Smart cities in Africa: A Continent in Transition
by: Fotini Maltezou & Achilles Panagiotou
MA in Information Society, New Media and Technology / Course: Cultural Marketing and Communications / Athens co-Creation City Branding Project — Course Instructor: Betty Tsakarestou
An overview accompanied by the following presentation:
Africa is experiencing unprecedented population growth. Βy 2030 Africa’s population will exceed that of Europe, South and North America combined. 50 per cent of Africans today remain at incomes below USD 1.25 per day, while only 4% receive more than USD 10 per day. The African middle class have incomes between 2 and 20 USD 20 per day.
The continent faces vulnerabilities, due to resource depletion, undiversified economic growth and the inability to adapt to new, global challenges. By 2060 it might be a resource scarce economy.
Re-imagining sustainable urban transitions
More than a quarter of the 100 fastest-growing cities in the world are in Africa: Northern Africa is highly urbanized. Eastern Africa is the world’s least urbanized but fastest urbanizing sub-region. Western Africa is the most rapidly urbanizing sub-region in Africa after Eastern Africa. Central Africa is rapidly urbanizing, but the subregion is not expected to reach a region-wide urban majority until around 2030. Southern Africa is the most urbanized region in sub-Saharan Africa.
By 2050 Africa’s urban dwellers are projected to have increased from 400 million to 1.2 billion. Booming cities are supporting growing middle classes and creating sizable consumer markets. Urban growth is accompanied by massive urban poverty and many other social problems. Unplanned slums and informal settlements present systemic problems. New vulnerabilities and threats can also be attributed to climate and environmental change.
Africa and the fourth industrial revolution merging of digital, physical and biological worlds
Significant transitions take place: demographic, economic, technological, environmental, urban and socio-political. Despite its feeble global economy, Africa’s performance is promising, with an increasing number of nations progressing towards high rankings among the world’s emerging economies.
50% and 70% of poor African households’ budgets are spent on food, water, energy and transport which means that they are vulnerable to external shocks such as sharp rises in the costs of electricity, oil, food and water. Economic diversification and development on the continent could benefit considerably from harnessing the opportunities emerging in the green technology (small-scale wind and hydro energy, first at the household level and then regionally) and fourth industrial revolution spaces. This combination is a way for the continent to benefit at all levels.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
UNDP works with countries and communities to chart development paths that are low-carbon, climate-proof and use ecosystems and biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations. UNDP collaborates with governments, civil society and the private sector to help them transform their economies (Private sector is a key driver of Africa’s emergence) to create jobs and making sure resources are invested back into communities.
In 2018 they created YAS! (Youth for Africa and Sustainable Development Goals): a Digital pan-African platform for young entrepreneurs. The four main pillars of the entrepreneurship ecosystem include Information, Mentorship, Funding and Network.
The state of African cities 2014, Re-imagining sustainable urban transitions (UN HABITAT for a better urban future)
Africa must rapidly improve its social services, especially in its mushrooming cities, to create better working and living conditions as well as new economic opportunities for its young people who will have to carry forward the current economic momentum. This includes encouraging the return of Africa’s diaspora brain drain which, in turn, implies the provision of more attractive urban living and working conditions.
The 2018 Africa Sustainable Development Report reviews Africa’s performance on five goals, and related targets and indicators of the 2030 Agenda, taking into account their correspondence with Agenda 2063. (UN Economic Commission for Africa). The report uses the latest data from international sources to track performance and highlight lessons learned in the implementation of the two agendas. Last year’s report is aligned with the theme, “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” and Goals 6, 7, 11, 12 and 15 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition, the report examines trends in science, technology and innovation (STI) in Africa and its role in advancing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the continent.
What it takes to ensure Sustainable Resource flows:
Food Security: Land degradation is highly significant in 32 countries in Africa).
Water security: Ten of the world’s twelve most drought-vulnerable countries are in Africa)
Energy Supply: Lack of access and/or inequitable access to energy resources).
Waste Management: African cities generate only between 0.3 kg and 0.8 kg of solid waste per capita/day, compared to the global average of 1.39 kg/capita/day. Poor solid-waste management poses extreme hazards to health and water quality through pollution.
External” Threats and Shocks: 200 million climate refugees (eco-migrants),
Health and Sanitation: Human health contributes to the indices used to determine least developed countries.
