A Global Economic Order Centered on Pervasive Technology Helps Africa’s Growth
Over the last few decades since the turn of the Gregorian millennium advancement in technology and its various utilization in both constructive and destructive ways appears to be revolutionary and one in distinction. One of its remarkable phenomena, however, is its ability to move the entire planet together forward. Be it Africa or Asia. Be it the West or the East. Technology is omnipresent.
This is to highlight a glaring fact this analysis discusses that, technology proves to be a contemporary field Africa keeps proactively engaging with the world neither delaying nor lagging. Two key interrelated factors make Africa show commendable progress in technology and help explain this. These are promising youth populations, that is to say, millennials, Generation Y, and Generation Z, and the nature of the technologies are youth-friendly. But first underscoring the world’s transformation by the advent of technology-centered politico-economic global order particularly since the end of the Cold War.
How is our World Different in the Software-Aided Technology Era? For Real
As our planet continues living in one of the longest peace in the aftermath of the Cold War, humankind experiences a fast-moving world of technology generations awash with unprecedented advancement in economy and society it shows in innovation. The UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation’s report indicates the substantiveness of an era we live in with accelerating change that such technological advancements as low-cost computing, the internet, and mobile connectivity brought about.
The end of the Cold War left behind the ideologically divided world ushering in an era of a generation utilizing the entrenched peaceful political atmosphere to engage technology and innovatively produce quite in surplus. More importantly, people, societies, and markets worldwide (divided on the line of the poor and the rich which the latter largely controls) made themselves easily and autonomously connected unmediated by politicians. Thus, the fundamental assumption surrounding the very existence of technology, that is, reducing costs and enhancing productivity comes to an unprecedented level of fruition.
Over the last several decades technological advancements have been altering the traditional models of economic development that the world was accustomed to through reshaping work processes and production models, among other things. China marks an outstanding example depicting a sustainable and upward economic development attributed typically to technological progress and innovations. More importantly, researchers found out that, such countries as Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore showed remarkable economic developments over the last several decades due to the acquisitions and effective utilization of technologies in their productions. In addition to this, a number of other studies that covered Europe and Africa focusing on the economic growth the continents achieved over the last four to five decades pointed out that technological progress and notable spillover are key contributors. The findings further underlined that technological progress is crucial to long-term worldwide economic growth. Numbers generated from empirically analyzed research works also fairly support the aforementioned statements. For example, a study that analyzed the economic growth of a selected 72 countries with a record of average GDP growth of 4.64 percent over a span of three decades concluded that technological progress played a leading role.
Africa’s Place in the Fast-Changing World Driven by Technology
One thing the nation of Africa could talk about at an equal pace of interaction at the global level is the field of technology and its vastly integral utilization in the continent. Unlike such growth factors as capital, land, and labor Africa’s modern economy driven by technological progress has been showing transformative effects with a leading role the nation’s youth play. Africa understands the importance of advancing and utilizing technologies to sustain the nation’s economic prosperity. As such, the Nation of Africa included technology in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 as one of the key drivers of its long-term developmental goals.
Driven by the effects of technological progress Africa’s economy has been going through a notable structural shift from traditional agriculture and extraction to technology-induced services over the past two decades. This has been contributing to the continent’s overall economic growth putting Africa at the global level to impact world GDP for the better. A report of experts at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly highlighted this in number. According to research findings, by 2030 Africa’s contribution vis-à-vis technology to the global economy will amount to 8 percent marking a bold and unprecedented presence of the Nation in the fast-changing world led by technology. This changes Africa’s future for a significant better with sound sustainability for a foreseeable period to come because of the nature of technology as it is youth-friendly which the continent has been blessed with.
Youth-Led Economic Growth and A Youth-Friendly Technology
The dawn of the contemporary technology era ushered in a transformative opportunity for Africa which has been suffering from an enduring man-made politico-economic disequilibrium for decades since independence. Despite a lot has remained unchanged due to aged political forces who still influence and control the Continent’s future Africa has been walking in notable transformation marked by youth-driven economic growth with a huge support of youth-friendly techs. As such, Africa and technological progress are intertwined and the latter helps the former achieve tremendous economic growth. The ensuing interrelated underlying brief explanations highlight this.
The omnipresent contemporary technology stretched across the continents virtually equals the birth of the vast young people of Africa. The young generation, unlike the pre-Cold War generation, of African nations grew up in an environment where conflicts are dominant but also technology has been within reach. This tech-familiar youth generation constitutes Africa’s largest portion of the population and leads the world’s young population. Humankind has been experiencing an old world with a young Africa and becoming more African.
As the contemporary mode of production largely functioning with technology demands young people, the world appears to accept the fact that the youth-led economy is its near future statuesque. Africa leads the world market with the largest share of the global workforce as the continent has more than 20 million productive manpower joining the workforce each year, according to data from the World Bank. The youth boom in Africa is destined to change the continent for the better as it falls in the same time boundary during which technology has also been booming. For a lasting and inclusive economic change enabled by aggressive utilization of technology, African leaders and the wider society need to empower the youth workforce. The empowerment efforts help the youth become the engine for envisaged economic growth driven by youth-friendly technology both in Africa and beyond.
Recent technological innovations are all but youth-friendly. As such, young people are usually at the forefront of technological advancements. Youth could get accustomed to the technologies, customize, and re-innovate quite easily. The notable results have been a remarkably unprecedented outpouring of innovations and creativity. In tandem with relentless efforts to achieve the Nation’s quest for sustainable economic growth, African youths have been actively using technology as an instrument to promote democracies and enhance good governance.
Conclusion
The conventional understanding of the contemporary global economic order is that technology continues shaping growth in the years to come. Africa’s contemporary interaction with technology is promising in terms of the latter’s significance on the nation’s economic developments impacting hugely on the continent’s effort to reduce poverty, among other things. As technology continues shaping economic developments both at global and continental levels in the years to come, Africa should consolidate embracing evolving technologies and explore changes that tech-ingrained advancements bring.
References
The age of digital interdependence: https://www.un.org/en/pdfs/DigitalCooperation-report-for%20web.pdf
How technology is changing the landscape of economic development: https://researchfdi.com/how-technology-is-changing-the-landscape-of-economic-development/
The Impact of Technological Innovation on Economic Growth: Evidence from China: https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125966293.pdf
Impact of Technological Progress on Economic Growth in Developed Countries. Accounting For Model Uncertainty and Reverse Causality: https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/2049830.pdf
The Impact of Technological Achievement on Economic Growth: Evidence from a Panel ARDL Approach: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2077476
The opportunities and risks of leveraging technology in Africa: https://www.accord.org.za/analysis/the-opportunities-and-risks-of-leveraging-technology-in-africa/
Artificial intelligence and Africa: https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/march-2024/artificial-intelligence-and-africa
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