With help of China and e-commerce, Africa could industrialize faster

With the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg wrapping up with some bold decisions and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation scheduled for September in Beijing, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the developmental trajectories of African countries and China and to assess the prospects technology and new innovations hold for the kind of economic transformation Africa is looking to achieve.

Africa still faces innumerable developmental challenges - some old, some relatively new. Since new challenges are constantly emerging, they can seem overwhelming. Under these conditions, it is essential that the key players on the continent, particularly in the economic sphere, thoroughly evaluate the set of tools at their disposal that will allow them to not only drive the economic transformation of Africa, but also help all African countries to realize their developmental aspirations at a faster rate than before but by causing less harm to the environment. E-commerce is a key pillar here.

It is often cited that one of the reasons why China has managed to develop at the pace it has is that, during its industrialization process, it had the kinds of technologies which allowed it to leapfrog many of the stumbling blocks that many of the economies that industrialized before it had faced. As Africa's largest trading partner, China has an important role to play in supporting the African economies in these endeavor, because e-commerce companies such as Alibaba have a vital role to play in facilitating Africa's growth and economic expansion. For example, they can expand the access between the two markets and make their exchanges more effective.