The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has impelled a transformative journey that is redefining the very nature of work across industries.

Driven mainly by the speed of adopting new and emerging technologies, however, we all agree that people remain at the core of these transformations. 4IR is driving the need for new skills and developing those new skills is one of the greatest challenges presented to CEO’s.

According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2023 Future of Jobs Report, 44 percent of worker skills will be disrupted over the next five years — with analytical skills, creative thinking, and technological literacy among those that will be in the greatest demand. The WEF also predicts that six in ten employees will require further skills training, but many will lack access to the resources they need.

A recent analysis in ScienceDirect pointed out that 4IR skills and research into their evolution is dominating in developed countries with Latin America, Africa and Asia still far behind.

It highlighted that, in South Africa, digitalisation remains ‘at a nascent stage’ which means significant work still has to be done when it comes to addressing skills development around 4IR in the country.

It is a sentiment echoed by Brookings. The research firm highlights that ‘Africa’s education and industrial policies need to strike a balance’ to ensure that all new ‘labour force entrants have the basic skills and infrastructure required to make a living’.

This is the key. Without adequate skills development that centres around the evolving technology landscape, people will get left behind.

Many will be left even further behind than they already are today, and this is an untenable reality. Why? Because if the continent takes its people on the 4IR journey, then the economic and social benefits will follow.

If people have the skills they need to step into roles and careers that live within the realm of technology, it will significantly reduce the burden of poverty on the continent and its countries.

This is the reality that spurred the Study on unlocking the potential for the fourth industrial revolution in Africa in collaboration across the African Development Bank, Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Fund, Technopolis Group and other notable institutions with a vested interest in driving the 4IR conversation in Africa.

The study underscored the importance of digital skills in allowing for people to connect with the jobs of today with digital literacy a key factor in unlocking economic opportunities.

It means that there has to be a shift in how companies, governments and education institutions approach skills development and education – 4IR cuts across sectors and silos, so education and skills development must do the same.

At a time when infrastructures are crumbling and the energy situation is dire across the continent, it feels that perhaps the skills conversation sits at the back of the list of priorities.

However, looking forward at what could be if there is a commitment to change and to resolving legacy education challenges shows a continent that can revisit its role on the global stage.

A continent that can pull on the chords of connectivity and ingenuity to revisit infrastructure and reimagine energy.

As a recent SARChI Industrial Development Paper in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg pointed out, ‘Deficiencies in current infrastructure systems also provide a key opportunity for developing 4IR systems.’

Looking ahead, the Africa that takes hold of the potential of 4IR is one that has leapt over the growing pains experienced by the rest of the world and harnessed next-generation technologies from around the world to resolve problems and engage in a digital future.

Thanks to the complexities inherent across the continent, people and companies will have created solutions that have global relevance and are a testament to the resilience of Africa.

While this future that has everyone connected and digitally empowered remains in the distance, it is achievable with collaboration across public and private sectors and an ongoing commitment to driving skills development.

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) remains a priority for Africa. The continent may not yet have the infrastructure, connectivity and technology that defines 4IR innovation and growth in other countries around the globe, but there is significant investment into Africa and its potential.

From financial institutions to organisations to the public sector, 4IR remains a priority for those that have the foresight to see how a commitment to Africa will pay dividends in the future. 

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa was developed for the sole purpose of driving 4IR within the country, and to allow for the growth and development of technologies and digital innovations that will empower organisations.

The goal of the CSIR is to enhance the foundations of technology so that 4IR can evolve smoothly and sustainably.

The CSIR also has a presence in Kenya and Ghana with similar objectives in mind – bolster each country’s confidence around 4IR and continue to build the connective tissue required to maintain momentum. 

The World Economic Forum (WEF) underscores the importance of such organisations and the need for ‘collective action in institutionalising 4IR technologies’ at a time when technology needs to follow the pathway of social good, not just innovation.

It is a sentiment echoed in a recent discussion around the start of human clinical trials for artificial intelligence (AI) brain implants – the Neuralink chip is set to enter the human brain and the most significant question raised is how this needs to be balanced with societal impact and technology for good.

This is the stance that dominates how the WEF believes 4IR should be managed across Africa as it will allow for richer collaboration and socioeconomic growth.  

However, the WEF emphasises the need for improved governance and regulation by the government to ensure that the risks that come with 4IR – security, and inequality – are managed effectively.

A sentiment shared by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) who believe that while there is potential within 4IR there is an equal need for concern. Technologies have to be harnessed and focused in the right ways to ensure that they do what they promise – revolutionise the world and transform lives – not eat into resources and create greater divides between the haves and the have-nots.  

