One thing that I have always liked about venturesafrica is that they provide brief overviews about recent trends and their impact on innovation in Africa. Their articles are easy to understand and provide a good basis for further research about a given topic.
In a recent article, they discussed the second wave of inclusive digital innovation and its impact on innovation trends in Africa. The first wave was marked by the increased proliferation of the mobile telephone which allowed for the connection of remote areas. Furthermore, it brought about innovations like mobile banking or mobile payment. I have discussed these connectivity-related innovations in some of my previous blogposts.
According to the article, we are now approaching the second wave of digital innovation. The five important features of this second wave are the proliferation of the Internet of Things, blockchain technology, big data, on-demand services and cloud computing. Apparently, these five innovations are changing the way in which mobile services will be delivered in the future. According to the article, the benefits are manifold. For example, cloud computing technologies will bring about cost reduction. It goes without saying that this might benefit remote areas with limited communication infrastructure.
This blogpost is supposed to serve as a brief overview. The article on venturesafrica goes into more detail. You can read it here, if you want to know more.
Last but not least: It goes to show that the Internet of Things is triggering discussion on the African continent. Since the Internet of Things Africa Summit is taking place in July in Johannesburg, chances are that we will soon be learning more about the second wave of digital innovation.
inventiveafrica.com 