The ecosystem of digital commerce and future of jobs
From left to right: Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication & Digital Economy Eliud Owalo, ICT Authority CEO Stanley Kamanguya and ICT PS John Tanui and Communications Authority of Kenya Chairperson Mary Mungai during the official closing ceremony of the Connected Africa Summit held at Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi on April 25, 2024.
The recently concluded Africa Connected ICT Summit, themed "Shaping the Future of a Connected Africa: Unlocking Growth Beyond Connectivity", has set a promising trajectory for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the continent.
This landmark event, hosted by Nairobi from April 21-25, brought together key stakeholders, including government officials, policymakers, international diplomats, industry leaders and tech innovators, to deliberate on strategies aimed at propelling Africa's digital economic landscape forward.
The summit underscored the need to invest in digital infrastructure and harness technology as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation. Some of the standout initiatives showcased ranged from mobile classrooms designed to equip youth in remote areas with essential digital skills, to innovation hubs and skills support programmes.
These exemplify a commitment to translate policy to delivery by bridging the digital divide and empowering marginalised communities. The resolutions from the summit outlined a comprehensive roadmap for advancing Africa's digital agenda.
Participating countries committed to ramping up investments in ICT infrastructure, with Kenya earmarking Sh15.1 billion for the sector. This investment aims to bolster connectivity and expand access to digital services, particularly in underserved areas.
The summit emphasised the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), which is reshaping job markets by enabling remote work, virtual market access and optimising product development through data analytics. Additionally, the summit called for harmonised policies to foster digital innovation while safeguarding user data.
It further highlighted the importance of integrating green technologies for sustainable growth. Fortunately, this comes at a time when the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has published a draft AI code of practice to guide organisations in responsibly developing and using AI systems.
The code, published on April 18, 2024, is designed to enhance transparency, reliability and safety in the deployment of AI technologies which include the burgeoning e-commerce space.
The Code outlines responsibilities for AI stakeholders, including risk management and ensuring transparency and security throughout the AI lifecycle. This is particularly significant for the public service sector, which is adapting to the digital economy's demands.
The Africa Connected ICT Summit came at a time when interesting empirical data is emerging on the future of jobs, with e-commerce presenting immense opportunities for remote work, facilitating access to virtual markets and enhancing human resource mobility.
A paper published recently in the World Economic Forum's "Jobs of Tomorrow" series shows that IT-related jobs may be the top employment slot of the future. This is backed up by International Labour Organisation and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development data.
The integration of large language models (LLMs) in various industries is expected to boost productivity and create jobs such as AI trainers, explainers, sustainers and data curators. In actual terms, we expect more jobs for chip makers, AI developers, content creators and language model experts.
Education and skills development were prioritised, at the Summit, with a special focus on enhancing digital literacy and equipping the workforce with skills necessary for the digital economy. To address this, proactive workforce planning and skills development are essential. The Kenyan government has rolled out digital programmes such as hubs, Jitume centres and Ajira to bridge the skills gap.
These government and private sector-led skilling programmes come with a focus on analytical thinking, creative thinking, AI and Big Data training, as these have been shown to hold the key to the top jobs of the future. There is also a deliberate effort to prioritise women, youth under 25 and persons with disabilities in digital job opportunities, as these run the risk of being left behind if no interventions are put in place.
With tech and IT-related roles making up a significant portion of emerging job markets, and a growing emphasis on sales and customer engagement roles, the future of jobs in digital commerce is set to be dynamic and inclusive.
As Africa charts its course towards a connected future, SMEs and public sector organisations must adapt and leverage these opportunities to thrive in a digitised economy.
The resolutions from the Africa Connected ICT Summit provide a solid foundation for SMEs to succeed in an increasingly digital landscape. The summit also prepared the ground for innovation, inclusivity and sustainable growth. Its resolutions are worth building upon.
