AfricaLead with Veronica Motloutsi

Fintech refers to a new emerging financial technology sector focusing on delivering better, more innovative products and services than traditional financial institutions, and by reducing costs to the consumer. FinTech help drive improvements in traditional financial services and promote disruption through innovative new products and services, which can offer benefits to consumers and other sectors of the economy. FinTech offer solutions that are efficient and effective at lower scale which benefit small businesses and provide them with increased access to more diverse funding options. Innovative FinTech products can be better tailored to the needs of small businesses. These include marketplace (peer‑to‑peer) lending, merchant and e‑commerce finance, invoice finance, online supply chain finance and online trade finance. Smarthome connect is a digital disruptor working on FinTech platform, SmartMali – www.smarthome-connect.co.za . This will drive digital economy for the f

Driving digital democracy in Africa. Africa has pressing problems that can hinder digital democracy and evolution - that of digital inclusion and education. We are making great strides in connecting people but the education of opportunities of digital is still lacking. I am calling for private companies and government to unite on this issue of education. Furthermore, we are calling for the National Digital Inclusion strategy that will firstly, increase awareness, skills a nd opportunities presented by digital. Secondly and most importantly, we need national strategies to grow the economy through the use and creation of digital products. Thirdly, improve access by revisiting the costs of connectivity. Its important for all players to understand that digital products and services are becoming the default option for accessing public services, information, entertainment and communicating with other people. Our next report is - Is financial inclusion linked to digital inclus

Digital skills for Africa The evolution of digital realm has been so rapid that it has become all consuming in some areas. The reality is that most people are struggling to keep up moreover lack digital skills to take their business to another level.  I found this tool from Google which aim to equip Africans with with skills to help them build an  online  presence, create content, understand web design, user experience, social media and app development.   Training is provided free of charge and every member who attends will receive a digital skills certificate.   Follow this link to receive training :  https://learndigital.withgoogle.com

Drones are introduced as innovative way to help with the continent’s development.   They are one of the next big things of Africa’s technology revolution.   According to Tom of ITWeb drones could provide the technology that allows Africa to leapfrog other types of infrastructure – for example more extensive road or rail networks – when it comes to deliveries of commercial or humanitarian goods.    We have also started to see drones being used to help solve some of our biggest issues such as poaching and delivering aid to remote areas.   Key issues to consider: Strict regulations and requirements Most African countries have strict rules regarding the use of drones – these regulatory regimes make it impossible to advance with the development.   For example In Kenya, a private wildlife conservation has been planning to use drones for the last three years, but regulatory barriers have made the project practically impossible.   South Africa drone regulations come into effect

Clouds of Data present an opportunity for African Researchers and scientists   As the cost of data storage goes down more data will be created.   The adoption of cloud computing will drive this phenomenon.   This will allow our researchers to use rich data available at a lower cost to solve most of Africa challenges while creating more opportunities.   Data intensive research is changing the way African researchers can work and the impact they can have.   As a side issue, it is also opening up new career path in the field of data science.    While the potential of big data in Africa undoubtedly opens up opportunities, the need for accurate information gathering is still a key link in the chain that ultimately can produce big data sets.   When the Ebola epidemic spread through West Africa.   A Kenyan start-up created a reporting sms-based system called Echo mobile that allowed communities in Sierra Leone to alert the government on new infections.   Echo mobile woul

What should be an advice to African students studying abroad?  Xi outlined his vision of the Chinese Dream in a 2013 speech to the Western Returned Scholars Association, a group for Chinese students who travel abroad to attend universities. In this speech, Xi urged Chinese scholars to adhere to four principles: 1. Patriotism – Love of country is a basic value for all Chinese citizens. Students should maintain deep ties to their homeland and remember that their work uplifts an entire nation. 2. Hard work – “In the world today, knowledge and information are quickly updated, and if one slackens even a little in study, one is likely to fall behind.” 3. “Innovation and creation” – Chinese scholars who study abroad must bring home their vision and knowledge to create new advances in science and commerce. Only through innovation will China raise the quality of its economic development. 4. Cultural openness – Students who study overseas act as em

Africa must embrace digital revolution Part 1 In order for African countries to leapfrog and lead, our policies should be forward-looking, aimed to enable countries and citizens to reap the benefits of new technologies, improving lives and livelihoods of many and furthering social inclusion.  Digital technologies bring the benefits traditionally available only to the “few” to the “many,” in a digital world; an individual or small business can attract an audience or a market and compete with the largest players. Figure 1 : GSMA 2017 According to GSMA (2017) If the positive trends of recent years continue (or accelerate), the effects could be beneficial for all. The developed and developing world will see increased economic productivity and growth and the quality of life will improve owing to better accessibility to high quality education, better access to information and rising quality of life-bettering services. While digitalisation will do away with some “legacy” jobs

Changing our narrative, putting digital at the Core   In 2009 through my MBA global module at Gordon Institute of Business Science, South Africa, I visited China, Asia’s powerhouse.  I was so naive, and wanted to understand what made this country as power house.  As we continued with engagement with academic, business and government institutions, I leant about their National 100 year plan on Africa.  The longest plan that I know is 10 year long, but 100 years!.  Our countries national development plans do not even demonstrate that forward thinking.  China plan focused more on infrastructure development, and commodities.   I was not comfortable; this had really left a dark mark in my heart.  As I visit many african countries, I see the realization of that plan, unfortunately the story is not good. In 2012, I participate in a fellowship programme offered by the US Department of state, aimed to build relationship and expose future leaders on ways of working with the US.  The big

Building University of Africa - Leading with Digital In most African countries education is a big deal right?   Billions of dollars invested in education on annually clearly shows that there is interest.  Education is also a priority in most countries’ national strategic documents,   however we are still faced with challenges in the educational sector. The #feesMustFall movement in South Africa stirred up debates on inclusive education.  Across the continent educational quality remains a serious challenge.  Shortage of basic facilities and learning materials are order of the day.  Will digital innovation in the educational sector address some of these challenges? Not some but all, yes all. Do we need an institution that will embrace inclusive education.  Inclusive in this case is defined as accommodating everyone in-spite of their cultural, financial, geographical background. South Africa, like most African countries, the policy makers have left a huge gap for innovation

Africa is ready for the next wave of digital disruption By Veronica Motloutsi – in her personal capacity While in Kinshasa, a city determined to make a full recovery and heal the scars of years of conflict and civil war, I thought of one thing which is what will make this city leapfrog and readies itself to join other African countries as a fascinating destination.  What kind of innovation while propel this city to move forward.  This is not the challenge only for Kinshasa but for many African cities. What not to like about a city controlled by enormous robots, complete with arms, legs and smiling faces. Africa’s socio-economic challenges forces will soon forces the country to be the early adopter of technology.  In the era of digital disruption, Africa, has responded very well in terms of the adoption of new innovation breakthrough.  Our continent is embracing technological, most especially the digital.  This disruption will work in our favour, and sets us

Veronica Mmakoma Motloutsi: The fourth Industrial Revolution : Introduction According to the World Economic Forum,  We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally al...

Introduction According to the World Economic Forum,  We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is clear: the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive, involving all stakeholders of the global polity, from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society. The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines betwee

Good CXX leads to revenue because customers don’t churn, buy more or get other customers to buy. But most companies cannot measure those behaviors at the individual customer level. And even if they could, they’d still not know the quality of each customer’s customer experience. And data isn’t available in a format that allows firms to correlate both (Jeanne Bliss) Read an interesting blog from Jeanne Bliss