The research firm is also paying attention to how 4IR can drive the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In collaboration with the WEF, PWC believes that 4IR can be steered in the right direction to help overcome systemic challenges across Africa and resolve many of the complexities that inhibit development and growth.

This, says the firm, needs connectivity. It is connectivity that forms the backbone of 4IR, citizen service delivery, and the development of richer services and capabilities across agriculture, medicine, and education.

As the report emphasises – more than 80% of technology applications recognised as key to achieving the SDGs require internet access.  

Which is precisely what the UNDP believes to be key in driving the 4IR bus across the long stretches of Africa. In its recent playbook, the organisation emphasises the need for inclusive transformation, and the use of technology to remove the stain of the growing digital divide.

The playbook is designed to provide companies and governments with insights that allow for them to build a 4IR strategy that’s reliant on relevant technology and resilient to change and disruption. 

What all this means for the organisations that are growing their digital foundations in the region is that there is a cohesive drive towards the development of 4IR in Africa.

A drive that’s paying attention to more than just ROI and the bottom line. Rather, it is a shared vision across organisations and institutions to fully realise the potential of 4IR on a continent that could shine on the global stage with the right investment and support. To ensure this becomes a reality, companies need to collaborate and invest in technologies that will empower their evolution into 4IR.  

In 2015, the World Economic Foundation identified six megatrends that were set to change the face of business and society and every single one was aligned with the concept of digital transformation.

From how the internet would become a social and physical extension of people’s lives and experiences through to compute and storage everywhere to the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and the digitisation of matter, these trends are now an inherent part of society today.

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Some of these trends have already reached significant milestones, others are expected to achieve their tipping points – a critical point that results in unstoppable change – over the next few years.

One such milestone is the mega-trend of people and the internet, where their interaction with the web becomes a ‘mental, social, and physical extension of themselves’, is expected to reach 80% of people with a digital presence on the internet by 2023 with the tipping point in 2025.

Today, 59% of the world’s population uses social media and enhance their digital presence through online platforms and connections, and this is only set to become more immersive as trends like the metaverse continue to gain traction.

Driven by the pandemic and the need for people to find innovative ways of working and connecting online, digital has become as much a part of daily life as cars and shopping.

It has reshaped how people communicate and collaborate and it has supercharged productivity and performance. In the 1980s, communication was in person or by post.

Today it’s faster than a thought. Organisations can’t afford to be left behind which makes 2023 an opportunity to focus on platforms and technologies that empower people from anywhere and that ensure their online presence is always on.

This is where solutions that provide access, data networks, wireless and unified collaboration capabilities are key as they enable industry and fulfil online requirements through omnichannel applications.

Another megatrend, one that’s now so commonplace in boardroom discussions that it’s hard to imagine a business without it, is that of compute, communications and storage everywhere.

The tipping point for this technology is anticipated to be in 2025 with, as cited by Statista, just over five billion people on the internet as of April 2022.

This highly connected population has seen the radical and accelerated transformation of online experiences which has, in turn, driven the need for scalable and elastic computing power that can be accessible from anywhere, and that can deliver on demand.

Moving forward, applications and services will only get hungrier for data and capability. Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 technologies and innovations will have to be rendered from highly reliable and flexible platforms and quantum compute is very likely to bring physics into computer science to create devices and environments that are minute – that optimise space and capacity.

Moving forward, companies need to collaborate with service providers that offer a wide spectrum of cloud and computing solutions that can directly address their challenges and help them overcome obstacles impacting on their scale and productivity.

This is particularly true of the challenge of data sovereignty that has inhibited many companies, especially in Africa.

IoT has, of course, been a part of the IT landscape for a long time but has only recently started to deliver on the promises it made when it first entered the business landscape.

Today, the number of IoT connected devices worldwide is expected to reach 29 billion by 2030, says Statista, and is at 13 billion as of 2022 and, according to the IoT Industry Council of South Africa, IoT is expected to reach an installed base of 21.5 billion active and connected devices by 2025 in this country.

Add to this the connected realm of the metaverse and the megatrends of compute and people, and you can see how IoT is about to become an integral part of the metaverse and thriving business operations.

To fully realise the potential of this technology, companies should ally themselves with partners that have a proven IoT track record and that can empower them with technologies that are appropriate for their industry and niche.

This could be Industrial IoT (IIoT) solutions that drive visibility into the oil and gas pipeline through to IoT within retail and automotive logistics that translate customer experiences and vehicle monitoring through intelligent IoT applications.

BCX has this proven track record across all key mega trend touchpoints and has proven value in its applications and solutions designed to help organisations reshape their investments into AI, automation, machine learning and compute.

With our support, you can fully realise the potential of digital transformation as it stands today – a more mature and far more powerful entity that can fundamentally refine your growth and operations.