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Tech 'key to prosperity'

Tyson Ngubeni
By Tyson Ngubeni
Johannesburg, 30 Oct 2014
Africa's youth would rather spend money on further education than flashy items.
Africa's youth would rather spend money on further education than flashy items.

Barclays Africa Group - which operates in 14 countries across the continent - says young people want to use technology as a key driver for their prosperity.

The group released a report this week in which a third of respondents said buying a computer and financial freedom were important to their life prospects.

Dubbed "Africa Prospers: Future Youth Drivers of the African Economy", the report highlights how young Africans define prosperity. The company's online survey drew 7 000 respondents from SA, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, Mozambique, Seychelles, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Bobby Malabie, group executive of marketing, communications, citizenship and public affairs at Barclays Africa, noted the report "shows that people work hard for their money and want their money to work hard for them".

"What is particularly encouraging is that when questioned further, the youth of Africa would rather invest their money to fund further education than spend it on flashy consumer goods," he added.

Positive outlook

Reflecting on the findings, professor Monde Makiwane from the Human Sciences Research Council said: "A decrease in mortality rates coupled with the youth's connectivity to a global community which is increasingly aided by technology, means we have an emerging youth bulge of Africans that are more optimistic than ever before.

"Africa's youth are confident they will be around to live their future. Given this optimism, they prefer to spend their money on computers and books to aid their prosperity, rather than making flashy statements in their local communities by parading the latest must-have item."

Meanwhile, the International Data Corporation recently noted an increase in PC shipments across the Middle East and Africa region, which recorded growth of 2.2% to reach 4.5 million units in the second quarter of 2014.

According to the research firm, both the desktop and portable product categories grew, with the former growing 2.9% year on year to reach 1.8 million units and the latter expanding 1.7% over the same period to total 2.7 million units.

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