MIT Sloan Management Review Article on The Future of Digital Work Depends On More Than Tech Skills

With the rest of the world’s population aging, Africa will become home to more than a quarter of the world’s total under-25 population by 2030. By the end of this decade, the number of people in the continent’s workforce is expected to have increased more than the rest of the world’s combined. That makes the region a major growth spot for digital talent and, therefore, a crucial source for economic dynamism worldwide.

Yet the continent is still producing relatively few workers with software and other tech-oriented skills. The problem is certainly not demand; it now has a substantial and growing tech sector. Africa has an emerging IT ecosystem, including a growing crop of digital entrepreneurs, startups, and innovation centers, and it is one of the fastest-growing tech markets in the world.

About the Author

Remi Abere, based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the founder and CEO of Roebi Global, a social enterprise helping to develop African technology talent for local and remote employment. She is also a guest lecturer at Warwick University’s Warwick Business School, where she earned a doctorate in business administration.

Panos Constantinides is professor of digital innovation at the University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School and a fellow at the Cambridge Digital Innovation Centre.

Learn more about MIT SMR.