Technologies that Should be the New Normal Post COVID

The physical confinement that has come with the COVID-19 pandemic has forced individuals and organizations to turn to technology to keep their lives and businesses going. Countries with advanced IT infrastructure have made a somewhat easy change to the new normal of working online.

For Africa, the pandemic has caught many markets unaware or in the middle of their digital transformation. For some, this is a positive push toward adopting progressive innovations. In Kenya, courts have been holding hearings through technology, a move that should surely outlive the coronavirus times.?

Other digital transformations have enlarged the digital divide. E-learning is currently a preserve of the privileged, while low-income families have no funds to pay for broadband. Here is where most African countries are spreading thin.?

How can African nations shift their thinking from technology being used for “fun” to having it as an enabler in advancing economies? There are various ways that various sectors can adopt technology post the pandemic.?

Re-thinking 3D Printing in Manufacturing

The hype around 3D printing seems to have been overtaken by artificial intelligence and blockchain chatter. However, this piece of technology should not be cascaded downwards in favor of other new “buzzwords.”

Africa is one continent that could benefit from 3D printing. Amid the outbreak, some innovative minds are looking to print some of the needed medical supplies, such as respirators.

“In more severe cases, infected patients may require specialist ventilators to take over the role of the lungs. These ventilators are in short supply, masks, and other preventative and safety gear. This shortage of essential equipment has united design engineers and makers in the 3D printing community who have already responded to the global crisis by volunteering their respective skills to ease the pressure on manufacturers, healthcare providers, and governments,” Brian Andrew, Managing Director for RS Components in Sub Sahara Africa?said .

Beyond the pandemic, 3D printing may offer great solutions to the manufacturing needs in the continent, offering an alternative to the importation of simple gadgets. As technology improves in 3D printing, more solutions will be at hand to push manufacturing forward and lead to the creation of jobs.?

Re-thinking Mobile-based Learning

When one thinks of e-learning, the idea of being seated in front of a computer monitor pops into the mind. However, for most Africans affordability of laptops and desktops might be out of the question when it comes to e-learning.

Africa has to adapt to its solutions, and the idea of having widespread mobile-based learning might reach more students regardless of their social status. GSMA indicates that the growth of mobile penetration in Africa is the fastest in the world.

“Sub-Saharan Africa will remain the fastest-growing region, with a CAGR of 4.6% and an additional 167 million subscribers over the period to 2025. This will take the total subscriber base to just over 600 million, representing around half the population,” the Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa report states.

Smartphone adoption is also catching up quickly. What hinders most people from getting online is the cost of broadband. The prices are still out of reach for many even considering employing e-learning in homes.

A simple feature phone might be at the reach of many and might have features that could solve mobile-based learning. Simple web pages or zero-rating educational sites could be low-hanging fruit for the education system. Also, employing voice-enabled classes could help visually impaired students.?

Post COVID-19, this should be the norm if education is to reach everyone in the continent in equal proportion. This, in turn, will ease teachers' burden in administrating a huge number of students. With mobile-based learning, more teaching tools such as videos, diagrams, and elaborated texts can aid students in understanding principles.?

Re-thinking E-government Structures

The slow adoption of e-government services has been buoyed by the pandemic and should not revert to its lackluster self. It is encouraging to see the government adopting services such as digital communication to digital payments in the wake of the pandemic.

A European Union research on e-governments in Africa depicts an incomplete picture. Most African countries have not fully implemented e-government services that work.?

“The situation in Africa regarding these elements is as follows: There are government portals in most African countries although in some cases these are limited to for example, the President′s office or lack updated information,” the report said

“The extent of digital databases and digital exchange of data is difficult to identify, as it is spread between many different organs often without centralized handling, but most countries are in the process of digitizing records even if a lot of data is still in analog form,” the report continued.

It is of ultimate importance that government services operate in pandemic periods and also at normal seasons. This helps the governments account for their transactions and seals loopholes that make such services porous.?

Payment of taxes, levies, and fees should be made as easy as possible so that even businesses and individuals at the bottom of the pyramid should not feel intimidated.?

Rethinking Electronic Payments

Since the advancement of mobile money across the continent, a new economy has grown to support various aspects of a country’s economy.?

The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance and relevance of digital payments through cards or mobile money. In Kenya, the home of mobile money in Africa, the government expanded the amount businesses can hold to promote the cashless economy.

This needs to go on post the pandemic season, to reach every sector in every country. Harmonization of mobile payments to allow cross-border payments could also open up inter-country trade, and it can be a game-changer for the continent.?

Tanzania’s move to increase the use of digital payments in public transport with the help of the private sector, such as Mastercard and NMB Bank, can go a long way to ensure the improvement of mass transportation.

The transaction trails of digital payment can be put to advanced use to study markets and make research-based policies for various sectors.?

Conclusion

There are myriads of technical aspects that have not been covered here. Technology in itself is an enabler to making different sectors efficient. Other use of technology in medicine, research, real estate, and so on can leapfrog the continent. As we shut down to wait for the pandemic to pass, we could use this opportunity to single out which technologies should not die with the virus.