Adaptation versus Mitigation: African countries are low-level contributors to greenhouse gases. Countries are largely governed from their cities, which house most industrial activities. They should become resilient to the impacts of climate change through technologies that are appropriate in economy and scale to suit each city’s specific needs. Cities provide and fulfill nationwide activities and roles, which are often expressed as solely urban outputs. In general, African countries and cities need to ensure that they are resilient to the impacts of climate change through technologies that are appropriate in economy and scale to suit each city’s specific needs. The relevance of adaptation in African cities is underscored by the number of mayors who committed their local government to implementing the Durban Adaptation Charter which was adopted by the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2011.
A new ‘African Climate Risks Conference’ will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 7–9 October 2019 to address such issues, disseminate results and share insights in Africa; Provide a forum to co-identify common priorities and contribute to efforts to ensure greater impact and legacy of on-going research programs. Also to link researchers and the diversity of other actors important for moving research into policy and practice such as decision-makers, national meteorological agencies, knowledge brokers, donors, NGOs, etc..
Could African cities harness green technologies for growth and jobs?
Unplanned slums and informal settlements present systemic problems in most developing world cities. Between 50% and 70% of poor African households’ budgets are spent on food, water, energy and transport. This makes them vulnerable to external shocks such as sharp rises in the costs of electricity, oil and petroleum, food and water. The biggest boon of them all: the fourth industrial revolution presents a massive opportunity to leapfrog African countries’ productive economies into a wholly new space.
Countries across Africa are putting “smart cities” on their agendas
According to the Nigerian Smart Cities Initiative (Nigeria smart city Summit August 2017), ICT may be the core upon which smart cities are built but the capabilities required to kick-start smart city services and efficiencies reach beyond ICT.
They should also deliver lean, optimal and efficient services (energy sources e.g., PV and wind energy) integrated with other services as intelligent smart city capabilities expand.
The ICT provider will play a broader role, implementing ICT infrastructure but also coordinating between service providers.
Cities are looking for the right partners who:
· Have broad industry experience (understanding the operations and priorities of different sectors and stakeholders)
· Can create strong collaborative relationships across and between sectors
· Can do strategic planning and service roll outs based on customer needs and stakeholder readiness
· Can offer data center, interconnect and international connectivity
· Can facilitate open access models, providing network control, management and maintenance
· Offer smart city stakeholders integrated, shared and hosted platforms to flight their services
· Have the data and analytics capabilities to enable multi-party services
· Can facilitate service provision and revenue collection.
Smart Africa’s Vision Statement: “Transform Africa into a Single Digital Market”
(signed by Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad DR Congo Côte d’Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Gabon Ghana Guinea Kenya Mali Niger Rwanda Sao Tome & Principe Senegal South Africa South Sudan Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia)
Principles of the Manifesto:
· To put ICT at the center of the national socio-economic development agenda
· To improve accountability, efficiency and openness through ICT
· To leverage ICT to promote sustainable development
· To improve access to ICT especially Broadband
· To put the Private Sector First
(Among platinum members supporting the initiative was HUAWEI).
IoT: Sweeping Africa’s Development in the Wake of Global Digital Transformation
Connected to powerful computers in the “cloud”, or to replicated data across the world through blockchains, this will transform the African continent in a way that few of us can imagine today, making work more convenient, efficient and automated in each field:
Fintech will transform the way we hold and move money
New Technology in Healthcare (IoT, AI and blockchain applications). Wearable technology allows individuals to collect health data and share it with doctors and health providers to improve care.
IOT and Big Data. IoT makes it possible that everything from household appliances, work equipment, to vehicles and buildings will transmit data and communicate with other objects or people; making it potentially possible for everything to be measured and tracked all the time.
IOT in Smart City Development (e.g in Lagos)
New Technologies In Governance (Political elections are a major bottleneck process in today’s Africa. )
With other challenges such as offering public spaces with free Wi-Fi, solar-powered street lights, and — as is the case in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — automated-lift car parks that reduce the space needed for cars, smart cities are aimed mainly at the continent’s young, tech-savvy population. “Cities should focus on smart citizens as opposed to smart cities,” Slavov says. (Mira Slavov, at LSE, writes on African smart cities).
Countries like Rwanda have been seen to spearhead smart city development in their country, with reforms like development of Wi-Fi in public areas, including vehicles. They have also been able to implement cashless payment in public vehicles. Nigeria aims to do the same.
Urbanization in Africa
Rapid population growth
By 2020, Africa is likely to be the fastest urbanizing continent in the world
By 2030, six of the world’s 41 megacities will be in Africa. There will be nearly 350 million new city-dwellers by 2030, and a billion more by 2063. (The African Union (AU) developed the Agenda 2063).
Today 60% of the population is living in slums. By 2050, Africa’s slum population will have tripled.
