Digitalization to Define Africa's Development After Covid-19?

Africa recorded remarkable economic growth in the first 15 years of the 21st century, largely because of positive trends in the export of primary commodities, among other factors. However, this narrative of "Africa Rising" was skewed from the onset, as it focused mostly on economic growth based on gross domestic product (GDP), which is overly one-dimensional, writes Cristina Duarte for Africa Renewal. The shift from industrialization in the early post-independence period, to the current focus on poverty reduction, has been a major contributor to the continent's economic malaise. To generate development-oriented economic growth, Africa must now shift its focus to retaining and creating wealth, better managing of its resources, fostering inclusiveness, moving up on the global value chains (GVCs), diversifying its economies, optimizing the energy mix, and placing human capital at the center of policy making. For this to happen, African policy making needs a reboot that is driven by innovation.