Africa's distinctive problems have resulted in a unique brand of innovation, making it the most innovative and exciting place in the world right now.
This is according to Toby Shapshak, editor-in-chief and publisher of gadget publication Stuff SA, speaking today at the ITWeb Industry Tech Update 2017 in Johannesburg.
"While most people think Africa is a terrible place to live, I disagree: our innovative spirit has produced ground-breaking inventions."
Shapshak discussed Africa's innovative prowess, and how tech advancements have improved lives, while driving economic growth on the continent.
"About 16 years ago, The Economist put up a terrible front page story where they gave reasons as to why Africa was a hopeless continent, and perhaps there was some truth to it at the time.
"In today's age, Africa is in a completely different paradigm - six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa. This illustration shows you the extent, the size and the potential of the continent and the economies that fit into it," he pointed out.
Africa is rising amazingly, he continued, with the continent's 1.1 billion population expected to quadruple by 2100, when 80% of the world will be living either in Africa or Asia.
"By the end of the century, four out of five people will either be living in Africa or Asia. We are at the same point that China was in when its booming years began. We are significantly going to be able to leapfrog, if we can, from where we are, to being the next global power."
Shapshak explained the secret ingredient behind this major shift is the middle class, who are the economic entry of any country and any economy.
"The middle class are the growth engine of any economy. Essentially the people are the ones who buy new computers, new security software and take up mortgages."
He highlighted some of the top digital trends in Africa: mobility, Mark Shuttleworth's Ubuntu operating system, the multi radio telescope project, the Square Kilometre Array and drone delivery services.
Out of necessity, many of the continent's great innovations usually involve the mobile phone, where everything has evolved from us using a desktop computer to making use of mobile services. Mobility, he added, is the new gold industry.
"Our innovative spirit has produced ground-breaking inventions, such as the mobile payment system M-Pesa through which $148 million a day or 40% of Kenya's GDP is transacted," he explained.
He referenced Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Canonical, who developed the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system, the open source software that has a global footprint.
"The Ubuntu operating system was developed in a Cape Town garage and today about 40% of ATMs in the US are using this system. It also underpins Amazon's EC2 system, which is the biggest cloud network in the world."
Africa, he continued, is also leapfrogging the rest of the world in drone delivery services.
"Drone delivery in the African market has grown significantly, especially in Rwanda, where drones which use cellphone networks collect blood from the blood banks and deliver them to healthcare facilities. If you compare the rudimentary of drone deliveries in the developed world to what is happening here you will find that Africa is far ahead."
Yes, there are real problems in Africa, but we live in the most innovative place in the world, and because we have real problems, we have to solve them ourselves and when we solve them, we also solve them for the rest of the world, he noted.
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