Smart cities in Africa are designed to provide a solution to a critical lack of housing.
Examples of newly developed satellite “smart cities:” Ambitious multi-billion dollar, hyper-livable tech cities populated with bustling, beautified boulevards, private condos and luxury cars include:
Eko Atlantic city in Lagos, Nigeria,
Waterfall City (South Africa),
Hope City in Ghana
New landmark locations built entirely from scratch.
Vision City on the edge of Kigali in Rwanda (property prices start at $172,000).
Appolonia and King City in Ghana
Kenya’s new tech hub Konza (way behind schedule)
Tatu City in Kenya
Also: Addis Ababa Ethiopia with automated-lift car parks
Smart cities are emerging in Zambia, Ghana, Mauritius and Kenya.
Chris Giles of CNN asks: “Will these ambitious projects be of benefit to a fortunate few or can smart cities provide a genuine solution to Africa’s fast-paced urbanisation?”
Smart Lagos — The IOT challenge
Lagos, Nigeria the fastest growing city in Africa with a population of 21 million people and huge traffic congestion. Lagos has doubled to nearly 14 million people between 2000–2016 (Business Insider’s list), and it is expected to explode to 88.3 million people by 2100 to be the world’s most populous city overall.
IOT data from smart cars can help to improve traffic, and traffic lights can adjust to real-time traffic conditions such as when an emergency vehicle is approaching. Road sensors will make changes to the speed limit based on weather and accidents, while also communicating directly to car dashboards about unsafe conditions with caution messages to slow down, beware of the accident scene in the turn in a quarter mile, etc.
Lagos, Nigeria 2018: The YAS Programme: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Accenture announced the launch of YAS! (Youth for Africa and Sustainable Development Goals, a pan-African entrepreneurship portal-platform).
YAS! is a Digital pan-African platform for young entrepreneurs. The four main pillars of the entrepreneurship ecosystem are: Information, Mentorship, Funding and Network.
Nigeria and Egypt are taking a lead.
Cheap talent, large market
SystemSpecs, is an e-payment company and Computer Warehouse Group, a technology provider to the banking sector. Τech talent is relatively cheap in Lagos. Software engineers working in Lagos earn only 70% as much as their counterparts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The increased interest of tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft in Lagos, is on the back of the recognition of the latent potential in such a large local market. With proper training, support and opportunities for international practical experience, many of the already quite tech-savvy talent pool could do much more.
Status, prospects and opportunities (a smart city vision)
To give incentives in order to establish small power plants (1 MW) that need not plug into the national grid (the aim is to have uninterrupted power supply by 2023).
Savvy entrepreneurs built the so-called “Computer Village” in the Ikeja capital district of Lagos.
In December 2017, the Lagos State government launched “Lagos Innovates” to support tech entrepreneurs.
Lagos-based Andela trains programmers and facilitates their placement with software companies around the world. CNN in June 2015 called it “the startup that’s harder to get into than Harvard”.
Yabacon Valley” in a district of Lagos called Yaba, where techies have been aggregating to create innovative solutions (e-commerce and payment systems). In January 2017, state governor Akinwunmi Ambode announced plans to transform Yaba into a major technology hub. Tech entrepreneurs in the Yaba cluster would be allowed access to the state’s ₦25bn employment trust fund.
The startup ecosystem
Much of the tech industry in Nigeria, at least 70% it is reckoned, is in Lagos.
Compared to other tech hub cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Kigali, Lagos differentiates itself in terms of potential market size. With a startup ecosystem valued at $2bn, it is the most valuable African tech city, overtaking Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nairobi. In 2016 the Lagos tech scene got most of the $109.37m in (500) startup funding for Nigeria, more foreign capital than any of its African rivals. (South Africa secured $96.75m and Kenya got $92.7m in tech startup financing in 2016.
Andela Aims to Train 100,000 African Software Developers by 2024
A Lagos, Nigeria-based startup called Andela has announced that it has raised another $40 million in venture capital, bringing its total funding to $80 million. The firm hires people and trains them for six months before placing them in a job where they do remote development work for companies like Viacom, Mastercard Labs, GitHub and SeatGeek.
Workers sign contracts to work for two years, but they are expected to stay for four.
Salaries begin low but can rise to around $30,000. So far, the company’s retention rate is around 98 percent. Investors in the startup include GV (formerly known as Google Ventures), Spark Capital and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Other startups include
An online retailer that did win in Lagos and is succeeding across the continent, is Jumia, the parent company (African Internet Group) which was valued at more than $1bn as early as 2016. Established four years earlier in Lagos, the Africa Internet Group which set up Jumia, is Africa’s first unicorn, a tech company , valued at more than $1bn
MainOne, a wholesale internet service provider with a submarine cable of its own that connects South Africa and a couple of West African countries with Europe via Portugal; Paga, a mobile money service provider.
