When I wrote in Harvard that Africa’s industrialization policy must not follow the Chinese trajectory, many policymakers and leading economists reached out. TV stations like BBC and China’s CCTV called, and we discussed my thesis.  I had posited that within decades,  robots and AI would disintermediate most of the jobs which are currently being done in China – and if Africa’s playbook is to position itself to displace China as wages rise there,  we will be in trouble. (You can read that piece here at HBR  )

Indeed, the Western world will not outsource low paying jobs to anywhere because Apple, Dell and others will use robots and AI to do them in America and Europe. The implication is that Africa needs a new industrialization policy because what worked for China has expired!

A new piece is coming. In this one, I examine industrialization, urbanization, etc in Africa. It would be a good read.

Comment on Social Media Feeds

Comment 1: I agree that automation and robotics will take production back to the industrialized world, but Africa (Nigeria for me) still suffers a significant gap of “DO” ……produce things yourself, local capacity in skills, management and technology adoption……..that’s the foundation of industrialization. We need to be confident and fix that gap and start producing goods locally. We CAN do it, if we a) Believe in our products b) Insist on excellence and standards c) Allow us to access our markets with our growing population. We have a massive market for food, clothes, building materials etc……..Let’s get the fundamentals running.

Industrial Revolution (1-4) are all very interesting analysis of What happened after the cases. We need a DO (a wake up event) to push us forward….and like you said Ndubuisi Ekekwe it may not follow the same pathway and steps that China followed………..

My Response: “We need to be confident and fix that gap and start producing goods locally” – that is going to be a constant in any equation. We cannot have an urbanization rate of 49% with global manufacturing output of 2%. That has to change.

Comment 2: It would be tough for Africa if it’s industrialization policy does not incorporate local content, both human and non human.

Do African leaders realize that they would not be able to ship their workforce abroad like it’s happening today?

I can’t wait for this new piece to be available.

My Response: “It would be tough for Africa if it’s industrialization policy does not incorporate local content, both human and non human.” absolutely, we need the mindset of sankofa as posited in ancient Ghana

Comment 3: Ndubuisi Ekekwe, we need new knowledge to create this new industrialization policy and playbook.

Comment 4: “Indeed, the Western world will not outsource low paying jobs to anywhere because Apple, Dell and others will use robots and AI to do them in America and Europe. The implication is that Africa needs a new industrialization policy because what worked for China has expired!” ~ Ndubuisi Ekekwe

From Godwin Akpan – Disruptive Brand Consultant

To Nigerians, we can’t continue to test expired policies or outdated leaders. For us to be among the future countries thriving in the 4th industrial revolution, we must pick a young, vibrant, pragmatic and futuristic leader. We have a chance to rewrite history and make Nigeria a tourist and direct investment destination. Insecurity has plunged our country into the abyss of terrorists. We now have to negotiate with terrorists to live, to farm, travel by road or even attend school.

Your choice and vote will matter more than ever. Thanks to the #ElectoralAct recently signed.

I hope we campaign with respect and sell our candidate’s revolutionary programs and policies not throw tantrums that heighten tension in the country.

Let’s participate to educate and enlighten others not fight recklessly. Remember people are reading your public comments

VR (Virtual Reality) technology is already starting to impact our lives in major ways. The military, health care industry, and government all use virtual reality to simulate things, mainly for training purposes. Since all of these departments and institutions have a significant impact on our lives, it’s fair then to say that, by extension, virtual reality does too.

In the coming years, analysts predict that virtual reality will start to have a more meaningful impact on our lives on a more personal basis, however. This post will tell you why.

Social Media

If you have been following what’s been going on in the VR world, then you will already be familiar with the Metaverse, a platform that’s run by Facebook. Many believe that the Metaverse platform is the future of social media. The Metaverse is an interactive virtual world, accessed using virtual reality technology. According to information from this website, another platform that’s similar to Facebook’s Metaverse is Decentraland. Both of these platforms are very popular with users of virtual reality technology because it gives them places to network with other people and makes new friends. It’s clear to see that interactive virtual spaces are the future of social media. If you are a social media user, then at some point in your life, it’s likely that you will have to use a platform like Metaverse or Decentraland in order to communicate with your friends on the internet.

Education

Educational institutions are beginning to use virtual reality technology to streamline teaching and the classroom experience. If you’re reading this, then you have probably left school or college. However, just because you are no longer a student, that doesn’t mean that this won’t impact your life. If you have children or plan on having children, then you will eventually have to use this kind of technology to help your child to understand their classes better. You may even have to invest in this kind of equipment so that your child can learn from home in the event of another pandemic, which scientists say is very likely.

Retail

During the COVID-19 pandemic’s first lockdown, various stores and boutiques, especially high-end ones, began offering ‘virtual shopping’ experiences. You didn’t need a virtual reality headset to access these online environments, although they did help. Having one made it easier for people to determine whether or not they liked what they were looking at. In the future, it’s expected that virtual shopping is going to become a lot more common. After all, virtual shopping is a lot easier and simpler than driving to stores to buy things, especially clothes. Virtual shopping allows people to handle and examine clothing items they want to buy without physically being there.

Gambling

The online gambling industry is starting to utilize virtual reality technology now, too. You can visit digital casinos, using your virtual reality headset. While this kind of thing has existed for a very long time, with a lot of people visiting Bitcoin casinos in the virtual reality space, it’s starting to filter down and become a lot more common among ordinary people. Before, virtual reality gambling was something that only tech experts and investors made use of. Now it’s something that anybody can use, especially since virtual reality headsets are a lot cheaper.

Dating

Since the internet was first made public, people have been using online dating sites. Because people from all over the world have access to the internet, it is possible for people to meet each other, despite living in different countries and even continents. International long-distance dating is a lot more common today because communication has been made easier. Virtual reality dating is becoming more common, because it allows people who live in different countries to still have real dates, without being in each other’s presence physically. This allows people to determine whether or not they like each other, before making commitments.

Real Estate

Finally, if you have tried to buy a house in the last year and a half, you may be familiar with virtual viewings. Many realtors insist upon virtual viewings first, so that they can be sure that the people that are viewing properties are confident that they like what they are viewing first. This is so that they do not waste the realtor’s time. The real estate industry has benefitted tremendously from the use of virtual reality. Virtual reality technology has made the lives of realtors much easier.

Virtual reality technology has had a great impact on our lives already. In the future, it’s clear that it will be even more impactful. Virtual reality will, in the next half-century, become an important part of everybody’s lives. Virtual reality headsets are also becoming a lot more affordable, making them more accessible to people on budgets.

Nigeria has just 10 years to get many things right. We have one thing that could cause massive paralysis in the future: urbanization without industrialization. If you check more than 2,000 years of modern history, one thing is evident – rural urban migration typically happens with the urban areas already having decent amenities to support the population growth. In other words, as most global modern cities were urbanizing, critical infrastructures were available to support the translation.

But in some African cities like Lagos and PHC, we are seeing something different: urbanization is happening even though the cities are not ready. The implication is that if the expected 50% of Africans move to the cities, in decades, and the cities are unable to support them, many bad things will happen.

One of those bad things is that the cities cannot just cope, causing havoc. When the rate to provide amenities cannot cope with demand, the equilibrium points shift. Add climate change to it, it becomes scary. Africa must plan for its premature urbanization which is coming before the urban areas are ready. In this Harvard publication, I explained why Africa must build differently.