find the right way forward, we need young people co-designing digital solutions. Young leaders bring unique perspectives and fresh energy to push for bold and forward-thinking policies. Their contributions can enable all to prosper, within Africa’s digital ecosystem and beyond.
ITU’s overarching Youth Strategy initiative, Generation Connect, is about empowering young people to co-create solutions for an equitable digital future. Right now, around 50 Generation Connect Africa Youth Envoys, representing over 30 countries, are championing digital development in their local communities through research, advocacy, programme delivery, and more.
As we heard from Generation Connect youth envoys at SDG Digital, young people want to see immediate action by decision makers on equitable, affordable access to technology. Young people need sustainable financing to develop their digital skills and businesses. This requires investment in youth entrepreneurship, so that creative solutions from young change-makers can be scaled into tangible realities.
Investing in those building blocks will enable young people to thrive as digital creators and contributors to Africa’s growth.
Inspired by a recent panel session, “Afro Tech Superstars: Crafting the Future,” organized by the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) on the side lines of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Learn more about Unstoppable Africa 2023 and GABI – placing Africa in its rightful place in the global economy and positioning the continent as the premier destination for business, trade and investment.
