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22
NovemberDigitalization, Africa’s Opportunities and Challenges!
Digitalization is transforming the world in almost every aspect of life during the last few decades. The access to internet, increase of people using mobile phones, social media and other ICT services changed the way people interact, communicate, learn and work in almost every country.
African countries have the potential to benefit from digitalization in various development domains. For such development, it is required for the African states (as well as for the rest of the world) to take measures for a digital future, to facilitate a digital enabling environment) and to enhance learning, discussion and exchange platforms about the opportunities, engagement and challenges of digitalization in Africa. These platforms can give a strong basis for any action and initiatives in digitalization.
At the same time, a mutual shared understanding on the meaning of digitalization is not self-evident. According to, the term digitization refers to “the action or process of digitizing; the conversion of analogue data (esp. in later use images, video, and text) into digital form” It can be considered in a common sense that digitalization means the integration of digital technologies into everyday life at processes, organizational, business and other society domains. Often the specific role of digitalization on business models is emphasized. Then digitalization focuses on the adoption and the use of digital technology by the key market players and other key players including distributors, producers, consumers, film practitioners, associations, policymakers and politicians.
This article seeks to give a general overview on the challenges and opportunities of digitalization in the African context and it will focus on several societal aspects such as labor, agriculture, education, media, gender, etc. Although none of these topics will be dealt in detail, but the paper can give a broader overview of the possible wide-ranging effects of digitalization in Africa.
General Information on digitalization in Africa.
In 2013, the AU (African Union) founded the SMART Africa initiative, which aims to achieve socio-economic development through ICT’s (Information and Communications Technology). It involves the strengthening of broadband connections and the implementation of e-government features. These include electronic services for citizens, electronic IDs, unified communication and a cloud-based infrastructure through a digital government platform. The member states also commit to promote and fund applications, e-education, e-health, e-tourism, e-agriculture and e-commerce. The goal is to harmonize policies and frameworks, to generate more demand for goods and expand markets, to attract large-scale investments and to create new industries and jobs.
Considering of economic development, the newly created African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) also commits to widen its free-trade approach to the digital sphere by pursuing data flow across national boundaries. Digitalization has transformed Africa also in the use and access to the financial services, retail payment like mobile money transfers and based payment and digital transport has been increased in recent years as well. It is also important to acknowledge the impact of digitalization on development of sustainable business model and revenue administration. However, adoption of effective policy can facilitate digital associated investment and promote tax incentives to encourage innovation.
Digital Transformation Challenges You Need to Overcome.
Over the next few years, digital transformation is expected to be the top strategic business priority of enterprises in almost all industries. With 60 percent of CIOs and CTOs surveyed in a 2021 IBM study indicating that their IT modernization program is not yet ready for the future, we see many fast-tracking their digital technology initiatives this year.
What are the biggest challenges in Digital Transformation?
- Siloed Decision Making.
- Legacy Systems.
- Risk-averse organizational culture.
- Insufficient budget for technological change.
- Looming digital skill gap.
- Shortage of technological resources.
- Increased security risks.
How to Overcome Digital Transformation Challenges?
Digital transformation challenges can be overwhelming, with some factors being beyond your control. Still, there are steps you can take to overcome them and lead your organization to a smooth and seamless transition to a digital future. Here are 10 Tips to overcome the barriers.
1. Align your digital transformation programs with business outcomes:
One of the first steps to a successful digital shift is aligning your initiatives with business outcomes. Prioritize digital investments that affect specific goals. Use outcome-driven criteria to determine where to allocate your budget and which programs to focus on. Create a unified vision that reflects your business priorities.
2. Make organizational change a core element of digital transformation:
Organizational change may be difficult, but it is crucial for transformational growth. This involves a culture change with a company-wide shift in mindset.
Start by assessing cultural impediments to digital transformation. Then, implement a change management strategy with a comprehensive and unified roadmap. Keep in mind that change must start from the top. This is essential for minimizing resistance from your employees.
3. Maintain transparent communication at all levels:
A recent Gartner survey shows that 65 percent of decisions made today are more complex than those in previous years. They involve more options and more stakeholders in the decision-making process.
To enable sound decision-making, you must maintain transparent communication and keep feedback loops open with all stakeholders. This will help remove data silos and make business decisions contextual.
4. Craft a solid implementation plan:
Your vision for a digital future must be backed by a solid implementation plan. Your technology roadmap should support your initiatives and ensure consistency across all areas. To drive sustainable adoption, design a strategy for the integration of scalable systems for enterprise architecture, cyber security, cloud solutions, analytics, and others.
5. Strategize technology procurement plans:
Budgets can be managed internally but shortages in other resources are often beyond your control. To reduce bottlenecks during your transition, plan a well-defined strategy for technology procurement.
Conduct a technology assessment to evaluate your existing tech and determine new solutions vital to your digital shift. Look for alternative solutions whenever possible. Include tech resource shortages in your risk management plan to mitigate potential risks.
6. Bridge the skills gap:
Build digital dexterity by investing in education and training for the up skilling of your workforce. This will ensure that they have the requisite skills and capabilities to adapt to the digital shift and effectively integrate digital tools into their work processes. Aside from closing the digital skills gap, this also empowers your employees and motivates them to improve their performance.
7. Broaden sourcing criteria:
Another way to bridge the digital skills gap is to broaden our sourcing criteria. Expand your talent pool by looking for digital skills outside of IT functions or by accessing the global talent pool. Invest in systems that enable the adoption of a distributed workforce. You can also consider outsourcing projects to external teams with the required technical proficiency.
8. Enhance your cyber security strategy:
Achieving secure digital transformation requires continuous improvement of your cyber security capabilities. Make sure you have a proactive monitoring strategy to resolve issues before they turn into high-risk breaches. Implement patch management to identify vulnerabilities when using third-party applications.
Your cyber security strategy must be a core element of your transformation program. It will also require a reasonable budget to implement effective security measures. Still, the cost of mitigating risks will undoubtedly be higher. So, ensure that you have risk management frameworks and cyber security measures in place.
9. Have a comprehensive financial strategy:
Implementing new digital solutions is costly but necessary for business growth. However, improper planning and management can cause you to exceed your budget allocation. Avoid this by having a comprehensive financial strategy for your digital transformation. Calculate the expected costs, potential long-term benefits, and investment returns before implementing the transformation. Consider also additional costs your digital shift will entail as your business grows.
10. Implement low or no-code solutions:
One of the easiest ways to overcome digital transformation challenges is by implementing low-code or no-code solutions like Kissflow. Aside from avoiding employee pushback towards new digital solutions, these enable employees to leverage new technology without the need for specialized tech skills.
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