The Role of Technology to Achieve Sustainable Economic Development in Africa

Abstract

Objective - The purpose of this paper is to study how the technological innovation can achieve and promote sustainable development particularly in Africa. It considers forms of innovation technology that could enhance sustainable development. Methodology/Technique - The data used in this paper includes 54 African countries and the study period is from 2000 to 2014, using data on IT that measures the stock of telecommunications infrastructure as telecommunications investment. The GDP series represents annual real GDP in the prices of 2000. Annual series for IT and GDP were collected from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank database in 2015. Findings - The paper presents the concept and strategies of Sustainable Economic Development, discusses existing technologies in sustainable development, shows the role of technology in sustainable development, and presents the information and communication technology to promote economic development in Africa and the obstacles to set up policies for innovation technology in Africa. Novelty - The results have major implications. Firstly, the access to telecommunications services contributes towards economic growth. Secondly, an appropriate regulatory environment is necessary to realize the potential growth in telecommunications demand generated by increased income. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Technology; Sustainable Economic Development; ICT in Africa.