Digital technology adoption has the potential, if harnessed effectively, to transform the nature of work for all of Africa, the World Bank says in its ‘Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All’ report.

The report, published late last month, indicated that, at global level, the changing nature of work would be determined by the tension between job losses in ‘old’ manufacturing sectors that were susceptible to automation, and job gains driven by product innovation in ‘new’ sectors.

Different Trajectory However, in Africa, the future of work is expected to follow a different trajectory.

The report indicated that the region had the opportunity to forge a different path to the rest of the world, given where it was now.

The report highlighted sub-Saharan Africa as being unlike other regions in several ways, including its lower levels of technology adoption. It has a much smaller manufacturing base; therefore, automation is not expected to displace many workers in the coming years.

The report said that most African economies still had low levels of demand for products that were commonplace elsewhere, such as televisions and refrigerators, and, therefore, the cost and price reduction arising from technology adoption were most likely to help firms grow, create more jobs and produce more affordable products.

Also, most African workers had limited education and tended to do informal work, the reported indicated. Technologies designed to meet their productive needs had the potential to help workers learn and earn more.

“In most African economies, there is no ‘old’ or ‘new’ sector – there is, however, enormous scope for innovation and growth across all sectors.”

The report called for a focus on digital technology adoption, as digital technologies had the potential to help build skills for all workers – including those with lower levels of education and limited opportunities – rather than merely a privileged few and to boost productivity and create better jobs in all enterprises, including the informal sector.

Citing a recent study, the report noted that the arrival of faster Internet connections on the continent increased jobs not only for workers that had attended university but also for those whose highest level of education was primary school.

Realising the promise of digital technology depends on the implementation of the right supportive policies – what the report refers to as “analog complements”. These include competition, capital and capacity.

The report emphasised that governments had to ensure there was enough market competition to spur and enable rival businesses to adopt new technologies and expand output at affordable prices, thereby generating demand for jobs of most skill types.

Businesses also required more than money to expand in existing markets, as well as to support new ones. They required better entrepreneurial and worker human capital and better physical infrastructure capital – reliable electricity and transport, as well as digital infrastructure.

Further, governments required stronger capacity to increase public investment in social protection, to support greater risk-taking by entrepreneurs and workers as well as workers in their transition between jobs.

The report highlighted the scope of this challenge, with expanding social protection in Africa more daunting than elsewhere, owing to low initial coverage, huge needs and limited fiscal resources.

To begin the path towards digital transformation, African countries had to prioritise ‘three Es’, the report posited.

Firstly, they had to enable entrepreneurship, to allow African entrepreneurs to build apps that enabled Africa’s workers to build their skills as they worked.

Secondly, they had to enhance the productivity of the informal sector by creating a business environment that helped boost the productivity of informal businesses and workers – instead of aiming to formalise them.

Thirdly, they had to extend social protection coverage through improved revenue collection, the rebalancing of government spending and more effectively coordinating development assistance.

“The future of work in Africa could be bright. It is up to government policymakers and businesses to make bold choices and investments today that will pave the way for the next generation of African workers, inventors and entrepreneurs to innovate and thrive,” the report said.