At the present time, information and communication technologies and their implementations influence different spheres of human activity, and their dissemination around the world is much faster than any previous innovations. Therefore, the need to encourage the establishment of the digital economy cannot be overemphasised by any country.
This article explores what Digitalisation means, its necessity for developing economies, digital skills empowerment initiatives such as Skillup Imo Cohort 3, and the challenges posed by technology.
What is Digitalisation?
The United Nations defines Digitalisation as the integration of digital technologies across the aspects of society: communication, commerce, governance, education, and healthcare.
It spans from capturing information and digitising it to automating activities and creating new business solutions.
As for the initiatives in the field of Digitalisation and digital competencies, it can be stated that they have great potential for the development of the economies of the developing world, including Nigeria, promotion of employment, and the increase in the quality of public service.
What is a Digital Economy?
Basically, the Digital Economy means buying & selling products and services across national borders that have been facilitated by information technology.
Digital economy also known as New Economy is an economy in which digital computing technologies are a part of the economic processes. It marks a change from conventional economic activities to those that are very dependent on digital tools and the Internet.
There are three main components of the digital economy:
1.E-business Infrastructure: This involves all the physical and non-physical infrastructure required for the conduct of digital economic operations such as the underlining hardware and software infrastructure, telecommunication infrastructures and skilled manpower. It entails a foundation upon which organisations are enabled to run their operations within a digital setting. It includes everything from the Internet and servers for fast connection to unique software and qualified IT specialists.
2.E-business: This aspect focuses on the manner in which business processes are carried out virtually. It covers any activities a firm performs over computer-based networks like e-marketing, electronic commerce, virtual supply chain, and electronic customer relations. E-business liberalises conventional business practices making them faster and frequently more involving to the buyer.
4.E-commerce: E-commerce in particular is a form of electronic business that easily involves the purchasing and trading of products or services via a computer and the World Wide Web. An example of e-commerce includes buying a book through the Internet through such sites as Amazon. E-commerce has altered the way that people shop providing an easy and sometimes cheaper route to purchase.
These components together help facilitate most of the activities happening in digital commerce, helping banking to be done online or innovations that are connected with the marketing done online, etc, that aid the growth and development of the economic system.
The Need for Digital Economies in Developing Nations
Another aspect constituting the phenomenon of globalisation is the transition to a new type of economy tied to networked digital technologies, which is important for the development of the countries of the Third World.
Digitalisation goes beyond merely having a Facebook account or merely owning a smartphone; it entails the use of Digital considerations to come up with new business models, redesign business processes, and improve people’s access to information as well as services. Thus, the digitalisation scenario is diverse, and developing countries can join two extremes – urban and rural areas, providing e equal opportunities and stimulating the growth of inclusive economies.
Take China, for example. The Asian giant has seen e-commerce growth like no other, with players such as Alibaba and JD. Com becoming global powerhouses. Mobile payment platforms such as WeChat Pay have brought a very new style of financial inclusion in today’s world, and in many parts, they have spread their roots and services up to the village level where the normal banking sectors have not been extended up to that level. Such advancements are a clear indication of how digitalisation leads to the creation of jobs, the enhancement of innovation, and the enablement of citizens.
However, being an enabler of digital economies, the concept of digital commodities is not limited to purchase and sale. Digital skills and tools can eliminate educational disparities because they ensure students in areas that may not be easily accommodated in regard to online learning tools and resources have easy access to the sources they require. Telemedicine delivers medical services in areas with few physicians, which is viable with e-government efficiency indexes affecting transparency.
In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, the level of innovation of mobile money has significantly enhanced financial transactions, whereby millions of people conduct payments transactions without facing the necessity of opening accounts in banks.
Mobile money transactions form a massive 24% of the region’s Gross Domestic Product, contrary to a paltry 5% globally. The area has also been the pioneer in the digital sector, overshadowing the various activities in the fintech sector and effectively producing new services and apps.
However, reaping the benefits of Digitalisation hinges on one crucial factor: DIGITAL SKILLS.
Skilling Up for the Digital Age
Digital literacy enables its workforce to embark on a discovery of the new world on the Internet, and learn how to use the new tools profitably, and participate in the new economy on the net. Perceiving such a necessity, most of the developing countries are coming up with unique strategies to solve the problem of the digital gap.
