WEF on Africa meeting, Cape Town, September 4-6 - My key takeaway's

Last week I spent a few exciting days in Cape Town, where the 28th World Economic Forum on Africa took place. The overarching theme of the meeting was "Shaping Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolution". I was happy to represent Salesforce and learn more about the political landscape in the continent, and the priorities of business leaders -- and here are some of the key take away's I got from my interactions with government and business leaders during the week:

• There was overall a sense of urgency and excitement for Africa to prepare and step into the 4th Industrial Revolution. As South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "The future is great, it looks very bright for the African continent, and if there was ever a time when Africa can definitely be said to be on the rise, this is the time".
• Leapfrogging was the buzzword used both by politicians and businesses to describe the opportunities facing the African continent in the 4IR.
• There is great expectation and ambition about the benefits that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) can bring to the continent as a whole. However, there’s still much to be done to ensure its proper implementation and that the continent benefits from it as a whole.
• Political leaders discussed openly the challenges facing African countries, but there was great optimism overall about the potential of the continent if there is a political will and vision to work together.
• There was universal agreement among participants that tech has a central role to play in the transformation of the continent. In particular, there were many discussions around the rise of the platform economy across Africa. More and better connectivity and skills are seen as key components of this new digital transformation - with a very clear goal to bring more women and young people in the workforce. 
• There were several calls from industry speakers for sensible data frameworks to be put in place in Africa for the continent to harness the full potential of the 4IR. Of all African countries, only about half have data laws in place. It was encouraging to hear the government of South Africa recognize that the free flow of data is at the heart of technological innovation, while stressing the importance of privacy, data protection and intellectual property rights.
• There was also a lot of discussion around the ongoing convergence between business models (the most striking example being financial services companies becoming digital platforms). To address disruption and e embrace convergence and the creation of new business models, business leaders focus on customer centricity and the consumer experience more than ever before. The need for regulatory clarity and coherence among African countries, especially when it comes to protection and cross-border flows of data, was also highlighted by business leaders.

#af19 #4IR #technology #data