Impediments to the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa

Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution refers to a range of new technologies, digitization, and robotization that are affecting all disciplines, economies, and sectors. The complete transformation of society into a digital one opens numerous opportunities for economic growth and development. The purpose of this study is to situate Africa’s place and involvement in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and to identify the major challenges that are facing its complete digital transformation. Africa’s digital revolution has the potential to bring development and revolutionize the continent in the same way that Europe’s industrial revolution did in the nineteenth century. Since the beginning of the second millennium, the African economy has grown steadily, thanks to increased merchandize exports and several structural drivers (i.e. demographics, emerging internal markets, and urbanization). Between 2000 and 2019, African economies grew at a rate of 4.1 per cent, which is greater than the rate for South American countries (World Bank, World development report 2021: Data for better lives, 2021). However, most African countries continue to lack critical information and communication technology infrastructure, Internet access, and related online services. This study examines the progress of Africa’s digital transformation, emphasizing the continent’s potential and challenges in this regard. We compared African countries to developed and developing countries using the ICT Composed Index 2017 dataset. The Minima and Maxima techniques were employed to investigate the overall performance of Africa on the Networked Readiness Index for the period 2012–2016. Box-and-Whisker The E-government Development Index (EGDI) 2018 data set was analysed using plot and correlation. While this study identifies multiple success factors and huge opportunities for Africa’s digital revolution, notably in terms of poverty reduction and commercial development, it also identifies numerous barriers impeding its advancement. The penetration of networks into rural areas and the adoption of critical digital platforms and services, such as the availability of affordable Internet online services and the development of e-government online services, are identified as major obstacles to the African continent’s digitalization.