Technology can transform Africa, leaders should stop begging, says Mandela

Dr. Makaziwe Mandela is the Founder of the House of Mandela Family Foundation. She’s the eldest daughter of Evelyn Mase and late South African President, Nelson Madela. On the sideline of the just concluded LEAP 2022 technology conference and exhibition, hosted by the Ministry of Communications and Technology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Mandela spoke with ADEYEMI ADEPETUN on the need for African leaders to be purposeful on development, stressing that technology holds the ace if the region must compete.

Going by various technologies that were displayed at LEAP 2022, how ready is Africa to compete?
We need to understand that this was an invitation to African countries and most of them are not here at a critical time in the life-cycle of our development. They need to know that technology has come to stay. There is a need to ask questions if African governments are serious about development and creating sustainability in their countries or not. These are questions begging for answers.

I have said times without number that because it is mostly men that rule in our region, they will go to the West to beg for fund to develop Africa, while the region has most of the world’s resources. Even resources to develop technologies that were on focus at this event, most of them came from Africa. But it is not benefitting our people in Africa. There are so many questions to be asked, if we are ready to develop.

African leaders need to come to the consciousness that they are not there for themselves, but for the populace, which necessitated the need to create the present and a better future for the next generation to come. And if we as Africans do not have access to technology to help education, science, engineering and medicine, we are already behind, we will still be left behind and there won’t be any way for us to get out of poverty.

What kinds of strategy should technology companies have for Africa?
I will emphasise the issue of collaboration. Africa cannot do it alone. Even South Africa is struggling to survive. The government had to borrow a large portion of the budget to sustain themselves in government and to promote economic development. There is a huge gap in research and development. We are not investing enough in educating the populace in terms of the right education. There are very few countries doing a lot in that regard, perhaps, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa. Still, these countries are not doing enough that can turn the countries and regions around and bridge the digital divide between Africa and the West.

I stressed the fact that big technology companies, some of whom came for the LEAP event, should collaborate with technology companies in Africa, because most of them at home are small and driven by young people. So, instead of taking the intellectual development from Africa, leading to brain drain of our intelligent people, they should invest in Africa. We have to keep them in Africa so that there could be transfer of knowledge and skills in the region and ensure that those trained can train more people for even development.

The gap created by affordability and accessibility remain a major challenge in connecting the unconnected in the region. What can be done to bridge this gap in Africa?
I think, like I said earlier, Africa is where most of the resources come from. Look at Nigeria, there is a huge deposit of oil, but there is very little production in terms of downstream industries. I don’t know what is stopping Nigeria from creating the downstream industry out of oil production? There are very few refineries in Nigeria, isn’t it? Nigeria has the potential to be supplying the whole of the sub-continent with petroleum products, but they are not. Most countries in the region are looking up to Nigeria in some certain areas to provide leadership, but we have not seen that. What Africa is good at despite huge resources is to export these resources as raw materials and later bring them back from Europe as finished products and pay heavy duties on them. I think that mindset must change as fast as possible if we are to develop as a continent.

I would say that collaboration and governments’ resolve would play critical roles in bringing technology giants to Africa. Though the continent is still faced with so many challenges, these challenges are immense opportunities for growth, expansion and profitability. The access and affordability gaps in the region provide opportunities for improved Internet access, which can be delivered by technology companies through collaborations with indigenous players.

With only about 40 per cent of the entire African population with access, it means that about 60 per cent are still without basic telephony services. This is a huge market that can be latched onto by technology companies. The global community can make use of technology to get Africa to the world stage of development.

Governments in Africa should collaborate with technology companies to benefit the people of Africa. If you look at the damage done to education by COVID-19 in the last two years, it made it difficult for children to go to school. It was only the children, whose parents are probably rich enough that were able to get laptops, iPads and Internet connectivity, and subsequently benefitted the most from virtual learning, which has become the new norm across the globe. I think African governments should also improve electricity generation and distribution; this is crucial to any notable development.

Will there be any opportunities for women in technology development?
There are opportunities, but women must demand a seat at the table, especially on the high table. We need to encourage all women to go into engineering, mathematics and other STEM areas. We must also provide extracurricular activities for women to excel. I was in Kenya for some time and did something around increasing the number of girls in school, which was successful. Research has proven that if you invest in women, it is more likely to yield more benefits to the economy. We must also remember that in the sub-continent of Africa, it is mostly female-laden. So, if we are not educating women in Africa, the region would have more problems.

There are several rhetorics of African governments planning to invest in technology, education and the likes, but nothing is done in the long run. How can African governments be pushed to be more committed?
I think the struggle in Africa should have ended by now but because we have leaders, who think only about themselves, things are stagnant. The current politics of Africa is that of patronage and selfishness. I think we must always have a voice. You participated in LEAP 22, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, you have to go and report the deliberate development going on here. There must be dialogues and workshops, where these leaders must be held accountable.

I remembered so many Nigerian youths were killed for protesting during the EndSARS saga, but there should be no giving up. Many African countries did not reach independence because they gave up, we can attest to that through the struggles of our forefathers.

They fought it through, so, there is no giving up now. I am not canvassing arms uprising, no, but we must use our voice very effectively to change Africa for the better.

Representing Africa, what are we taking home from this conference?
There are so many things to be learnt by Africa from here. The new generations, franchise technologies that have been exposed here, should maximise these exposures for their good and that of the continent. I am pained and worried that we don’t have all the Ministers of Information and Communications Technology from Africa here at this event. They would have been able to learn things that they can replicate in Africa.