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The pace of change across Africa may be about to accelerate, drivenby advances in technology that are just breaking onto the scene.The World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa provides a peekat the coming transformation. Africa's big guns attended the forum. Seven heads of state were atthe top of a long list of luminaries such as former United NationsSecretary-General Kofi Annan. But the big ideas were coming from relative unknowns, names likeOry Okolloh, Bright Simons and Omobola Johnson, who were featuredspeakers at a session on Africa's innovators. Young developers driving change Okolloh, policy manager for Google South Africa, explained whatGoogle is doing with a group she called young developers." "We have set up something called Google Tech User Groups in morethan 30 countries like DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], Coted'Ivoire [Ivory Coast]. Establishing a footprint, and giving thesedevelopers who are doing what they were doing anyway, but withoutthe resources, without some of the skills around how to improve anapplication for instance, or to better improve a user interface[or] how to get an app to market," said Okolloh. Bright Simons is president of Mpedigree Network in Ghana. Concernedabout the deaths of 2,000 people a day from fake medical products,his firm came up with a way to help consumers know that themedicines they buy are genuine. "We've been trying in about six countries in Africa to create amechanism where manufacturers and distributors of medicine canimplant a unique ID, identification tags on each pack of medicine,so when the consumer buys the medicine, that comes with a free textmessage or a free MMS, using a cameraphone to verify instantlywhether the particular medicine they are holding is likely to killthem or save their lives," said Simons. Major wave of innovation on horizon Omobola Johnson is Nigeria's minister of communications technology.She said her government is working with the tech giants to allowpeople with good ideas the chance to do great things. "It's the responsibility of us as policy makers to look at, 'How dowe create that environment that allows those innovators to thriveand succeed?' Google is working with us, creating islands of sanitywhere people can think, and taking ideas into reality andcommercialization," she said. Okolloh said the online world is helping to break down socialbarriers that have prevented some Africans from achieving success. "It frees people from waiting for someone to make things happen forthem, which has been a big challenge for young peopleespecially. And, that's why they're gravitating to technologyso much," she said. "It's the one space where you don't have tocome from the right family, or the right tribe, or have the rightconnection to make it. And it's an area old people don'tunderstand, so they can't dominate it." Okolloh admits that, as a woman, she also loves technology becauseit neutralizes gender stereotypes. "I'm not sure I'd be as successful as I am as a woman in aprofession other than in technology. Because it tends to be a bitneutral. If you have the tools, if you can code, it's a lot moresort of merit, and recognizes talent." These innovators say that in as little as five years, a combinationof fresh ideas and demographic imperatives will begin torevolutionize Africa. As several participants at the economic forumnoted, half of the continent's population is under 30, and they aredemanding change. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as T5 LED Tube Light , China Flat Panel LED Light for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Flat Panel LED Light.
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