Does 2020 mark the year Africa steps into its stride and takes charge of its destiny in the 21st century?
While
we’re still dealing with the disruptive events of this year, I would
argue that Africa’s moment has finally come. How we act over the coming
months will echo across a generation. Take the correct
steps now, and we could unlock the continent’s vast potential. Miss the
opportunity, and we could see ongoing instability and lack of prospects
for millions.
It won’t be easy. Our challenges are immense, and have only been intensified by this year’s events.
The
pandemic has accelerated some of the social, economic and political
changes that emerged from the 2008 global financial crisis. According
to Deloitte,
there remains a growing frustration with organisations that focus only
on generating profits without addressing social problems, aiding
political stability and mitigating the
unintended consequences of the technologies they develop.
This
has created a lack of trust between the public and the institutions
that are meant to serve them. The pandemic has worsened the situation by
further polarising people along political and social
lines. It is not a stretch to say public trust is at historic lows.
Transforming leadership and business
And yet, we need to collaborate and work together to repair the damage wrought by the events of 2020.
This
may require a new form of leadership, one that acknowledges the
interconnectedness of purpose and profit, and turn purpose into a core
thread of the organisational fabric. It requires greater
collaboration between the private sector, government, social enterprises
and NGOs.
And it requires a total transformation in how we build, run and manage our businesses.
How can organisations reimagine themselves to fit into this wildly different world?
Companies
that prioritised digital transformation before this year’s lockdowns
were implemented had a chance at navigating the stormy seas of 2020.
Those that hadn’t have been left adrift as constant
change and widespread disruption end the prospect of business-as-usual.
Digital transformation a ‘survival tool’
Today, digital transformation simply means one thing: survival.
Organisations
need access to new tools and technologies to deal with new challenges
and opportunities emerging from a constantly-changing business
environment.
Looking
ahead, organisations will need to approach digital transformation in
new ways. All leaders and executives should be well-versed in the
language of technology and understand its impact on
the organisation. There’s no such thing as a business strategy or an IT
strategy: they are one and the same.
It’s
not up to IT to tell the organisation where to prioritise its digital
transformation next. These decisions will shape the future of the
organisation, and should be approached from a business
strategy perspective.
What
new markets do we want to unlock? What new customers do we want to
find? What new services do we want to introduce to the market? And,
importantly, what role does technology play in enabling
all of this?
Growing skills crisis
We
need to radically transform our approach to skills development and
employment. Youth unemployment could quickly become a crisis to rival
that of the pandemic. Africa introduces ten to twelve million
youth into the labour force per year, but only
produces three million new formal job opportunities.
According to the International Labour Organisation, 95%
of youth employment on the continent is informal. In South Africa, youth unemployment is at the worst levels of anywhere in the world. Fifty-eight
percent of youth are not in jobs, education or training. This is an unfolding tragedy beyond compare.
New
partnerships need to be established to fast-track digital skills
development among our youth, or we risk widespread social instability.
Africa has the largest and fastest-growing youth population
in the world. We are the envy of developed nations where population
growth has plateaued, creating skills shortages in many countries.
Our
current approaches are not working. The private sector needs to step up
by expanding skills development and job creation opportunities to allow
more of our youth to access formal employment.
We need to work closely with our public sector partners and each other
to ensure we mobilise the continent’s vast and largely untapped human
capital resources.
Unlocking social enterprise potential
We
need to transform how the private sector procures goods and services.
Corporate procurement networks command trillions of dollars in buying
power – just the commerce value on SAP’s global Ariba
network alone totals $3.46-trillion a year.
Allocating
even one percent of that procurement spend to social enterprises could
make a tremendous impact on unemployment, especially among the
continent’s youth.
In
line with that, we need to enhance our support of social enterprises,
and we need to make this a core and sustainable part of our business
strategy. In the UK, social enterprises account for £60-billion
of the economy, contributing 3% of its GDP and 5% of its employment. In
France, this jumps to 8% GDP and more than 10% of employment.
Unlocking
even a fraction of that potential could have huge positive impact for
millions in Africa. There’s no shortage of social enterprises to support
– it’s up to us, the private sector, to identify
and support suitable social enterprises and fulfil our duty of purpose
over profit.
We
face a tremendous challenge over the coming months and years as we
repair the damage wrought by the 2020 pandemic. But our challenges are
not insurmountable. By transforming how we conduct business,
by prioritising skills development, and by unlocking the vast potential
of purpose-driven businesses and social enterprises, 2020 could become a
catalyst for Africa’s success and growth.
