The Africa of My Dreams

The assignment focuses on the future of Africa in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, discussing how the continent can become a major player in the world economy. It highlights the importance of developing digital skills, private-public partnerships, and digital innovations to drive growth and productivity. The article also touches on the potential for inclusive growth, mobile-related technology, and the importance of investing in grid infrastructure.

Running head: CREATIVE ARTICLE WRITING
The Africa of My Dreams: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialization
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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The article aims at focusing on how the Africa of my dreams would be like in the
perspective of fourth industrial revolution. The article discusses my hopes and dreams along with
my imagination of future Africa. Africa represents the continent which is one of the most
enduring and old landmass existing in the world. The country has always been home to slavery
until the time when the Portuguese arrived and gradually transformed slavery into an export
business. The fuelling of the agricultural production by the African slaves caught the attention of
the Dutch and Europeans who were in search of routes for trade.
Although the African continent is rich in human and natural resource along with
ecological, cultural and economic diversity it is considered underdeveloped (Iliffe 2017). The
suffering of most of the African nations is related to the corruption, military dictatorships, war,
civil unrest, deeper poverty and underdevelopment. The countries in Africa gets a clarification
from the UN as one of the least developed. There has been numerous strategies implemented for
the development of these countries but have failed miserably in yielding expected results. In
spite of being doomed in economic slavery and perpetual poverty the continent is believed to
have immense potential
The population of Africa is booming and whose future will be home to around 4.4 billion
people that accounts for close to four times the current population. Presently, Africa represents
one of the fastest growing continents where the expected GDP growth for the future must
begrow by close to 6 percent on the annual basis (Zoogah, Peng and Woldu 2015). The rise of
Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) added to the intricacies of the future economies along with
employment outcomes. Thus, FIR stood at equivalence to the unexplored growth in presence of
internet connectivity and digitization (Yeoh 2017). Internet connectivity and digitization have the
ability of driving Africa ahead and help in encouraging the process of innovation, propel newer

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business models and ensure improving delivery of the public services. Although the effects of
FIR has been disruptive in almost all the economies but there will exists three aspects for
consideration for Africa (Alin 2014). This includes:
 Pre eminence in the development of the digital skills
 Private-Public partnerships as the power levers for the development
 Digital rattling of Industries
In Africa, the digital economy and the actual economy are not exclusive mutually. Both
have gradually merged and have blurred the lines between the digital, biological and physical
spheres (Caruso 2017). The growing and massive potential of Fourth Industrial Revolution also
needed time to be completely grasped. The information technology industry had the
responsibility of unlocking the potential for the citizen service delivery, innovation solutions,
enhanced customer experience and ensured a better life for everyone. This will help in
cultivating the digital skills amongst its population thereby transitioning from the lower skill and
low pay jobs to the high end and higher skill pay jobs. This has been explained via a practical
example in the report name ‘The Future of Jobs and Skills in Africa’. The report also suggests
that for preparing a future for work, the African region will need expansion with higher skilled
pool of talent through the development of a curriculum.
However, Africa experienced an inclusive growth with the emergence of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution. Inclusive growth refers to the concept that helps in advancing equitable
opportunities for the economic participants during the economic growth that will have necessary
inclined benefits for every section of the society. The future of the African continent would be
bridged in an unparallel manner through mobile related technology (Herbst 2014).The digital

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infrastructure will also bring in newer opportunities for the informal and rural economies. The
country will also have liberal access to technology along with decentralization of the production.
Thus, the future of African investors will be aided by reimaging the solutions suitable in the
context of Africa. Africa will have an easier way for doing business in a competitive manner.
The continent will experience the penetration of the mobile phones in the remotest of the areas
brought along by increased technological readiness. The country will also make investment in
grid infrastructure for better penetration of the service. Africans will become more tech savvy
and will equip themselves with newer tools for managing their households and business. The FIR
will also include the women in business as they will comprise of more than half of the population
(Caruso 2017). The women will also implement different perceptions and skills to face the
challenges. As Africa becomes more service driven with lesser dependence on the commodities,
the continent will foster digital skills. Workers will be more equipped and educated with newer
skills so that they are not displaced by the digital transformation.
The major boost for productivity, employment and economic growth in Africa might
result from the supporting information and communication technology (ICT) (Asongu 2015).
The African continent along with collaborators like Ericsson and Boston Consulting Group,
World Economic Forum Africa and Cisco will help in supporting the integration projects of
northern corridor. ICT will act as one of the strategic areas for facilitating the process of
integration within the region. The northern corridor will collaborate to move forward with
implementation and conceptualization of projects like implementation of infrastructure,
broadband connectivity and ICT policy. There will also be implementation of termination rates
and roaming charges along with the harmonization of subscriber identification module (SIM)
registration. There will also be projects like implementation of cyber security and mainstreaming

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of the ICT and e-services. Africa will also experience digital migration along with the
development of regulatory and policy framework for the republic of the South Sudan.
The report ends by providing an insight into the future of Africa. The discussion on the
hopes and dreams of Africa in the perspective of the author in the context of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution ensures taking a sneak peek into Africa’s future. Africa can represent a complete
player in the world economy through the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The African
continent should thus be ambitious and impatient in its achievement towards the goals. Thus,
Africa is pushed towards the realms of development by putting forward a transformative power.

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References:
Alin, L.I., 2014. Research on the Model of Urbanization Based on Rural
Industrialization. Journal of Landscape Research, 6(5/6), p.17.
Asongu, S., 2015. The impact of mobile phone penetration on African inequality. International
Journal of Social Economics, 42(8), pp.706-716.
Caruso, L., 2017. Digital innovation and the fourth industrial revolution: epochal social
changes?. Ai & Society, pp.1-14.
Herbst, J., 2014. States and power in Africa: Comparative lessons in authority and control.
Princeton University Press.
Iliffe, J., 2017. Africans: the history of a continent (Vol. 137). Cambridge University Press.
Yeoh, P., 2017. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Technological Impact and Privacy and Data
Security Issues. Business Law Review, 38(1), pp.9-13.
Zoogah, D.B., Peng, M.W. and Woldu, H., 2015. Institutions, resources, and organizational
effectiveness in Africa. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 29(1), pp.7-31.