Is the fourth industrial revolution relevant to sub-Sahara Africa?

ABSTRACT

While the 4IR has the potential to impact on all industries and all nations, regardless of their location or state of development, many of the discussions of the 4IR and its impact are focused on advanced economies. What are the prospects and constraints of the 4IR to emerging economies in sub-Sahara Africa? To what extent is the 4IR relevant to sub-Sahara Africa where there is a large informal economy, limited public infrastructure, where technical skills levels are low, and advanced technology can be found in only a few sectors that are dominated by foreign multinational companies and staffed by expatriate workers? What is the relevance of policy development towards the 4IR in the region given its young population profile, and emerging skill shortages in key sectors? The paper draws on secondary literature to highlight the challenges and to identify the policy developments that have been developed in the region.

KEYWORDS:

• Sub-Sahara Africa
• fourth industrial revolution
• technology
• developing economies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Desmond Tutu Ayentimi research is multi-disciplinary that focus on identifying institutional and cultural constraints and opportunities in HRM practice transfer to less developed and developing economies in Sub-Sahara Africa. His research interests include MNEs’ HRM policies in developing economies, employment relations, cross-cultural management, local content policies and HRD in sub-Sahara Africa.

John Burgess research interests include the HRM practices of multinational enterprises; the transition from education to employment; working time arrangements and health; the transition from military to civilian employment; and the policy implications of contingent employment. He previously held Professorial appointments at Curtin University (Perth, Australia) and the University of Newcastle (Australia). He is a co-editor of Personnel Review, an area editor of Economics and Labour Relations Review and on the editorial board of the Human Resource Management Journal.

ORCID

Desmond Tutu Ayentimi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5952-3023