Owalo: Digital skills critical for Africa’s economic growth
There is an urgent need for skilling of workers in Africa on emerging digital skills to help accelerate economic and social growth across the continent, the Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has said.
Mr Owalo told leaders at the 25th Senior Policy Seminar (SPS) by African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) that failure to tap the power of ICT will negatively affect the continent’s capacity to engage in digital economy and slow down the efforts of countries to achieve their full potential.
The two-day forum in Nairobi is culmination of a three-year research funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to support study into human capital formation in seven countries in Africa, facilitate the dissemination of the findings to policymakers and the public, and strengthen the capacity of African policy research institutions.
Mr Dan Peters, Advisor, Global Policy Advocacy BMGF urged Africa governments to work together to as a vital component to accelerate Africa’s growth. “We have the fastest growing and youthful population in the world today but we have not planned our development to align to this. I am glad we are able to support AERC and its partners with projects such as this,” he said.
AERC seminars are forums designed to bring together senior policymakers from sub-Saharan Africa to exchange experiences and deliberate on topical issues pertaining to the sustainable development of their economies.
Established in 1988, the AERC is a premier capacity building institution in the advancement of research and training to inform economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa.
