Digital Skills Gap in Africa: How Wide and How Can We Bridge It?

In Africa today, right now, there is a young man somewhere using drone technology to capture scenic images of greenery and lush valleys, as well as creative human interactions, meanwhile a few kilometers away from him there is another young man who has never seen a computer.

This scenario is not farfetched, instead it is the stark reality of the digital divide present on the African continent. Yes, this may appear to be a paradoxical punchline to lure a reader in, yet, sadly, it is as true as the fact that the sun rises from the east every morning. In many parts of Africa, young people have begun to create astonishing, innovative local solutions to prevalent challenges that riddle this part of the world; from providing faster access to medical supplies to building e-learning platforms, from creating digital solutions that provide financial inclusion to using technology to advance governance accountability, etc. Yet, contrasting that and seemingly running on parallel lines, there are young people who know next to nothing about digital technology.

Digital Skills, simply put, are the range of abilities to use digital devices, digital technologies and networks to solve problems. Whereas, Digital Skills Gap is basically the difference or mismatch between the digital skills employers need and those employees or job seekers possess and are able to provide on demand.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are notably not a few reasons behind the digital divide. These inequalities largely stem from differential socio-economic status as many are unable to afford gadgets and devices (preferably a laptop and a smartphone), as well as poor access to the internet and vital software in many parts of the continent.

More so, gender inequalities are a huge contributing factor. According to a UNESCO research of 2017, the proportion of women using the internet is 12% lower than the proportion of men using the internet. Again, digital access is not evenly distributed and in adequate supply especially in rural communities compared to urban areas. And, perhaps even more disturbing, education, or the lack thereof, contributes to the digital divide as basic literacy is a necessary component for digital literacy, but unfortunately zero illiteracy is still far from being a reality in the continent.

There will need to be policy interventions to tip the scales towards balance and equal access, because as digital technologies keep advancing with no indications of slowing down anytime soon, the chasm is set to widen even more if no corrective measures are adopted and applied starting from now. By 2030, more than 230 million jobs will require digital skills in Africa, according to the International Finance Corporation.

However, there are simpler solutions that can be employed to bridge the gap.

As mentioned earlier, as an example, organizations run by the younger generation alongside some laudable government and/or international organizations’ not-for-profit initiatives have set up programs and interventions with the aim of bridging the gap. The programs with the most widespread impact rate will be those taking a collaborative approach. One of such is the AfDB-sponsored Coding for Employment program being implemented in Nigeria by McAnderson Institute of Technology.

This program aims at equipping young Africans with relevant 21st Century digital skills through a vast library of learning resources and a network of expert instructors so they are not only employable and ready for the future of work, but also have the knowledge necessary to create their own solutions, as well as exposing them to a world of limitless opportunities and ideas. Thankfully, there are several other such initiatives across the African continent providing tailored solutions to the digital skills gap in the form of tech skills trainings, bootcamps and accelerator programs, investor pitch events and more. But there is need for much more concerted efforts in this regard to reach the teeming youth of the continent and in time to make the continent competitive in the global market and in sync with the trends.

To further bridge this gap, schools at all levels will need to have digital literacy subjects introduced and fully ingrained in their curricula. This implies that educators, education administrators and teachers at all levels will need to build a familiarity with e-learning, become digital literates and be able to pass the knowledge to their students, given the right environment and learning content. Most profoundly in education, more free primary education measures should be introduced, a right to education is a fundamental right of a child.

This retraining should extend beyond the education sector to the everyday workplace. As discovered by the Gartner CIO Surveys, lack of skills has become either the number one or number two obstacle to achieving organizational objectives. Organizations will need to train their workforce to be proficient in relevant digital skills so that they can more effectively leverage on these skills to draw more business successes.

In addition, more out-of-school interventions for graduates and out-of-schoolers will need to be designed and deployed across different parts of the continent. These are initiatives where participants will be empowered with sought-after skills and resources necessary to thrive in today’s world. And of course, they should be carried out in both city centres and rural communities to afford equal opportunities for all.

Moreover, ease of access to digital tools, devices, gadgets and technologies will go a long way to narrowing the divide. Most relatable among these is the high cost of internet connection which has in no small way made digital access more herculean than it should be — besides several other limitations most Africans have to endure.

The journey to bridging the digital divide is a long one, but not entirely arduous. There will be need for collaborative efforts to craft more innovative solutions that blend with our environment. Nonetheless, a lot of progress is already being recorded in our acknowledgement of the existence of a gap and willingness to bridge it through diverse creative initiatives and collaborative actions; yet the surface is still to be scratched. Let’s get much more to work, Africa.