In our recent report, we take a hard look at this question. Focusing on Africa\u2019s current economic development challenge\u2014how to speed up the process of economic transformation\u2014we examine the potential of 4IR technology to support and accelerate this process. A reasonable expectation might be that 4IR technology has a lot to contribute since technological innovation has been one of the main drivers of economic growth and development since the invention of the steam engine and electricity. However, our report argues that for Africa, the key policy question is not \u201cWhat can 4IR technology do for Africa,\u201d but rather \u201cWhat are Africa\u2019s productivity bottlenecks, and could 4IR technology help relieve them?\u201d In other words, for the owner\/operator of a business or farm, the question is not \u201cWhat about robots?\u201d It is \u201cWhat is my current productivity problem, and if I used this technology would it produce a quick and specific response to this problem?\u201d<\/p>\n
From this perspective, we do share the excitement for some of the potential of 4IR technology to help farms and also formal and informal firms in Africa to reduce production costs, grow their markets through productivity improvements, and increase employment and earnings. We are most optimistic about:<\/p>\n
In the service sectors, 4IR presents an opportunity for technology-enabled new products and processes. Demand grows with income, so opportunities abound as African countries restart the economic growth process. In many service sectors where formal firms and employment dominate, technology mostly complements rather than substitutes for labor, so technology adoption should lead to the creation of new formal wage jobs for young and educated jobseekers. In the large nonfarm informal sector (63 percent of total employment), adoption of 4IR technology could also lead to improvements in job quality (e.g., earnings, income security)\u2014for example, through the use of online marketplaces and platforms to find customers and meet their needs efficiently and safely.
\nIn the agricultural sector, by reducing information frictions which increase risk, 4IR technology could support productivity gains, an increase in farm earnings, and a reduction in rural poverty, as well as bring important environmental benefits. But first, long-standing risks inhibiting technology adoption need to be overcome, leading us to conclude that technology-enabled agriculture will not be a feature of small- and medium-scale farming in Africa very soon. Technology adoption will not lead to a large expansion of employment, as this sector has been losing its share of employment for years owing to better opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rapid technological advances are bringing major changes to workplaces around the world. In the U.S., this has been a source of both joy\u2014for those able to work from home thanks to advanced video technology and the internet of things (IoT)\u2014and sorrow for those who lost their job due to advanced robotics. Predicting the impact of new, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology on employment opportunities around the world is now a growth industry. But how relevant is the technology, and to a large extent the experience of rich countries, to Africa\u2019s current problems and choices?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":4872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,21],"tags":[7,26,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-4875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-technology","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-technology"},"yoast_head":"\n