The latest report released by Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) has advised African countries to pay greater attention to digital in 2018. The findings are contained in the report entitled Foresight Africa Top priorities for the continent in 2018.
AGI was created by the Brookings Institution and it believes that greater investment in the digital world will bring about a profound transformation, the benefits of which will only benefit the economies of African nations.
The report affirmed that digitization will boost the key segments of retail payment systems, financial inclusion, sustainable business models and revenue administration.
In terms of retail payment systems, the report observed they have saved African economies billions of dollars. The success of these tools, the M-Pesa which is one of the strongest examples, will lead to the emergence of new, more efficient solutions.
The Africa Growth Initiative believes it is high time for African economies to join the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA), a global partnership that encourages the shift from physical to digital payments, and the benefits of this mutation.
In the area of financial inclusion, digitization, it has greatly contributed to the access of low-income populations, especially women, to financing, credit and savings. Supporting the emergence of new, similar solutions is crucial, according to the Africa Growth Initiative. These solutions will further improve the lives of millions of people across the continent, and achieve a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With regard to sustainable business models, the Africa Growth Initiative advises African nations to adopt solutions that support growth and productivity in various sectors. M-Akiba, intended for mobile micro-investments in government securities; M-KOPA for mobile solar energy supply; One Acre Fund to support small farmers; M-TIBA, the mobile wallet for health care, has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Finally, in the area of revenue administration and service provision, digitization will solve the problems of red tape, corruption and misappropriation of public funds, which continue to plague public services in Africa.
The dematerialization of procedures, services, is a step that must cross the continent, insists Africa Growth Initiative which presents the Kenyan digital platform “eCitizen” as an example to follow. It allows people to access various public services (taxes, trade, transportation, etc.) online, and pay by mobile or credit card.
