"Coding must be mandatory at all levels" …, says Adesina to Mo Ibrahim Governance Week

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The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, pleaded on Friday for Africans to adopt the technology and that governments stop "investing in the jobs of the past, but rather in the jobs of the future". A future that is fast approaching. "

Adesina was addressing a debate entitled: The era of new technologies: killer or job creator? organized by Africa Report and Jeune Afrique as a member of 2019 Mo Ibrahim Governance Week. The debate took place at the Sofitel Hotel in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

"The people who control the data will control Africa. Coding must be mandatory at all levels. The currency of the future is going to be the coding, "said Adesina. "Information technology should not be the exclusive privilege of the elite, we must democratize it," he added.

Speakers included Pascal Lamy, Director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Board and former Director General of the World Trade Organization; Eric Kacou, Ivorian businessman and co-founder of ESP Solutions; Chioma Agwuegbo, Nigerian technology specialist, and Zyad Liman, Africa magazine publication director.

In his welcome address, Mo Ibrahim urged speakers to think of ways to combat the "tsunami of young people entering the labor market".

In response to this call for action, Kacou emphasized the need to "change mindsets to switch from BBC or Born Before Computers to a new design of education to teach people to learn and help them solve their problems. "

Speakers recognized the crucial role that the information technology industry can play in Africa's economic transformation through the digitization of Africa. However, they agreed on the urgent need to improve the skills of the past, to do so quickly and to move away from the social fear of technology.

Research has shown that if governments harness the full economic potential of the Internet, Africa could add $ 300 billion to its GDP by 2025. In addition, 70% of all jobs will involve an ICT component by 2020.

The possibilities of transforming Africa through technology are endless. In agriculture, drones can monitor crops, Artificial Intelligence can accelerate varietal breeding, and the Internet of Things can control smart irrigation systems. Block chains can also help with traceability of food.

"We must seize the opportunities … We need to democratize technology. Africa should prepare. Digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, large data badysis, block chains, 3D printing, are already upon us, "Adesina concluded.

The three-hour interactive session has ended with audience members calling for accelerated political reforms and the creation of an environment conducive to the development of innovative technologies. The issue of data protection, identity protection and false news and how to turn people into badets dominated the discussions.

The African Development Bank has already made great progress in building skills in technology and innovation with its Job for Youth program. A total of 234,000 new coders and 130 coding centers of excellence are being created to enable Africa to participate in the digital offering of the economy. The program is not limited to coding. The Bank works with private sector partners such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft to build technical knowledge and equip people at all levels of education with the skills they will need.

To ensure the general reconversion of Africans, the Bank has invested 70 million euros in a technology park in Senegal, in order to create a regional cluster of technology companies in Francophone Africa. The technology park should contribute to the diversification of the Senegalese economy by creating 35,000 direct jobs and 105,000 indirect jobs.

In addition, the Bank has invested in several funds, such as the TLcom TIDE Fund, Partech and African Technology Ventures, to meet the challenge of access to financing for technology entrepreneurs.

The Bank also provided a $ 30 million loan to the Rwandan government to contribute to the innovation economy through the Rwanda Innovation Fund, which aims to finance technology-based SMEs and develop technology. the capacity of Rwanda's entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem.

The weekend of governance Mo Ibrahim started Friday in Abidjan. Adesina joins Africa's most influential leaders and thinkers for this event, which celebrates the continent's leaders, discusses issues of critical importance to Africa and charts the way forward for the region.