5 ways to ensure the digital future doesn't leave people behind

The government of Togo has been a pioneer in precision aid, leveraging machine learning to better target aid in response to the economic consequences of COVID-19.

Its Novissi program combined geospatial analytics, machine learning, and mobile phone metadata to prioritize assistance for the poorest, Cina Lawson, Togo’s minister of digital economy and transformation, said in a session at last week’s World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit.

Togo wants to leverage digital tools to provide its citizens with one entry point for any public service, she said.

Lawson said it was key that African leaders are included from the outset in conversations on digital infrastructure.

“The way that we are building these systems is so much going to impact us in the future that we need to be part of the conversation,” she said. “Please do include us from the very beginning. And not when everything has been decided.”

Here are five other suggestions made at the WEF meetings on ways to ensure the digital future doesn’t leave people behind.

Tackle the issue of affordability

While 4G, the fourth generation of broadband cellular network technology, covers 85% of the world’s population, 3.8 billion people remain disconnected from the internet.

It is affordability and usability — not coverage — that presents the main challenge to universal connectivity, said Hans Vestberg, CEO at Verizon. He chairs The EDISON Alliance, a platform launched by WEF to support global connectivity and aims to provide 1 billion people affordable digital access to health care, financial services, and education by 2025.

Mobile broadband is 18 times more expensive in low-income countries than in high-income countries, as a proportion of average income, according to the International Telecommunications Union.

Put the right digital infrastructure in place

Many people without access to power buy feature phones with a battery life that will last them a week or two because they have no easy way to charge them, said Joseph Mucheru, Kenya’s minister of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs.

Mucheru, who was formerly the head of Google Energy in Africa, emphasized the importance of access to energy for digital inclusion.

“We identified that power was one of the critical ingredients needed to grow the use of the internet,” he said. “And not just power, but reliable power and affordable power.”

Now that he’s in government, one of Mucheru’s priorities is getting more of the country connected to the grid. Otherwise, “they will be left out of this digital transformation,” Mucheru said.

Focus on building digital skills

Only 26% of people use mobile internet in Africa, versus 49% globally, said Ken Hu, deputy chairman at Huawei Technologies — a Chinese telecom giant that is expanding its reach in Africa despite being banned in some nations due to security concerns.

The reason has to do with a combination of affordability and digital skills, he said.

Governments can invest in proper infrastructure, industry partners such as Huawei “can help create more affordable devices and network solutions for basic connectivity,” and public and private sectors can work together to improve the digital curriculum in schools and provide digital skills training, Hu said.

By 2030, more than 230 million jobs in Africa will require digital skills, he said, noting only 2% of the labor force has IT skills currently.

“That’s a huge gap,” he said. “We need to take joint immediate action to deal with those gaps.”

Create an enabling environment for technical innovation

Technology governance, on issues ranging from personal data protection to cross-border data flows, is key when it comes to creating an enabling environment for technological innovation, said Crystal Rugege, managing director at the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Rwanda.

“We often have a scenario where the private sector is taking the elevator and the government is taking the stairs when it comes to regulating many of these emerging technologies,” said Rugege, whose organization is part of a global network established by WEF in partnership with governments.

Rugege called for others to join her in making Africa’s data governance landscape more secure, progressive, and inclusive, starting with Rwanda.

Earn the trust of citizens

Users have reason to be uncomfortable with the amount of data sharing happening, said Quentin Palfrey, president of the International Digital Accountability Counsel.

They “don’t feel comfortable that these jargon-filled monstrosities of privacy policies are actually meaningfully protecting our data,” he said.

But data sharing is hard to regulate, Palfrey said, calling for three changes: clear rules, a process for training those who are expected to follow those rules, and accountability.

The challenge is coming up with that “at the speed of the Internet,” he said.