Carried along by history, our countries will once again have to show self-denial and inventiveness to reinvent themselves. But to successfully meet the challenges of this century, our effective appropriation of new technologies will be essential, as they are the key to the ongoing global digital revolution.
By 2020, more than one billion Africans will have a cell phone; internet penetration is increasing everywhere while local digital solutions, such as the very popular mobile banking, are in full development. It is insightful, in this regard, that the world is now watching our most talented entrepreneurs with interest. These men and women are in their own way the pathfinders of our continent; the torchbearers who demonstrate that we can be the masters of our game.
« Encouraging African solutions to lay the foundations of this digital and economic sovereignty to which we all aspire »
But for this positive momentum to be sustained, African solutions must be encouraged to lay the foundations of this digital and economic sovereignty to which we all aspire.
Africa has been lagging behind other continents in terms of technological development for a long time, but it is gradually closing this gap thanks to the ever-increasing number of innovations that are emerging on its soil. From this point of view, no one is unaware of the technological changes underway, starting with African youth. Ready to take up this challenge rich in opportunities, it is up to them, starting today, to develop useful technologies that will have an impact on the daily life of populations. Several companies and start-ups on the continent have already understood the relevance of this approach as well as the need to make technological innovation accessible, particularly from a financial point of view. Thus, at the beginning of the health crisis, the Malian start-up DIAKITE ROBOTICS made an impression thanks to its invention SANIA BLON, which is an individual disinfection tunnel equipped with a bactericidal and virucidal decontamination system allowing to disinfect passers-by without harming their health, clothes and other personal objects.
To achieve the democratization of this useful African technology, African states must however continue to focus on the training of their children, because if the future of these young people is guaranteed, the future of the continent will also be guaranteed. It is in this spirit that our company, FAMIB Group, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy, has set up the UVPP KINGUI Virtual University to enable African youth to access quality higher education, wherever they may be. It is this type of need - in terms of training, but also in terms of production, transport and electricity infrastructures - that must be urgently met, as they are the main reasons for the lagging development of our continent.
Among the African solutions offered by the new digital tools, the optimization of sourcing (process of research and evaluation between different suppliers / candidates who can meet specific needs of companies) is one of the most promising avenues. Especially when this approach is based on the tremendous leverage provided by social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, WeChat...), which are very popular among our youth. These are powerful drivers of growth of the continental tech, accessible through multiple channels (smartphones, tablets, computers), and which prove, if need be, that Africa has not the slightest complex towards global digital giants.
“ Among avenues of a useful African tech, besides possible application in the development of our natural resources, Africa could in particular think of developing more its software industry"
Among the avenues of a useful African tech, in addition to possible application in the development of our natural resources, Africa could in particular think of developing more its software industry. Unlike other sectors, which require large infrastructures and extensive know-how, the software industry only needs intelligence. Only brainpower matters, which means that we in Africa have the same advantage as the rest of the world and the same time (wherever we are, a day is 24 hours long...) to achieve our ambitions. Entire ecosystems, based on creativity and intellectual property, have been successfully built in this way, like the American Silicon Valley. Having an African equivalent would be an invaluable asset for our continent because we have young people full of ideas who are only looking for a favorable ground to test and materialize them.
It is in this spirit that we are contributing by developing technological solutions to meet the needs of the continent. One example is our social media KINGUI SOCIAL, a digital solution designed in Africa that offers, in addition to the traditional features of social media, a videoconferencing platform - KINGUI VISIO - launched at the beginning of the Covid pandemic as a teleworking tool. Another example of African innovation born from a specific need, is the fingerprint time clock E-WAATI, developed by young Malian computer scientists and designed to monitor the arrival and departure times of employees to facilitate the work of the Human Resources department. This is the device we use within our group.
« An innovation must not be a factor of marginalization; it should rather be accessible to the greatest number of people »
To conclude, I will give a final piece of advice to the young inventors and innovators of the continent: think of covering the whole population because for me an innovation should not be a factor of marginalization; it should rather be accessible to the greatest number of people.
