In 2016, during the World Economic Forum, world and business leaders agreed that the Fourth Industrial Revolution had arrived, and that it would fundamentally change the world as we know it. Africa has been missing in action in the previous three industrial revolutions. The Fourth Industrial
Revolution provides Africa the opportunity to jumpstart out of poverty using technology, digital technology, to accelerate economic development of the continent. For the past 18 months, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) has been working to create a pan-African digital economy vision. On the sidelines of Transform Africa 2019 taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, we have released an opinion paper detailing results from our research and consultation with the private sector.