Building a prosperous hardware product development and digital manufacturing ecosystem in Africa.

Most positively, the manufacturing industry is among the key industries that can provide more jobs in our countries; in Africa.

We believe that Manufacturing can be one of the biggest contributors to creating large numbers of high-quality jobs in ways that would; support long-term economic transformation.

As a continent, Africa is now the fastest-growing continent in the world in GDP; however, these economic gains have yet to create a notable number of jobs. African leaders have prioritized the establishment of sustainable jobs across all sectors, but; at Generative CAD Services, we believe that Manufacturing can be one of the biggest contributors to creating large numbers of high-quality jobs in ways that would; support long-term economic transformation. Furthermore, Creating the enabling conditions for manufacturing to flourish requires coordinated efforts across all policy spheres and bodies. This is because; manufacturing spans public policy areas such as trade, investment, skills development and innovation.

Building a hardware product development and digital manufacturing ecosystem is one of the major steps in the right direction. The majority of the products in Africa (from soft drinks to cars and pretty much everything else you can imagine) are manufactured in China. But in the last few years, we have started seeing an increasing number of companies looking to build hardware products in Africa.

For us, the knowledge industry is the missing link. Without this component, we can't build a prosperous hardware product development and digital manufacturing ecosystem.

By investing in the manufacturing/hardware industry we can ensure steady growth of our local economies, create jobs for our fellow citizens, improve the local economic condition and thereby improve the overall health and well being of our communities.

A critical component for building a hardware product development and digital manufacturing ecosystem is knowledge. For us, the knowledge industry is the missing link. Without this component, we can't build a prosperous hardware product development and digital manufacturing ecosystem.

At the moment, design engineers in Africa that will help power these products ideas from concepts to being available for users to use are scarce.

One major stage in the product development process is product design. Many CAD modellers learning curve focuses so much on CAD software tools than what makes a good product design. A good design puts into consideration, Design Intent, Manufacturability, Sustainability, Usability, Scalability, etc. An excellent product design that addresses all these requirements and factors stands to be received well in the marketplace.

Design engineers across all disciplines are needed to help Africa innovate and develop solutions that will power the lives of millions. At the moment, design engineers in Africa that will help power these products' ideas from concepts to being available for users to use are scarce.

Most undergraduate engineering degree education in Africa allows the students to understand the theoretical knowledge around design and optimization but that is not enough. The university knowledge lacks the multidisciplinary approach and does not allow solving real-life engineering problems.

Most design software training focuses on software usage but only a few provide in-depth knowledge on design philosophy, design workflows, usability, critical design considerations as regards Manufacturability, and designing for a great customer experience that helps in producing great products quickly and effectively.

These can be taught in structured training and in the last five years, I have shown it is feasible. I am so honoured that the Generative CAD Services team believed in this vision and has exponentially scaled this vision.

We breathe product development, whether, in our training, product development managed services or in our consulting services. Partner with us today and together we will build a prosperous hardware product development and digital manufacturing ecosystem in Africa. Just like the African Union motto, let's build "A United and Strong Africa".