{"id":1328,"date":"2022-10-18T13:09:46","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T13:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icetech.io\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2023-05-15T18:47:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T18:47:23","slug":"innovation-solves-unique-african-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icetech.io\/2022\/10\/innovation-solves-unique-african-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation solves unique African challenges. The e-Citizen is the next wave.","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I often sit back and marvel at the rate of adoption of new technologies in Africa which, in many cases, exceeds that of developing world. Technology is embraced when it solves practical problems. The most notable example in Africa has been the exponential penetration of mobile telephony, and more recently smart phones. The lack of physical infrastructure connecting people who were starved of this basic service drove this unprecedented phenomenon. Humans are social beings that crave connection and simplicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the public services fail, like they did with fixed line telephony, the private sector steps in to fill the void. Technology has been an exceptional enabler of this drive. If one, simply considers the following statistics, which would have been scarcely believable many years ago, it tells the story (Mail & Guardian, April 2022):<\/p>\n\n\n\n