As artificial intelligence and machine learning sweep the global economy, we find innovations from the last century becoming increasingly obsolete. In fact, the world is changing so rapidly that almost every facet of human life has been disrupted – some more than others. Technology has revolutionized the way we communicate, undertake research, learn, interact with other people, work, travel, access healthcare, and enjoy leisurely activities.

According to a report published by Tech Nation,[1] the US is the global leader in technology investments, accounting for 49% (or $149 billion) of the capital raised by tech scale-ups over the last four years (Chinese scale-ups raised 20%). In artificial intelligence, the US, China, and the UK have raised over $40 billion, $15 billion, and $4 billion respectively, since 2010.

By contrast, African startups raised $169 million in 2018, according to WeeTracker.[2] Fintech was the primary recipient of these investments, followed by health-tech and agritech. In 2019, the World Economic Forum launched a new initiative – the Africa Growth Platform – to help startups across the continent transition to scale-ups that are globally competitive. In terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), services accounted for 66% of investments, according to EY’s 2019 Africa Attractiveness Report.

While it is encouraging to see growing levels of investment in technology (primarily through FDI), the pace is much too slow. Moreover, local investors should ramp up their investments in technology and African governments should create strong enabling environments for a technological revolution. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening in some countries where government policies and regulations are effectively anti tech and innovation.

Imagination is the wellspring of creativity

Underpinning the rapid rise of the US, China, and the UK in technology is adequate investments in human capital. Basic education in each of these countries sufficiently equips students with foundational knowledge and skills for them to be labor market ready and for them to become innovators. Makerspaces and innovation centers dot their ecosystems, giving students a conducive environment in which to think, tinker, experiment, and collaborate to develop new products and services. In the UK, kids as young as five years old are sufficiently educated and inspired to build mobile applications. In Africa, the quality of education remains poor, producing weak outcomes. African countries continue to allocate on average 5% of GDP to education and not much of that is technology driven. Furthermore, most students don’t have access to the types of labs, Makerspaces, and innovation centers that are prevalent elsewhere. Kids’ imagination is therefore largely unstimulated. They don’t have the ability to imagine a technologically advanced world because they haven’t even seen basic services at work. This needs to change.

Strategic investments are required to equip all public schools at both the primary and secondary school levels with state-of-the-art science and computer labs, and with a revamped curriculum that inspires creativity and innovation. Teachers must themselves be up-skilled. And these investments cannot be limited to urban areas. They must be deployed en masse to rural areas where the majority of the population lives. As well, universal basic education must become a reality. UNESCO published a report in 2013 stating that 11 million children in Nigeria were not in school and will likely never receive a formal education. They are a ticking time bomb! They must urgently be identified and must receive a robust basic education that prepares them for the jobs of the future, but that, more importantly, stimulates their ability to innovate.