| Abstract
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Africa rising is a raging discourse among policy wonks and African scholars. Some have questioned the veracity of this proposition, while others agree that indeed Africa’s prospects are incontrovertible. In this article, the author developed an exegesis to theorize that Africa’s future growth, at least for the next one century, shall depend on three praxes: internet of things, population growth and the eventual implementation of AfCFTA. Internet of things accentuated by increased internet connectivity is going to create prodigious solutions to African problems, especially in increasing financial inclusion, solving election malpractices through blockchain technology, raising income earnings for rural communities via the sharing economy and improving agribusiness productivity through smart farming. These solutions will mostly target small-holder business players and poor households in hinterland Africa, aiming to lift them from poverty and narrowing the inequality gap. Besides, Africa’s population growth is estimated to reach 2.4 billion by 2050 and theorized to create a market revolution punctuated by a demographic dividend of 15–64-year-olds. The youthful population shall be necessary for providing workforce and technological innovations for driving the wheels of growth in the continent. Moreover, AfCFTA shall be the largest Free Trade Area since the formation of WTO, providing a 1.2 billion people mass market (Signe, 2018: 3). In retrospect, the author intends to demonstrate that the three pathways – the internet of things, population growth and AfCFTA – shall be quintessential building blocks for actualizing the Africa Rising narrative. Africa rising is a raging discourse among policy wonks and African scholars. Some have questioned the veracity of this proposition, while others agree that indeed Africa’s prospects are incontrovertible. In this article, the author developed an exegesis to theorize that Africa’s future growth, at least for the next one century, shall depend on three praxes: internet of things, population growth and the eventual implementation of AfCFTA. Internet of things accentuated by increased internet connectivity is going to create prodigious solutions to African problems, especially in increasing financial inclusion, solving election malpractices through blockchain technology, raising income earnings for rural communities via the sharing economy and improving agribusiness productivity through smart farming. These solutions will mostly target small-holder business players and poor households in hinterland Africa, aiming to lift them from poverty and narrowing the inequality gap. Besides, Africa’s population growth is estimated to reach 2.4 billion by 2050 and theorized to create a market revolution punctuated by a demographic dividend of 15–64-year-olds. The youthful population shall be necessary for providing workforce and technological innovations for driving the wheels of growth in the continent. Moreover, AfCFTA shall be the largest Free Trade Area since the formation of WTO, providing a 1.2 billion people mass market (Signe, 2018: 3). In retrospect, the author intends to demonstrate that the three pathways – the internet of things, population growth and AfCFTA – shall be quintessential building blocks for actualizing the Africa Rising narrative.
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