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For the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to experience true prosperity, stakeholders on the continent need to design digital solutions “designed by Africa and used by Africa”.
This was the main takeaway from the range of experts who shared their thoughts at the inaugural Africa Digital Conference, which was themed “The Digital Challenge: Africa’s Opportunities Under of the AfCFTA ”.
It was unanimously agreed that the massive adoption of imported digital solutions, especially those which take very little account of the particular dynamics of the continent, would represent a missed opportunity for the continent to adequately take charge of its affairs and to see some of its the brightest people miss out on designing local solutions for Africa.
According to the Minister of Communication and Digitization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, local solutions are crucial for the success of cross-border commerce and payment systems, as well as for the provision of equitable social services to people across socio-borders. -economic.
Beyond digitization, she noted, there is also a need to systematically create opportunities for local start-ups in the space.
In a speech read on her behalf, she said: “I think if governments can support a dynamic computer hardware manufacturer in one country to provide various schools across the continent, while also trading support for other competitive companies. in sister countries in other areas of expertise, there will be an increase in the scale on which these companies can establish or cement their operations in a sustainable manner.
“These are really the building blocks of the realization of Africa’s digitization agenda: which consists of more affordable Internet connectivity, more and less expensive credits, more security, more foreign direct investments, more startups technology and wealth creation, among others. “
Global competitiveness
In turn, the Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Professor Alex Dodoo, said improving intra-African trade and trade with the rest of the world is not inconsistent. Therefore, there is a need to approach solutions related to AfCFTA from a global perspective.
“Even though we mainly trade among Africans, we have to be competitive globally. We don’t just trade with ourselves, we trade with the rest of the world. Products made in Ghana should be as good as anywhere in the world.
He added that this can only be achieved if African stakeholders play an active role in setting standards for intra-continental and global trade; warning that failure to do so will consume the “thoughts and processes” of other nations.
“If we don’t shape the discussions, we will be consumers of the thoughts and processes of other nations. Overall, these standardization documents are consensus documents developed by states to trade with each other. We have not actively participated frequently, so we have been consumers of others’ consensus and business leads the world; we must be at the heart of the consensus. We have to lead in this business, ”he explained.
Common digital currency
According to the scientist and inventor known colloquially as the “African Father of the Internet,” Professor Nii Narku Quaynor, as Africa rushes towards payment and settlement solutions, it must remain aware of the advancements in digital currencies, in particular. particularly those supported by blockchain technology, and introduce a continent-wide iteration specifically for intra-African trade.
Quoting a recent study he had consulted, Professor Quaynor said: “We continue to lose billions in intra-African trade by trading in a third currency, particularly the dollar. One forward-looking proposal is to leverage advancements in cryptocurrencies and blockchain and issue an African Union coin (AUC) to fund Agenda 2063 for Africa; and we only trade in AUC between us while the AU coin could be traded on exchanges for increased value ”.
He further called for the active participation of indigenous people in the provision of Internet services, as well as the standardization of educational and professional requirements for participants in the technological space.
Other speakers, including the mayor of Accra, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah; Head of Regulation at the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor; and the Dean of the Business School at the University of Ghana (UGBS), Professor Justice Bawole, shared their thoughts on the steps their respective institutions are taking to prepare for a digitally-driven commercial zone.
Mr. Sowah revealed that one such initiative is the imminent introduction of the “Accra app”, which he described as a one-stop-shop for citizen engagement in public services; and Mr. Baah-Acheamfour revealed that NITA is engaging stakeholders in sectors such as fintech, banking and insurance to develop standards for their specialized needs.
For his part, the managing director of the organizing institution – AIDEC Consultancy, Ambrose Yennah, indicated that his outfit will host the Tech Engineers Roundtable, an interaction with high-level people from the industry, to deliberate on the recommendations made during of the Forum.
“We’re going to sit down and deal with them, so that we can come up with proposals that we can present to the government as a private sector position on some of these issues.”
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