Eko Atlantic City: to become the new financial headquarters for Nigeria attracting international businesses and tourism and to serve as the gateway to emerging markets. As a prime development, Eko Atlantic will incorporate the highest standard of living, best conditions for business and represent African excellence:
Efficient energy generation fueled by natural gas and solar panels that are installed on the main water reservoirs.
The towers on the 8.5 meter above the sea-level island are on average 35 stories high and will provide more than 10 million square meters of real estate opportunities for businesses and residential.
Once completed, Eko Atlantic City will be home to 300,000 residents and 200,000 commuters who will enjoy the largest shopping mall in West Africa, a stunning waterfront promenade, two large marinas, and so much more.
200,000 trees are being raised to soon be planted on the island to provide greenery.
Old problems, New challenges
NIGERIA ICT and more: In 2006, with a drive towards cloud computing for all federal government agencies, Nigeria launched its own cloud service — Galaxy Backbone. Yet, in most federal government agencies in the country, there is still an inherent dependency on paper.
“Where was the Galaxy Backbone when an alleged fire accident in the accounts department of FAAN destroyed documents that could have aided investigations into a ₦100m fraud case? If we have a federal government owned cloud computing system that doesn’t work, how do we expect to achieve the feat of building smart cities without all this being put in place?” ..asks the author of the article ‘Nigeria’s new smart cities initiative is putting the cart before the horse’ Jesuleke Olarewaju (May 19, 2017).
“The Vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in a speech at The Platform (an evangelistic tool to get people born-again), confirmed that the federal government is partnering with a Nigeria owned cloud service, MainOne for the project ..and I (the author of the article) wondered, “what happened to Galaxy Backbone?”
‘Lagos Innovates’ to support tech entrepreneurs
Themed “Towards a Smart City: Preparing for the next 50 years of prosperity” (May 2017)
Keynote speaker: a top thinker on African issues, Oxford professor, Paul Collier:
“Smart does not mean elite. Smart means a city that works for everybody in it. A city that works means that ordinary people can become productive and so earn a decent living.” such as transportation, ICT, tourism, hospitality, entertainment, and sports for excellence
“Lagos Innovates” to support tech entrepreneurs. Through the programme, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would be provided with the infrastructural support, training, capital and networks they need to succeed. The initiative copies similar models in Chile, India and Singapore.
Is Nigeria’s Lagos Really the World’s Least Livable City, Besides Damascus?
What about Boko Haram: Lagos has been largely spared from its attacks (One could argue that “Western cities such as London and Paris have suffered multiple large-scale militant attacks in the past three years, most of which have been claimed by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).”
Lagos Has a Booming Economy (Lagos is not entirely dependent on oil)
Lagos Has a Burgeoning Tech Scene
Infrastructure Is Bad, but It Should Get Better
Lagos Has a Thriving Entertainment Industry (Nollywood, Nigeria’s eclectic and rapidly growing film industry)
Nairobi: Beyond Safaris and Artisan Markets
Things to know about Nairobi: Nairobi is the Capital of Kenya. Nairobi means “cool water”, referencing the Nairobi River passing through the city. Nairobi is an established hub for businesses and culture. Nairobi National Park. It is a Multicultural city which houses the United Nations Environment Programme & United Nations Office at Nairobi. Also known for the Kibera slum.
The Pinnacle (Pinnacle Towers) is one of the tallest buildings in Africa. The development is a joint venture by Hass Petroleum and White Lotus Group, a Dubai-based investment firm.
The main contractor is China State Construction Engineering Corporation will construct Hass Towers, a mixed use development which will stand over 300 meters tall in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area.
Nairobi ranked 6th most dynamic, fastest-growing cities in the world
Nairobi (6th) is projected to be one of fastest-growing cities in the world in terms of population over the next five years, and this is matched by very robust economic growth.
Absorbing this pace of migration is creating some issues. Nairobi frequently ranks near the top of indices that address congestion; a heavy reliance on cars and buses ensures that traffic jams are a daily problem.
Increase transparency to bring foreign direct investment
Smart City
Won the title of Most Intelligent City in Africa for two years in a row (A smart city starts at the planning stage)
Nairobi is replicating the steps Singapore followed on becoming a smart city
In 2007, Kenya launched M-Pesa, a mobile money system that allows people to transfer money and pay bills.
