This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Kenya Leads Africa's Digital Growth ¶
Published on September 11, 2019, a new research identified Kenya as one of six countries driving Africa's digital growth.
Kenya, along with Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa, is making remarkable progress in the digital realm, boosting financial inclusion by creating digital platforms that work for everyone and everywhere.
According to the research conducted by Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth in collaboration with The Fletcher School at Tufts University, these countries are harnessing the true potential of technology to drive inclusive growth in a period of changing global market demands.
The report, Getting Lions to Leapfrog: Can Digital Technologies Deliver on Africa's Delayed Promise of Inclusive Growth?, uses these six countries as case studies to provide insights on key drivers that could accelerate digital inclusion across the continent.
The six countries were examined against three primary variables: ease of creating digital jobs, resilience of governance and infrastructure, and foundational digital potential.
Mastercard's Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Raghav Prasad, noted that Africa has come of age with more technology thinkers, and the continent has the potential to increase access to crucial services using mobile technologies and eventually help narrow the gap that exists.
Prof. Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of global business and founding executive director of Fletcher's Institute at Tufts University, emphasized the need for new ideas to be accommodated in the tech ecosystem and for talents in the technology front to be harnessed and nurtured to inspire innovation.
Sub-Saharan Africa's already burgeoning youth population, expected to grow by over 50 percent by 2050, presents a significant opportunity to create a demographic dividend, unlocking further investment in digital infrastructure and creating a more robust and inclusive workforce.
