South Africa seems to succeed despite its leadership vacuum. Many continue to wish us well on all fronts. At the beginning of the game Jean-Louis Bodin, a prominent French statistician, sent me a good luck message for the Boks game against New Zealand. At the end of the game, Monsieur Bodin sent me a message of congratulations upon the Boks’ victory. The Fourth Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Forum went ablaze at the end of this nail-biting game. Bodin has remained a committed friend of South Africa Statistics System but also of the South African Rugby team. Statistics and sports make important teammates.
In mid-90s Jean-Louis Bodin, approached the then head of the Central Statistics Service (CSS) DR Mark Orkin, to lead the organisation in participating in the ISI. This initiative put me in good stead in 2003 when Stats SA submitted the bid to host the 57th Session of the ISI that was ultimately held in Durban in 2009. Bodin was there in Durban to witness this successful hosting that catapulted Stats SA into an intellectual giant as an institution of the state respected across the world.
Many continue to wish South Africa well despite it's too often barbaric own goals. From October 25 to 27, the University of Johannesburg and Stats SA co-hosted an African Development Bank (AfDB) workshop titled Innovate Africa. The workshop was a culmination of work that the AfDB started in 2012 on statistical information per demands of the African heads of state and government. They started with a construct called the Africa Information Highway (AIH), which was adopted to deliver on the High Fives of Light Up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialise Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa. These were the five strategic deliverables that the president of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, then newly appointed in 2015 committed to anchor his term of office during his inaugural address. To this end the high fives were seen as the essential strategic objectives that are essential in transforming the lives of the African people and therefore consistent with the UN agenda on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ability of the AfDB management to keep hope through focused action in Africa suggests that at the current rate Africa will not be left behind, instead it will definitely lead.
Pursuant to the African Information Highway, a strategy of data innovation laboratories that would enable delivery and connect not only the African statistics and data system but focus on innovation was developed. The strategy was then presented at this workshop that the University of Johannesburg Business School co-hosted with Stats SA over three days.
What was unique about the Innovate Africa seminar was the range of participants, their quality, deliberations and resolutions — concrete and implementable. The session, which focused mainly on the national statistics systems, was attended not only by the usual suspects but by academia, research institutions, industry, banks, funders and government departments.
Among the participants was Prof Zeblon Vilakazi, the vice-chancellor of Wits. He challenged the participants to answer where Africa will be and how it contributes in the world of artificial intelligence and robotics, which are shaping societies. Given that Africa will be the most populous region in the world, this is a matter of strategic import. To ensure that Africa is not lunch for anyone but participates as a mature citizen it must place education and innovation front, back and centre. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation emphasised the importance of appropriate technology that aims to answer the pain society is in. But more importantly that such technology should be embedded in what society appreciates as their challenge. While digital technology is proven to be very efficient, data required should reflect the needs of society as expressed in technology they can relate to as part of advancing technological solutions.
The ability of the AfDB management to keep hope through focused action in Africa suggests that at the current rate Africa will not be left behind, instead it will definitely lead. The AfDB was led by its acting director of statistics, Louis Kuakou, who remained convinced that this was the path to pursue. With that he announced that the next workshop will be held in Rwanda in the second half of next year. But in March next year the team will present the progress they have notched up in creating leaders through a network of Data Innovation Labs. Rafik Mahjoubi of the AfDB assembled a competent team that has speedily delivered on the strategy document which has begun to be implemented and tested by the workshops and the Innovate Africa Symposium. There is no doubt the Data Innovation Lab programme will deliver the kind of competent leadership in the high stakes of innovation and collaboration in data and statistics in Africa. The strategy focuses on resolving friction brought about forward and reverse logistics of masses of physical materials in statistical operations, capture once-use and reuse and data augmentation. Three-use cases were isolated to understand how the challenges of distance, disempowerment and disaster can be resolved through the power of data.
Because demographic changes require us — and I think you will all agree with me — to focus on our youth and assess the impact of these changes. This is a moment where our sons and daughters can take their destinies into their own hands.
In fact, statistics from the UN show that youth on our African continent already comprise 75% of the working-age population. By 2030, over half of new workers entering the global labour force will come from Africa. This incredible surge should, with the right policies, translate into a virtuous cycle of economic growth and development.
Before I go deeper in the speech, let me say that I am an economist by trade, so I do not profess expertise in this area of technology and data innovation. However, in my capacity of chief strategy officer of the Mauritius Commercial Bank Group Limited, an Africa-focused regional banking and financial services group, I have witnessed first-hand the transformative power of data in the banking and financial sector.
I would like to share a brief anecdote with you. Just over ten than years ago, on Tuesday, February 28 2012, the IMF officially confirmed that Mauritius had subscribed to the Special Data Dissemination Standards, or SDDS for short. We became only the second sub-Saharan African nation to join this important initiative, following South Africa, which graduated under the outstanding leadership of Dr Lehohla.
At that time, the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd, the banking entity of the Group in Mauritius, had embarked on a R2bn medium term note programme with the notes listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Now, here’s the power of data in action: the very next day that the news broke out of Mauritius’ graduation to SDDS, the cost of fund for the MCB dropped by 30 basis points. For those in the finance world, you will appreciate the magnitude of this change. Investor confidence in MCB, a private entity, rose sharply overnight as a direct result of the higher confidence in official statistics and the country’s commitment to delivering comprehensive, timely and reliable data.
What can we learn from this? Like Mauritius, other African nations have so much to gain from harnessing more and better data. The benefits we stand to gain are substantially higher than other regions. The delta is so much higher. We can leverage it, much like mobile phones, to leapfrog and push the region’s economic frontier.
And of course, do not hesitate to leverage on peer to peer learning. Beyond the technical aspects, you can have first-hand practical insights, such as key enablers to allow you to leapfrog to the higher standard.
Africa still has so much to explore. The future clearly holds a lot of promise for us. However, we must not ignore the barriers that stand in our way. Recognising our challenges is the first step towards overcoming them.
Indeed, despite more data being available than ever, the continent often lacks adequate access to valuable data and struggles to fully use the data we have.
Multiple challenges constrain data from being generated, stored, used and reused to its full potential. These challenges include, inter alia, the lack of access to infrastructure, affordability of internet access, untapped data sets and a lack of awareness and data-related skills. What’s more, insufficient financing, low technical capacity, weak institutional arrangements and policy gaps compound the problem.
For example, the quality, timeliness and availability of data on basic critical indicators are often poor in many of our countries.
Less than a decade remains to achieve the globally agreed 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. Now more than ever, the ability to monitor progress, and to swiftly adapt resources and policies accordingly, is critical to effectively implement corrective actions.
Yet for many of our SDGs, we are data-deficient.
An earlier report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation found that only six of the 17 SDGs have indicators with sufficient levels of data to assess progress for Africa.
As outlined in the same report, from 2009 to 2018, 39 African countries conducted a population and housing census. This means that only 54% of the continent’s population live in a country that has counted everybody in the past 10 years.
Last night the Boks showed us the way, reminding us of the 2010 way which fizzled out into ether under the heavy yoke of corruption.
Progress on civil registration and vital statistics has been slow. A civil registration system is key to enable people to be seen and supported by government. Birth registration means children can prove their age and have the right protection in law. Marriage registration allows widows to claim inheritance rights.
Lack of or faulty data severely limits the efficacy of technological systems. Discrepancies between on-the-ground realities and data input can mislead AI and any data-driven process, leading to inaccurate results and unintentional biases. For example, this is an issue that is especially sensitive in countries where long-standing cultural dynamics continue to influence politics and business. Such drawbacks jeopardise the likely benefits to be derived from data sharing, which is central to research and development and innovation.
When it comes to digital data, despite the promises of digitalisation, Africa also grapples with a digital divide that hampers progress.
For instance, internet subscription costs remain high in low-income countries with the cost as a share of GNI per capita standing at more than 5%, nine times higher relative to advanced economies. The lack of a reliable power supply also acts as a constraint. If such a situation continues, equal access to data and realising opportunities to reap the benefits of data-driven development will remain out of reach.
Yet the potential is undeniable. The World Bank reviewed numerous studies investigating the economic effects of increased broadband penetration. One of their findings indicate that a 10% rise in fixed broadband penetration can enhance GDP by anywhere between 0.3% and 3.2%.
Data innovation opportunities across different sectors present opportunities. With this picture of data in Africa painted, we will now explore the potential of data innovation in a few sectors for the continent and how this could shape the future of our continent.
Given my involvement in the financial sector, I’ll begin there.
Data innovation is reshaping how we understand and engage with finance in various ways. One of these relates to open banking, a system that provides third-party access to financial data through the use of application programming interfaces. In today’s shared and data-driven economy, open banking provides consumers with the tools to simplify and enrich their financial lives. Meanwhile, for businesses, it is an opportunity to elevate customer journeys, integrating payment capabilities and expanding ecosystems, each of which has the potential to broaden horizons and deepen customer engagement.
In this digital era, as the lines between finance and technology blur, data stands tall as the bridge connecting them.
Consider the example of Orange Bank Africa in Ivory Coast: a fully digital, mobile bank that leverages the power of data and AI to promote financial inclusion. Orange Bank Africa uses data from Orange Money — like frequency of cash deposits and account balances — to reduce lending risks. As a result, they offer micro credit products, enabling customers to borrow small sums. Imagine small entrepreneurs or individuals previously left out of the financial loop. With advanced credit scoring models incorporating a broader range of data points, they now have a better chance to enter the financial mainstream. This provides entrepreneurship and supports economic growth.
Let me take another example from my group’s banking entity in Mauritius. The bank has invested massively in its digital transformation, with an emphasis on delivery and impact to meet its customers’ needs in a fast, convenient and simple manner.
Among the many initiatives undertaken, the bank has leveraged internal and external data together with the power of AI and machine learning to improve various key processes across credit, risk and sales.
Taking the example of anti-money laundering, we analysed more than 500 variables across more than a 100-million observations to generate a solution towards a more efficient and accurate AML control and monitoring. In terms of benefits, this also led to a slashing of more than 70% in the total number of alerts being raised, resulting in substantial time saved for analysing important alerts.
MCB also had as objective to improve customer service on our most important products, starting with credit facilities. This has led to a substantial reduction in the turnaround time for loan applications.
But there's more to this story. We transitioned from solely analysing static customer data to incorporating hundreds of behavioural variables. This approach not only paints a truer picture of a customer's creditworthiness but also empowers our front-liners. Now they can better guide customers on enhancing their credit scores.
Last night the Boks showed us the way, reminding us of the 2010 way which fizzled out into ether under the heavy yoke of corruption. Cricket has also made us proud in addition to Banyana Banyana, who left the country under a cloud not from the dedicated women but the Safa management. This paucity of leadership is a grave disservice to the country. Through different compartments and avenues the horse is being constructed and soon the owners of the horse will define who the jockey should be. The current crop of abusive leaders will be found wanting to ride the horse the Boks have constructed, the Proteas have constructed and one in the making by Banyana Banyana. The rapturous uproar at the Fourth Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Forum upon the victory of the Boks over New Zealand points to a clear signal that miscreants have limited days in leadership positions.
Dr Pali Lehohla is the director of the Economic Modelling Academy, a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a research associate at Oxford University, a board member of Institute for Economic Justice at Wits and a distinguished Alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former statistician-general of South Africa.
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