Afro-techno-optimism

Innovation & Technology in African Development

Technology – the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry, is changing the world. At scale, new uses of scientific knowledge, from increasing agricultural yields to long-term storage, have improved quality of life and the human condition everywhere. It is important to note that advances in technology have also expanded the range of destructive capabilities on incomprehensible orders of magnitude. This, however, focuses on the positive. Technology is driving the fourth industrial revolution – “a new era that builds and extends the impact of digitization in new and unanticipated ways.” The first industrial revolution saw a transition from reliance on animals and biofuels to the use of fossil fuels and machines. The second industrial revolution saw expansion in the use and sources of electricity and advances in wired and wireless communication. The third industrial revolution combined computing power and digitalization. Each era has built on the preceding one, bringing widespread economic improvement and lifting billions out of extreme poverty.

Sub-Saharan Africa stands apart for the collective widespread presence of conditions reflecting all stages of each era. It is a continent where 19th and 21st century conditions co-exist, where the transition from the first industrial revolution is incomplete and the benefits of the second industrial revolution remain elusive for significant numbers. More than half of the continent’s population still lacks access to electricity. A majority (about 600 million) of the last mile of internet-connected humans live in Africa. Afro-techno-optimism sees this relative lack of infrastructure as a glass half-full. It is the African variant of techno-optimism which the NY Times calls “the belief that technology and technologists are building the future and that the rest of the world, including government, needs to catch up.” The African variant of techno-optimism occurs along a continuum with an exuberant belief that the success of mobile telephone technology over fixed lines in Africa and mobile money use and penetration is proof that Africa and “leap-frog” its lack of infrastructure at one end to a simple believe that innovation and emerging technologies carry the promise of transformative impact on the continent.

The Africa Project is a tamer Afro-techno-optimist. It recognizes that there is no leap-frogging roads and rail or water filtration plants. The Africa Project acknowledges, however, that technology can play a role here. In 2016, recognizing this, the African Union set up APET – a High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies to advise the AU and its Member States on harnessing emerging technologies for economic development. APET has identified 10 areas and we will highlight those ten areas in subsequent posts. They are:

1. Gene drives;

2. Microgrids;

3. Drones for precision agriculture;

4. Next-generation medicine;

5. Artificial intelligence;  

6. Urban agriculture

7. Synthetic Biology (Gene Editing);

8. 3D printing;

9. Next-generation batteries; and

10. Water purification.

In 2019, the Center for Global Development received a grant from Open Philanthropy to support research on the assessment and regulation of gene drive technology. My colleague and I traveled to California, the UK, Ghana, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Sao Tome & Principe to meet researchers, regulators, social scientists and activists in this emerging area. In a subsequent post, I will cover the use of gene drives in malaria control in Africa.