THINK SMART TODAY, OUT THINK TOMORROW  

All across Africa, digital developments are happening at an unprecedented rate. Countries are leading the way in adapting new technologies and embracing systems the rest of the world has been slow to embrace.

 

Sustaining rapid development

However, maintaining this rapid pace of development can be a challenge. From making education more accessible to narrowing the gap between university curriculum and marketplace demands to future-proofing businesses by implementing the latest technologies, much more can be done to ensure Africa continues to leapfrog ahead.

 

Empowering a new generation

From honing industry relevant skills to working with educational institutions and offering internship placements around the world, IBM is helping develop a new generation of technologically savvy professionals in Africa.
The Middle East and Africa University Program is a key component of these initiatives, with IBM training and certifying faculty members in the latest emerging technologies.
Covering mobile, security, analytics, big data, commerce and the Cloud, the program gives faculty vital knowledge on the most important developments in technology and gives them the tools, expertise and methodologies to transmit this knowledge to their students.

 

Education anyone can access

Delivered by IBM instructors and IBM trained university faculty in official IBM courses through a mix of hands-on lab work and e-learning via IBM Cloud, the Middle East and Africa University Program overcomes the confines of geography and makes education more widely accessible to people all across the continent. Today, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia, amongst others, have already begun empowering their citizens.

 

“The Africa Skills Initiative is taking us in the right direction of having young people coming from the universities with knowledge that they can apply to solve Africa’s problems, using the technology that they have.”

- Paula Musuva, Lecturer, United States International University, Africa

 

THE WAY FORWARD

Africa is a continent ripe with opportunities for investors willing to participate in, as well as profit from, the continent’s development. Africa is pulling itself out of the conflict trap – the vicious circle in which conflict hampers growth, and low growth breeds conflict.

African countries need investment partners to help them confront and exploit the particular mix of challenges and opportunities they face. With youth unemployment already high, Africa needs to create jobs fast. The private sector is now the major source of jobs for Africans. Expanding trade and investment is vital to ensure sustained and equitable job creation.

Can Agriculture Change The Story Of Africa?

CAN AGRICULTURE CHANGE AFRICA'S STORY

(PART 1)

The constant jump in the prices of cocoa in the last few months have been a major worry for more than 700,000 farmers located in the lush green forest of Ghana who depend on this cash crop to feed themselves and provide education and health to their families. But the inadequate capacity of Ghana to add value to a large quantity of its cocoa is even more a bigger issue.

This problem is not only typical of Ghana; other countries in sub-Saharan Africa face the same problem. This has put the future of chocolate production at great risk. Demand for cocoa is predicted to rise by 30% by 2020, but without empowering and investing in small-scale farmers, the industry will struggle to provide sufficient supply. Agribusiness plays a vital role in economic development, contributing a major portion of GDP, employment, and foreign exchange earnings in many developing countries. This is particularly true in Africa, where agriculture accounts for 25% of the continents GDP, and 70% of employment.

Despite its importance, sub-Saharan Africa’s agribusiness sector faces numerous challenges. In many countries, most crops are produced by small – sized farms with limited mechanization and capacity, leading to poor yields.

Fragmented markets, price control and poor infrastructure also add up to poor yields. Many of the agricultural products produced in the region, such as maize, oil palm, rice etc are not competitive globally or have low profit margins. This indicates that sub-Sahara Africa is ill equipped to meet its food requirements which are set to double pretty soon.