Prime
The dilemma for govt’s digital transformation vision
Author, Daniel Homorrodean. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Africa has the advantage to leapfrog, jumping over some of the stages, saving time and resources.
The acceleration of technological innovations transformed the use and behaviour of individuals and organisations as well as the market structures. Indeed, consumers, especially the digital native, transformed the way they select, buy and consume offered products and services.
The rate at which new technologies are being churned out leaves institutions in a never-ending cycle of catching up. For a none techie, it has become a game of never-ending catch-up chase and confusion.
The “uberification” of markets in what is considered the sharing economy ideally is a great idea, however, the increased market volatility with the arrival of new disruptive actors proposing new offers through web applications literally every year makes it rather difficult for slow adopters in public service.
While it looks like a disadvantageous position for developing economies, I would like to propose that it’s an advantageous position. The good news is that the hard work has already been done. Developing economies need not waste resources and focus on two pillars for fast-tracking entry to the digital space in both public and private sectors.
Unlearn to learn new techniques for fast adaptation. This is probably the most perplexing challenge. The public sector is often the slowest to adapt to change. Africa’s path to transformation does not have to be the same as the developed world. Africa has the advantage to leapfrog, jumping over some of the stages, saving time and resources. Success today favours those who are fast to bring innovation to the market.
When Senegal decided to go electric train, they did not have to develop anything new but copy and customize what France, Germany, or Switzerland did. The same can be applied in digital transformation governance service, software development.
The second critical intervention is the need to address the skill gaps to develop the competencies to manage and operate the government digital platforms leveraging the high proportionately young and flexibles talents in the youth. Effective digital transformation of organisations shall be driven by the availability of the latest trends of skills.
Science Direct in their research paper on Digital Learning: Developing skills for the digital transformation of an organisation in 2019 supposed that this will require advanced competencies in the identified skills like nanotechnology, augmented reality (AR), Robotics, Internet of things, artificial intelligence.
In addition; digital learning context of mobile technologies.
Governments in the developing world should focus on the areas of generating world-class competencies by collaborating with established innovation partners. Africa has over 70 percent young population while the west is grappling with an aging population and regressing birth rate.
In five to 10 years the world will look to Africa for talents, however in the meantime for Africa to participate on a levelled ground it shall need to address the in-house e-readiness. Even without looking to external markets, the digital transformation agenda, e-governance, e-commerce require tech skills to manage and operate the platforms. Ironically, basic things like lack of update database are the foundation of digital transformation, updated biodata data, integrated secure systems identifiers, interoperability of platforms with a clear strategy.
Even Uganda ranks ninth on the African continent with estimated 11,000 developers, according to the 2020 Google Developer survey. There is no central and up-to-date and disaggregated data by specialisation, grades; software engineers, data analysts, cyber experts, machine learning experts, project managers, research, hardware, product innovators, quality assurance, specialised and basic digital competences.
Mr Daniel Homorrodean, Arxia, Digital Technologies ltd, subsidiary of arxia srl romania.
