Globalization: Economic challenges and opportunities for Africa

The emergence of Africa economic development forums in the year 2009 marks an historic opportunity for African leaders both in the public and private sectors to join hand in the process of shaping the African agenda to meet the challenges of this period of globalization and the emerging information economy.

Of critical importance to that process is the development of a clear conceptual framework of globalization and the information economy which can help in  guiding, thinking, planning and action within the continent.

This is designed to contribute to the development of that conceptual framework and to make contribution to those economic institutions by describing the current context of globalization and defining the information economy. It also includes the highlights of some of the key challenges that have to be confronted if Africa is to take advantage of the information revolution in the year 2009.Finally it explores some of the strategic opportunities for Africa within this year.

Globalization and information economy are among the most contested terms of this year. Globalization means very different things to many people. Far beyond the narrow definition of globalization that focuses primarily on financial integration, in a much more expansive definition of globalization is not just about the deepening of financial markets, but includes a whole range of social, political, economic and cultural phenomena.

These areas are spheres of globalization. One reason that the information economy offers such promise to Africa is that each of these spheres of globalization is supported by the application of electronic commerce. Also through strategic planning, the opportunity exists for key geographic areas in Africa exploit information and communication technologies to become spaces of globalization.
 
The information economy is based on a fundamental transformation of the underlying structure of the global political economy Analyst argued that this change is so definitive that it warrants the label of a techno-economic paradigm shift. This shift reflects changes in science and technology, the organization of business production, learning and entertainment. An aspect of this transformation includes the changing nature of business dynamics, the nature of manufacturing company, and demand articulation in technological development, technology fusion and industrial inertia.

These changes are affecting nearly all sectors of the world system including intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, regional organizations, on governmental organizations and national states. This period of change engenders a potential restricting of power relations and the development of new forms of inequality in the world. It is possible that inequality in the information economy could go beyond a division between the so-called developed and developing countries to exacerbate intra-country divisions specially divisions could sharper between those individuals possessing in knowledge ,skills and abilities to contribute to the global information economy and those who do not possesses such skills.

One characteristics of this current period of globalization is the emergence of a new techno-economic paradigm ,which some analyst, call innovation –mediated production within this framework ,knowledge is increasingly embedded within the production process itself.

One major issue that contrasts the knowledge economy from the industrial economy becomes the most important factors of production. This mode of production characterizes the overall knowledge economy within which the information economy is playing an increasingly important role. Perhaps the most important development within the information economy is the economic explosion caused by global electronic e-commerce is the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services  by  electronic means.

This includes the integrated use of information and communication technologies as the medium through which goods and services of economic value and researched designed, produced advertised, catalogued inventories, purchased, distributed accounts settled, follow up support and management information systems implemented.

The global information economy could be characterized as disciplinarian its interpedently nature should ensures that bad decisions are punished immediately and goods decisions are rewarded with the same speed with such a global interpendent knowledge based economy it is critical that appropriate mechanisms be developed at global level to govern the global information economy-a global information economy regime. Globalization and the information economy present unique opportunities for Africa.

However, to capitalize  on these opportunities tremendous challenges must be overcome. Some on the key challenges include the following, the development of information and communications infrastructure, human resource development and employment creation, the current position in the world economy and insufficient legal and regulatory frameworks and government strategy. Numerous studies have shown that benefits of an information age will not accrue to countries with an adequate national information and communications infrastructure.

This must be connected to an inter-operable with the emerging global information infrastructure. The African information and communications environment can be characterize by low telephone penetration rates, slow network growth antiquated systems, sub-optimal reinvestment of profits, high pricing of private facilities, poor inter city telephone links and widely varying national network infrastructures .There are various and sometimes competing approaches to develop the NICI.

Given that the access to information and communication infrastructure is so abysmal in the continent ,achieving universal access to information infrastructure is seen as the sine qua non of widespread socio-economic development in an era of globalization and an information economy .

Some universal access is so critical numerous scholars; activist and development agencies have embraced the potential of multi purpose community information centers to help achieve those goals. Community information centers can serve as development vehicles in both developing and developed countries and can contribute to closing the infrastructure gab within developing countries. While still an incomplete definition MPICI’S may be defined as facilities in urban-peri-urban and rural areas which utilize shared information infrastructures to provide access to a wide variety of public and private information and communication based goods and services and which support local economy and social development objectives.

These facilities have a range of ownership and business models that may stimulate the growth of the local communication market .In these facilities a focus on reliability sustainability and community ownership is critical .In addition to the potential of MPCI’S a wide variety of new an alternative infrastructure possibilities exists. Some of this form of alternative infrastructure includes the new generation of global mobile personal communications by satellites systems floating and flying platforms and multiplicity of local wireless solutions.

Those forms of  infrastructure can facilitate the proverbial technological leap frogging and are perhaps the best example of that often used and sometimes derided them. For example developing countries in most cases, do not have the same fixed investment in copper cable and thus can skip laying more of it in favor of going directly to fiber or another broad solution.

The rapid development of human resources and creating employment are also critical challenges facing Africa in the year 2009, low levels of education and literacy are crippling Africa’s ability to exploit the information economy. In many countries the limited use of English has also been cited as an additional constraining factor.