Investing in Developer Communities Across Africa: NVIDIA AI Emerging Chapters and Python Ghana
“The rate of technological change is the defining characteristic of our generation. Its impact on work, labor, how people live, our social and political interactions, have all been and are being transformed by the digital revolution.” – Tony Blair, former UK prime minister.
Although Africa accounts for around 17% of the world’s population, it only contributes about 3% of the global GDP. It is a known fact that one of the major drivers directly influencing economic growth is the ability to efficiently use technology.
In Africa, several constraints impede adequate utilization of technology, such as unavailability of accessible Internet, expensive and unaffordable data bundles by local providers, and lack of educational reform to bridge the gap of skills between academia and industry.
Despite poor incentives by governmental bodies to improve technological literacy rates, Africa is still being touted as the next significant growth market by global economic institutions. This could be attributed to its resilience to thrive despite challenging odds.
Recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have fundamentally challenged traditional structures and business models. Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank Vice President to Africa, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is testing the limits of societies and economies across the world, and African countries are likely to be hit particularly hard”. As a result, intelligent, data-driven solutions will be crucial to enable sustainability.
Emerging technologies like AI, IoT, blockchain technology, and big data are fast-tracking the digital transformation in numerous sectors across the continent. A few multinational companies are conscientiously investing in Africa, providing resources and opportunities to emerging markets with the objective to improve the social adaptation of technology in these regions. As individuals in underserved communities make full use of these resources, more talent becomes available, which consequently attracts and increases investments, accelerating growth.
NVIDIA is taking active steps toward positively contributing to the...