Amid coronavirus, technology has managed to bridge the business world gap. COVID-19 has made it clear to African countries that there is need for broadband, faster and cheaper technology expansion to the last mile of all populations.
Ms Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), during a high-level policy dialogue mentioned that in dealing with the health and economic challenges of COVID-19, they are leveraging technology in assisting African countries in the fight against pandemic.
The COVID-19 struggle has brought countries together working hand in glove to curb the virus. Several leaders of the Asian Tech giant have been brought together with some African ministers of technology and telecommunication, private sector actors across the continent.
Some African ministers have agreed that technology is a common denominator in mitigating the impact of the pandemic, restoring livelihoods and tackling similar challenges in the future.
“It is clear that the novel coronavirus has led to physical confinement in many parts of the world but enterprises which leverage the power of digital and innovative technologies continue doing business, in fact – even more business as Ant Financial has demonstrated in offering financial solutions to 10 million additional customers in the midst of the crisis,” said Ms Vera Songwe
The digital technology has thus far been used to help businesses boost online trade, build intelligent networks to support agriculture and food chain delivery, practice online medical consultations, carry out online job search and provide contactless loans to small and medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs). This is as testified by Ant Financials representatives.
COVID-19 seems to be a clarion for Africa to prioritize digital connectivity and governance. It is however believed that leveraging digital transformation during this crisis will save lives and jobs especially in tourism and related services. Rapid action was taken to quickly set up a collaborative platform for immediately helping businesses to sell African products on and beyond the continent in this time of crisis.
