Africa’s young innovators can leapfrog into the digital revolution with the right tools and training.
The 4th Industrial Revolution is driven by newer technologies, such as 3D printing, that are changing industrial processes by accelerating them and making them more flexible. With the right tools and training, young innovators in Africa have the opportunity to skip the second industrial revolution — traditional mass production — and leapfrog straight to digital manufacturing. This, in turn, can provide them with a path out of poverty.
Africa has shown an incredible ability to leapfrog older forms of technology in favor of adopting the latest. It skipped traditional landlines — as well as dial-up Internet access — and moved straight to mobile broadband. Digital manufacturing and 3D printing will revolutionise Africa’s manufacturing industry in the same way that smart phones and mobile broadband are transforming the service, trade and agricultural industries.
Next-Shoring, the ‘Next’ Frontier
The lack of an established manufacturing sector means that most Africans rely on importing items like machine parts, consumables, household goods, tools and building materials. As 3D printing becomes more versatile, African nations can digitally manufacture such objects domestically and reduce dependency on costly imports. It will create an environmentally friendly ecosystem that doesn’t require factories, machinery, labor or capital. The savings, both direct and indirect, will afford many people the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.
Although growth in the manufacturing sector has long been considered crucial for economic development, it usually represents a small part of African economies. In Nigeria, for example, manufacturing is still at an infant stage, accounting less than 7 percent of GDP, and the local industry depends on imports of raw materials and parts.
3D printing has the capacity to transform the supply chain. By 2025, two-thirds of global demand will come from emerging markets, according to McKinsey & Co. As that happens, a new trend of “next-shoring” is expected to move manufacturing areas close to where the raw materials or customers are, cutting down on distribution time and reducing costs. Next-shoring transcends geography and focuses on physical proximity to emerging markets, talent and customers.
Take the auto industry in Nigeria, with Ford’s decision to establish a presence and produce roughly 10 units a day for the market. Since Nigeria is a priority market in Sub-Saharan Africa, many companies are looking at how a base there can service the entire region. Reliance on highly specialised suppliers for complex parts can be reduced with 3D printing, and so can the number of suppliers involved across the supply chain.
