The ongoing (massive) data explosion has continued to disrupt the way we normally see and do things. The last three decades have inspired a paradigm shift in our value system and approach to things. Major developments in work and administration have been brought about by the production of faster computers and gadgets with high storage capacities which make things simpler and easier for man.
The successive launch of the 2G, 3G and 4G networks direct attention to how we have come to rely more on speed and ability to hold and utilize massive information at a go. The world is now engrossed in talks about the 5G and 6G networks which are capable of reaching massive amount of data at an incredibly higher speed. Welcome to the era of the big data and Artificial intelligence.
According to a 2019 report by International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2018 the global data-sphere grew to 18 zettabytes (18 Trillion Gigabytes). It’s also estimated that the world’s data will grow to 175 zettabytes in 2025, and the digital-data economy will reach 13 Trillion US Dollars by 2030. Experts now claim that since data is a growing influence in the new economy, there might be need for a new GDP (Gross Data Product) measure to capture the measure of wealth and power of nations.
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Analysis by McKinsey Global Institute shows that Data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers than their peers; 6 times more likely to retain customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable. The reality of the big data (or data economy) continues to trigger increase in demand for data scientists in the labour market and a consequent increase in demand for data knowledge.
Furthermore, according to a January 2019 report from Indeed, one of the top global job sites in the USA, there has been 29 percent increase in demand for data scientists year over year and a 344 percent increase since 2013. However, while demand continues to rise sharply, skill in data science grew at a slower pace (14 percent) indicating a gap between supply and demand.
What Africa looks like in the big picture
The digital-data skill gap in Africa is on the high side, and efforts to address the problem have been fragmented. The sub-Saharan African region with a projected working-population of 600 Million by 2030 is still struggling to keep up with the data economy. According to to 2019 Harvard Business Review’s ranking of data producing countries of the world, only South Africa emerged from Africa and it was 25th on the global ranking. The United States, United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and South Korea make up the top five.
A 2017 World Economic Forum report reveals that lack of formal educational opportunities is a key contributor to the shortage of proficient data scientists on the continent. Consequently, aspiring data scientists resort to costly online resources or are forced to pursue informal education pathways to develop their theoretical knowledge and practical experience. This further limits career prospects as employment opportunities are more readily available to those with formal qualifications, rather than individuals that self-thought.
Therefore, African governments have been urged to subsidize data education in the region and create enabling environment for private individuals and foreign investors to drive investment into the sector. Data is the new oil as it is fondly described in Nigeria. The efforts of the Government of Lagos State towards making Lagos the 21st century economy of the world through its EKO Innovation Hub is a great bold step in the right direction. This should be replicated in other parts of the country to strategically position Nigeria in the new economy.
