Innovative Use Of Technology Helping To Solve The Challenges In Africa
Channel: Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
Date: 17/04/2022

*VP adds: Continent must sustain momentum to realise potentials, play critical role in global future

“The evidence all around us is that in the process of addressing its challenges, Africa is using the opportunities of the digital era quite innovatively.

“It is imperative that we keep the momentum going so that the continent thrives, backstops innovation, creates wealth and contributes to overall global development,” according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this in his remarks delivered virtually on Saturday at the Stanford Africa Business Forum themed “African Innovation Shaping the Global Future”, and hosted by the Stanford Business School.

Below are some of the Vice President’s full remarks:

VIRTUAL KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE STANFORD AFRICA BUSINESS FORUM THEMED: AFRICAN INNOVATION SHAPING THE GLOBAL FUTURE ON THE 16TH OF APRIL 2022

PROTOCOLS

Prof Jonathan Levin, thank you for inviting me to speak. I would have loved to be there personally, but my schedule has made that impossible, so I’m glad you’re able to accommodate my contributions in this way. Thank God for technology.

Our theme – African Innovation Shaping the Global Future – is counterintuitive yet very perceptive.

Why would Africa play a pivotal role in the global future? After all, Africa is home to most of the least developed countries in the world and many African countries are at the bottom of the rung of human development indicators. It is certainly not a global leader in research and development. In terms of digital technology Africa seems to have a high mountain to climb as its internet penetration is at 39.3% compared to the world average of 58.8%.

But I would say that it is precisely because of its developmental limitations, its distance from the frontier of economic development, that Africa needs to innovate and in so doing, will catch up or indeed set the pace for the rest of the world. First of all, digitalisation offers opportunities for innovation that are not so readily available with other forms of technology and will enable African countries to leapfrog while at the same time contributing to the global future.

It is now well acknowledged that the tech sector in Africa holds a lot of promise. There are said to be almost 700 innovation hubs on the continent and venture capital funding continues to expand at a rapid pace.

This last frontier continent offers opportunities for using innovation to solve the huge deficits in financial inclusion, human capital development, access to electricity, clean energy, access to credit, and payments processing.

Take for instance the story of mobile telephony in Nigeria which has created the basis for the widespread use of digital technologies is an important one. From barely 300,000 telephone connections at the turn of the Millennium, we now have up to 188 million active mobile lines in the country.

The use of mobile telephones in Nigeria has completely redrawn the economic landscape of the country.

In addition to making it easier to communicate, smart devices are now the major way of making payments, booking air tickets, ride-hailing, accessing streaming services and listening to music.

The revolution spawned by mobile telephones would have been difficult to imagine if it had not already happened. So, a good example is financial inclusion. Using technology, notably by taking point of sale (POS) services to the informal sector, Nigerian FinTechs have helped to overcome the challenges of limited access to banking services and by so doing, ramped up financial inclusion in the country.

They have begun to spread into the rest of the continent and in many ways, have become global leaders. So, it’s no surprise that companies like Flutterwave, Paystack, Andela and Opay have achieved valuations of over US$1 billion.

How about mass education? It is evident that in order to bridge the digital skills divide and enable African children to cope with a rapidly changing world, education, relevant useful education is key. Yet, given the fact of its rapidly growing population and the relative lack of resources, it is clear that Africa cannot keep up with the ‘bricks and mortar approach’ of educating its young. So, innovation is the only way to avoid this dilemma and we must explore the opportunities to educate a large number of young people.


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Oluyemi Oluleke “Yemi” Osinbajo is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is the current Vice President of Nigeria, in office since 29 May 2015.

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