In 2010, Nairobi invested further into fostering innovation by creating the iHub, a tech incubation center. By 2015, iHub spawned 150 start-ups and had created more than 1,300 jobs.
Konza City, located 60km from Nairobi’s center, is being built to become the African version of the Silicon Valley, or Silicon Savanah, featuring world class infrastructure, sustainability and inclusive growth.
The first building has yet to be completed (Dec 2018) on the 5,000-acre former cattle ranch, three years after breaking ground, and business has shifted its focus to other African countries, like Rwanda, with competing visions to become modern tech hubs.
Utopia ? Cold feet ? Current funding a drop in the Ocean.
What people think
“Living in the city is quite enjoyable due to efficiency of accessible tarmac roads, shopping malls, market centers, luxuries hotels, hospital even the latest discovery of the modern electric train.”
“I loved Nairobi. Hated the corruption. Eventually, the corruption was a major factor in me selling my businesses and leaving the market.”
“Nairobi is a beautiful city with beautiful and hard-working people. A preferred destination for the young generation hyperactive about social life.”
Kibera Slums
Population: 500.000–1.000.000
An upgrade is complicated because of: crime rate, lack of foundations, topography
Clearance on Sep 2019 ..Postponed several times ..Legally challenged
Nubian community living here for 100yrs.
How smart a continent can be when .. WATER AND SANITATION PROBLEMS RAVAGES IT?
Only four countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and South Africa) in Africa continent have managed to provide better sanitation to their citizens.
Most of the countries on the continent have not reached the goal even to provide adequate quality water to their population.
Some cities and towns have done very little to provide sanitation facilities in most of their institutions, Kenya is included.
6 numbers that prove the future is African:
· By 2030 one in five people will be African
· 2 billion babies will be born in Africa over the next 33 years.
· The overwhelming majority of Africans (93%) today have access to a mobile phone service, but less than two thirds have access to piped water. Samsung is Africa’s number one most admired brand.
· In 11 African countries, women hold close to one-third of parliamentary seats. This is more than in Europe.
· African women hold two thirds of all jobs in the non-agricultural informal sector, and on average only make 70 cents for each dollar made by men. (The UN estimates that discriminatory gender policies in sub-Saharan Africa cost the region up to $105 billion each year, or 6% of its GDP.
Is Africa a smart continent really?
How and why Europe wants to partner with Africa: The TuNur project
Desert solar project could power 5 million EU homes. Europe currently has about 100GW of solar photovoltaic power capacity, the bloc’s sixth largest source after natural gas, wind, coal, large hydro and nuclear. If TuNur’s plan to add 4.5GW of renewable energy to the mix comes to fruition, then Brussels’ renewable energy targets will be easier to achieve, especially if the initial phase of 250MW comes online by 2020, when the EU’s 20% renewable energy goal has its deadline.
The TuNur project demonstrates the potential for renewable energy to meet the needs for low-carbon power in Tunisia as well as in North Africa and Europe (large-scale renewable energy projects in emerging markets are a recent phenomenon and are likely to face a number of commercial barriers). Some media outlets have already linked TuNur to ‘energy colonialism’ and ‘land-grabbing’. the TuNur project could also be threatened by instability at the national level.
Africa-EU — key statistical indicators (Eurostat)
The African population reached almost 1.3 billion people in 2017, more than double the population of the EU (512 million people).
From 2016 to 2017, GDP grew faster in Ethiopia (10.3%), Ghana (8.5%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (7.6%) than in the best performing EU country (Ireland 7.2%).
In 2016, the African countries Seychelles, Botswana, Mauritius, Gabon, South Africa, Gambia and Ghana all had more mobile subscriptions per inhabitant than the EU average (1 231 mobile subscriptions per thousand inhabitants).
Competing in Africa: China, the European Union, and the United States
Demand for natural resources and job creation forced China to look for markets abroad. Africa was a willing partner, due to its abundance of commodities and need for infrastructure development (financing of more than 3,000, largely critical, infrastructure projects). China has become the region’s largest creditor, accounting for 14 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s total debt stock.
Launch of the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership and the first-ever summit between the 27 members of the EU and the 54 nations of Africa in 2007 seem to have hit a reset of sorts in the two regions’ relationship.
Since 2000, U.S.-African commercial relations have been based on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a non-reciprocal trade agreement that grants about 40 countries duty-free access for approximately 6,400 products to the U.S. Two-way trade has fallen from a high of $100 billion in 2008 to $39 billion in 2017, largely due to U.S. energy self-sufficiency.