Nigeria which is the most populous black nation in Africa, is a manifestation of this. The current SkillUp Imo Cohort 3 is a program by the Imo State government, supported by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy under the leadership of governor Hope Uzodinma to train the youths who are out of employment with relevant digital skills such as web development, social marketing, data analyst among others.
This initiative, which engages the strategic empowerment of youths in the State to be more productive in the nation’s digital economy, is good for everybody and for the development of the country as well.
SkillUp Imo is designed to position Imo State as the digital hub of Africa, fostering a vibrant startup economy and connecting Imo tech talents to the global gig economy. It represents the most significant human capital development effort undertaken by any Nigerian state government in modern times.
With the successful completion of cohorts 1 and 2, which saw 15,000 youths equipped with Industry 4.0 tech skills and startup kits to enable them to ply their trade anywhere in the world, the ongoing SkillUp Imo Cohort 3 highlights the program’s consistency and commendable efforts toward building a digital economy.
However, similar programs exist across other developing sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, the SkillsUP was launched in Kenya in 2020, by TikTok, which provides free Webinars to the Kenya people.
These webinars are related to professional and personal technological competencies for the benefit of the local population and the preparation of the future digital employees.
Also, Rwanda’s projects, such as “Smart Kigali” and “4G for Schools,” are emerging internet accessibility and ensuring that Rwandans adequately apply to the increasing demands of the technology sector that the country has heavily invested in training its citizens.
India is another story that proves the ability of the resized team to work efficiently. Digital India is aimed at the development of turning India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge society. The portal has easier and more independent access over rations since the use of Aadhaar, which is a biometric identification system, was implemented to replace the previous system of asymmetric relations between bureaucrats and the public.
India’s efforts including Skill India have brought millions of its people ready to feature in digital economy, a giant step towards booming enterprise and employment.
Benefits of Digitalisation
Digitalisation offers numerous benefits, especially for developing nations:
1. Economic Growth: Digital economies can significantly boost GDP by creating new industries and job opportunities. For instance, the IT services sector in developing countries has seen exponential growth and is driving economic progress.
2. Improved Public Services: It is necessary to recognise that digitalisation can help improve the delivery of public services due to its effectiveness and openness. It indicates how e-governance solutions can eliminate bureaucratic delays, eradicate or minimise corrupt practices and enable public access to services.
3. Increased Productivity: Use of technology in the sectors enhances productivity and efficiency. Bridging solutions are the concept of digital agriculture which assist the farmers in increasing yields, minimising wastage thereby giving a boost to the food security.
4. Social Inclusion: Digitalisation can level the opportunities and growth disparities that rural areas face compared to urban ones because educational, more so health care and employment provisions can be accessed online, similar to those in urban areas. It can also empower marginalised groups by giving them access to digital tools and platforms.
Challenges of Digitalisation
However, Despite the benefits of Digitalisation, it’s not without its several challenges that need to be addressed:
1. Digital Divide: There is no doubt thereby that in the majority of the developing countries, there are two classes of people; those who are connected to these new technologies, and those who are not. Such bridging is going to need considerable commitment of resources to ensure the enhancement of digital characteristics and learning.
2. Cybersecurity: Insofar as a new phenomenon appears, a new problem emerges, therefore, digital technologies result in cybersecurity threats. The emerging economies must dedicate their efforts towards establishing proper measures that would safeguard internet infrastructure and people’s information.
3. Regulatory Issues: The use of digital technologies means that there has to be the right regulation so that they are used appropriately. Thus, developing nations need to introduce rules which allow companies to explore new opportunities for growth.
4. Job Displacement: Self-organisation and associated technological tools will displace people, specifically in sectors that are mainly physically oriented. There is a need to, first of all, retrain the employees and develop new jobs to lessen this effect.
Conclusion
The emergence of the new information society is the best chance for the post-industrial age development of developing countries and their dramatic rates of economic growth. Actualisations, such as the Skillup Imo Cohort program and India’s Skill India program, serve as proper examples of how such measures can positively impact people and respective economies. There is also a need to address the potential challenges to ensure that the benefits are inclusive and sustainable.
