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Johannesburg - Africa’s youth need to move from being technologists to techpreneurs and from fintechnologists to fintechpreneurs, thereby releasing the true value of Africa’s communities, businesses and people.
This was the message from Khonology to more than 3 000 young people who recently attended the Standard Bank Youth Expo in Sandton.
The aim of the expo was to create a platform to expose the South African youth to brands and organisations that wish to engage them on an intellectual basis, as well as create awareness of their products and services.
"The lack of financial knowledge is one of the hindrances of bridging the gap between corporates, markets and the education sector," said Khonology marketing manager Africa Nkosi.
"This is an issue that can be solved by introducing technology and finance across all subjects or modules, making sure that we understand how these factors integrate and impact the value chain in the economy."
Nkosi emphasised that competition has become knowledge-based in a digital global economy. In modern theories of growth and development, technological innovation has taken centre stage. Therefore, there is growing interest in the relationship between technology, finance and how it can promote growth and development in Africa.
READ: Entrepreneurship: SA youth doing it for themselves
"In order for Africa to be developed, we Africans need to step up and form a new economy, an economy that shapes our education, our industries and output as an economy. This new Africa we speak of can be created in various ways," he explained.
"We need exposure to fresh minds, upping the volume for young people who have innovative ideas and solutions to complex African problems. The collaboration between communities, academia, business and government can drive young minds to innovate in a way that influences all key economic drivers in a measurable and sustainable way."
He pointed out that the fintech sector is one that is booming right now with many innovative technological ideas. It is playing a major role in the evolution of technology and the world as a whole. A few trends riding the fintech wave include the rise of big data, blockchain technology, increased automation, security management and regulation, artificial intelligence, payments, the rise of alternative products and the sharing of information.
Companies such as 22Seven, SnapScan and Ikhokha are taking full advantage of this booming sector which seems to offer many opportunities for young people. There are quite a number of young people who are developing innovative solutions and selling ideas to major corporations; the opportunities are there for youth to collaborate and continue developing solutions that address African issues.
READ: SA's youth an economic asset - analyst
"We need to keep driving this innovation and look to disrupt and do things efficiently and effectively. Africa is a fertile ground for new fintech services which are leveraging the power of communities and social media to make financial services more relevant. The largest market in Africa is unserved; an estimated 330 million adult Africans lack access to formal financial services," said Nkosi.
Addressing the skills shortage in the country, especially a combination of technical skills and finance, he emphasised that entrants to fintech need to have a unique selling point to challenge global competition in the technology and finance space.
"Social intelligence skills play a major role to becoming an active citizen that offers value across the global economy. The thinking, communication, etiquette and most importantly approach to solving the problem are most important. How one tackles complex problems is vital to finding relevant and impactful solutions in financial technology," he said.
"For instance, engineers have excelled with solving problems in the technology and finance space; this dynamism has proved that it is not about the background linked with the career, but the thinking and approach that unlocks your potential in financial technology."
Financial literacy, technology and economics should not be elective subjects, but rather compulsory from primary to university level, in his view.
"They are key drivers to ensuring that the future knows the fundamentals of being market makers and players. Banking, telecommunications, insurance and manufacturing are a few industries changing through fintech," he said.
"We must start training technologists who gain unique fintech skills and who can change their environment. This way we drive employment and education forward for Africans by Africans.”
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