Former Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia urged African leaders and policymakers to embrace technology and cultivate a “mindset of possibilities” to drive economic growth and development.
Speaking at Harvard University on Saturday, February 15, as the keynote speaker on the theme “Africa Beyond Borders: A Myth or a Mandate for Africa’s Progress”, Dr. Bawumia emphasized that Africa had already missed out on the first three industrial revolutions and could not afford to repeat the mistake.
He encouraged policymakers to adopt a proactive approach towards technology, stating: “Policymakers in Africa must act with a mindset of possibilities. We should embrace technology and not be intimidated by it. We must believe that we can leapfrog the advanced nations in many areas if we put our minds to it”.
Drawing from Ghana’s experience, Dr. Bawumia highlighted the country’s journey from a largely informal system to building a formal, data-driven economy poised to compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He emphasized the importance of leveraging digitalization to address existing challenges and lay the groundwork for future job creation, stating: “Today, we are building formal systems and a database-driven economy to compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Our challenge is to use digitalization to solve current problems while laying the foundation for future jobs, leapfrogging from the Second to the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.