At a time when digitalization is providing the African continent with the opportunity to accelerate growth and rapidly expand struggling economies, countries in the continent have been urged to get a strategy in place and act quickly and decisively to become leaders on the global economic economy.
This is one of the major takeaways from Siemens’s report titled ‘Dawn of Digitalisation and its Impact on Africa.’
The report, which was unveiled in conjunction with Frost & Sullivan, puts together a comprehensive research project outlining the current state of key industries across the continent and identifying challenges and opportunities.
It considers growth predictions and where the adoption of smart technology would be most beneficial in expanding industries to drive sustainable growth, explaining that for the purpose of this study, the focus was placed on four key sectors: Water, Manufacturing, Mining and Minerals, and Food and Beverage.
Some of the key findings in the report are:
• The adoption of digital technologies, innovation as well as a range of digital customer offerings are expected to remain varied across industries, markets and geographies. The extent and impact of digital technologies are also expected to vary, favouring businesses and industries that seek relevance and increasing contribution in international markets in addition to existing domestic markets.
• While advanced analytics and digitalization are witnessing growing adoption across certain industry sectors, such as the automotive sector, there is a real opportunity for adoption of these across industry sectors such as the mining and food & beverage industry which are significant contributors to major African economies.
• Manufacturing, while the most mature in its transformation and adoption of digital technologies in Africa, remains a marginal player struggling to make a bigger impact on country GDPs. The question governments need to ask themselves is how they align a ‘here-and-now’ emphasis on job creation with the necessary focus on digitalization. This will enable Africa to create a niche within the global economy. If we fail to pro-actively select our place within the global manufacturing industry, we run the risk of continuing on this path of non-industrialization.
• In the water industry, expenditure in water infrastructure has been low when compared to the global average. Inadequate investment in infrastructure coupled with poor water utility management has resulted in a greater need for development of the water sector.
• In the mining industry, which has been witnessing subdued investment, rising cost pressures and increasing labour issues, a combination of mechanization, efficient extraction of resources and better use of data can make it easier for mine operators cut costs and create a leaner and more efficient mining operation. As such, the successful incorporation of technology will be possible through collaborative efforts of technology providers, industry, research institutes and organizations that work for uplifting the mining industry.
• A stable supply of electricity is critical for digitalization to flourish. By providing high levels of infrastructure and power supply, Africa will be able to attract the necessary investment across various industry sectors.