Chinenye Anuforo

The CEO of Softcom Limited, Yomi Adedeji, has said that technology must be explored adequately, if poverty must be eliminated in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Adedeji, who spoke at a technology conference organised by his firm, Softcom, with the theme “Combating Poverty: The Role of Technology in Driving Social Change in Africa,” also said that  the size of Nigeria’s population should also be explored greatly and positively in tackling poverty.

Adedeji said, “In order to lift whole communities out of poverty and ensure inclusive growth, our development must be led by data and planning, not just ideas. We must take advantage of technology to identify and enrol our people into the national identity system so everyone can be known and verified; we must democratise quality education, ensuring equal access for everyone, and aggressively drive financial inclusion to ensure that money and the services associated with it are universally accessible.”

According to him,  the 12-year-old company is focused on addressing fundamental development issues tied to Identity, Payment, Data and Learning.

He said these four pillars formed the bedrock upon which any development initiative would rest. “For any development initiative to be successful, we have to first solve the issue of identity. This is because a one-to-all approach at solving development issues will make little impact and limit sustainability. Individuals function within economic clusters or communities. It is important to take cognisance of these peculiarities in designing any intervention programme,” he said.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Employment, Afolabi Imoukuede, said, with a population of over 1.216 billion people, Africa has more than 500 million people living below the global poverty line ($1.25 a day). This, he said, accounted for about 40 per cent of the global population living below the poverty line.

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He stated that Africa was the world’s last frontier in the fight against extreme poverty and also the next frontier in the world of global economic opportunities.

In his words, projections from the World Data Lab revealed that Africa has now reached a milestone in the fight against poverty.

“As of March 2019, and for the first time since the start of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), more Africans are now escaping extreme poverty than are falling (or being born) below the poverty line. This is refreshing good news, points to steps being taken in the right direction.

“However, the pace of this net poverty reduction is currently very small: only 367 people per day. Nevertheless, by the end of this year, this rate is projected to increase to over 3,000 people per day, resulting in a one million-person reduction in total African poverty by 2020,” he stated.

Imoukuede said it has also becomes critical to bridge the poverty gaps in the region, so as to be able to earn the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, “having missed the benefit of the first, second and third revolution.”

He noted the six pillars, comprising identity, digital literacy, education, agriculture, financial services and health, that would facilitate social inclusion and national development. He added that strong government participation in policymaking, resource allocation and ecosystem development is required to fast track development in these areas.