Africa’s emerging ‘contactless economy’ creates new growth opportunities: industry experts

Africa’s emerging ‘contactless economy’ creates new growth opportunities: industry experts

DUBAI, 14th October, 2021 (WAM) -- Africa’s emerging "contactless economy" is proliferating in the COVID-era and creating plenty of growth opportunities that African and foreign companies and investors can capitalise on, industry experts said on Wednesday at the Global Business Forum (GBF) Africa 2021 in Dubai.

Held under the theme "Transformation Through Trade", the two-day Forum is being held at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on the sidelines of Expo 2020 Dubai, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

A session titled "Tech-celeration: The Contactless Economy" brought together Lacina Koné, Director-General of the Smart Africa Secretariat from Côte d’Ivoire, and Innocent Muhizi, CEO of Rwanda Information Society Authority.

"When we talk about technology in the developed world, we talk about its disruption, about new players threatening the field," Moderator Goolam Ballim noted. "This is in contrast to what we see in Africa, where technology is seen as more developmental than disruptive. It allows new players to enter into the market - a market that is often uncharted."

Koné spoke about Smart Africa’s vision to transform Africa into a single digital market by 2030. "The strategy consists of five main points: