Technology offers the best opportunity for Africa’s advancement, and African countries have the right to choose which countries and companies they partner with in charting the technological development of their people.

This was one of the messages emerging from a webinar hosted by the University of Johannesburg last Wednesday.

Titled, “Gearing Africa for the 4th Industrial Revolution: Patterns, Prospects and Lessons,” the event saw stakeholders from business, academia, civil society and the media share insights on the continent’s future and the role of technology in achieving its developmental aims.

The onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presents enormous opportunities for African development.

However, it comes against the backdrop of a trade war between China and the United States, with especially the latter seeking to influence the tech choices of its trading partners.

Noting the advantages that the 4IR offers for Africa’s development – such as precision agriculture and bridging the digital divide – speaker and event chair Dr David Monyae, Executive Director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies, noted that the continent’s infrastructure limited its ability to embrace 4IR.

“To surmount this dearth,” he said, “the continent needs to learn from the lessons of more advanced countries, and identify partnerships that might be to its advantage.”

Dr Monyae said this would be a trying task.

“The current international system is fraught with disagreement on technologies, with countries such as the United States ranged against more ambitious countries in the field of technology, such as China.”