How technology is putting Africa on the digital map

Very recently, we talked about the Orange Foundation's commitment to the UNDP Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Development Program, an agency that works with countries around the world to help them face the challenges of the new century with solvency and a smile of hope.Within this program, much importance is given to the presence of new technologies, those digital tools that we all use daily can be key to a continent like Africa.Today we want to deepen this issue, In what way are you working for Africa to live its own digital revolution?

Africa, an interesting reality

According to World Bank figures, Of the 20 fastest growing economies on our planet, 11 correspond to African countries , being Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast or Mozambique, some of the fastest growing.has a lot to see in this regard. The implementation of the smartphone is one of the key factors , with a penetration rate that could reach 80% of the population in the next five years, with more than 900 million of users.

The data is surprising but understandable.In many places, the landlines of the telephone still have a testimonial presence, therefore, now switching to wireless connectivity, is helping the development of communications that, as happens anywhere of the world, it is exponential.All sectors are benefiting: health, education, commerce, banking...The use of mobile devices reduces costs for companies, while favors communication, efficiency and productivity .

AfricaCom is a great annual event that brings together the continent's thinking heads in technological matters.This year it will be held from November 14 to 18, in Cape Town and it will be a great opportunity to put in value everything that Africa is achieving thanks to the digital development.Ally leaders of the telecommunications sectors meet in what is an exceptional occasion to join forces and make known the best of the new policies, as well as to establish alliances and pacts between companies, governments, foundations and all actors of the digital revolution.

In a similar vein, A4AI (The Alliance for Affordable Internet) works.It is an organization that is focusing on the problem of inequalities between African countries when it comes to engaging in the world of Internet and new technologies.A process that, as we say, is being fulminant in some nations but that is taking longer to reach other places, perhaps due to the lack of regulation in the sector.Yes, A4A works with companies and different governments to reach agreements and, above all, to contribute to that entry into the technological world that can benefit African society so much.

World reference

We can't talk about how technology is revolutionizing the African continent, not to mention some of those key companies and platforms to understand this hatching.One of them is Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili.This platform was born in Kenya In 2008 after the post-election crisis that the country experienced, the site was created to be able to receive and publish reports of violence. It works by mapping information in conflict zones and is used as a social tool , to give voice to situations that threaten human rights.Following a line of collaborative thinking, its code is open and can be adapted.Thus, it is included in the crowdsourcing movement that implies a technological model that uses volunteerism and mass social action.

As we say, Ushahidi was created in Kenya but its use has been extended and has been used to track a multitude of conflicts in places like Gaza, Congo or South Africa .It has been used to monitor elections in India or Mexico and to collaborate with humanitarian causes such as attention to the victims in the earthquake of Haiti in 2010 or the floods suffered in Colombia in 2010 and 2012.

And if Ushahidi was possible, it was achieved thanks to iHub, the great technological center of Kenya that is revolutionizing (and attracting) a multitude of companies.Based on coworking, it is a collaborative workspace that serves to gestate and launch new ideas and technological projects, through hours of work but also meetings and seminars that are key to bringing together investors, programmers and entrepreneurs not only from Africa, but from all over the world.

We do not exaggerate a bit if we say that iHub projects are changing the world.One of those ideas born from its offices is BRCK (brick).A mobile WiFi that works through solar energy , that is, with autonomy.It is resistant to adverse weather conditions and its uses are incredible.It is used for rural areas, away from urban centers and without Internet access, so that its inhabitants can connect.And, as you can imagine, its applications do not end there.It is also used in education, through the Kio Kit.

A change that affects everything

Technology is changing Africa, just like it does with us and our lives, day by day, but all these digital solutions may be causing more shock on the continent.

Another great movement is the one with mobile money.It is a system that allows you to make payments or transfers of money through a mobile phone, without the intervention of a bank or, of course, an account.wake of other areas in which technology replaces the eternal lack of infrastructure or communications.Mobile money is used in 93 countries and does not require a bank office.Only a phone and a number that acts as an account.It is a purse virtual that works as a great economic engine for isolated and impoverished regions .

The mobile companies that offer this solution reach agreements with different distributors throughout the geography of the place.The customers register and open a mobile account that helps them manage their money.Pesa, MFSAfrica or Zoona are some of the reference technologies in this sector, which is helping the development of many places by providing citizens with tools to manage their economy.

And, of course, social networks.That huge window to the world that connects us, invites us to know and discover, share and broadcast our ideas and points of view is being key to everything that is living in Africa. Internet becomes the perfect speaker for bells, for struggles , so that the world is not blind to a reality and the inhabitants of a region can organize themselves and propose a type of mobilization as it had not been seen before.

Everyone knows the movement that rose in 2013 in favor of blogger Makaila Nguebla, arrested in Senegal and who joined the Internet community under the hashtag #FreeMakaila . #BringBackOurGirls is another hashtag linked, sadly, to the African reality.In April 2014, more than 200 girls were kidnapped in Nigeria by the Boko Haram group.A few days later, Oby Ezekwesilila, former Minister of Education of the country, gave a speech in which I pronounce some words that would become the hashtag that the entire public community has used.The presidential elections are also very often followed in networks such as Twitter, with bells in favor of going to vote and with messages that raise complaints about different actions.

Examples all of them that demonstrate that technological advances can mark a before and after for an entire continent looking for a place of honor on the map.

Image | Pixabay

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