Technology Advances Africa

Africa’s technological revolution is well underway, is transformative for human and economic development and greatly influences the conduct of politics. Where Africans were once relatively uninformed about the alternatives available to them in the spheres of political participation, economic path dependency, and social progress, now the glories of the World Wide Web, Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and straightforward SMS have brought the globe’s myriad opportunities and experiences to their urban and village dwellings. Amazon, Microsoft, and Huawei are all rolling out major data centers (cloud computing hubs) in South Africa and East Africa. The emergence of Africa’s middle class is facilitated by this new technologically enabled knowledge. Even remote villagers are able to feel a part of something all-encompassing. Technology has expanded horizons, enlarged existing vistas, and provided a solid foundation for further innovative embraces of the global village in the decades ahead—when there will be many more young Africans to build upon such existing edifices. Things no longer fall apart.