Post2026
Across much of Africa and the developing world, informal work is often treated as a temporary defect that economic development will eventually eliminate. But informality is not simply what remains when formal institutions are absent. It is often how people build businesses, find work and organise economic life when existing institutions do not adequately serve them. The challenge is not simply to make informal activity formal. It is to build institutions that make becoming formal worthwhile.
Post2026
Technology research in Africa has often asked whether theories developed elsewhere can explain African realities. Perhaps the more interesting question is whether African ideas can help us understand technology differently. Concepts such as Ubuntu and Omoluwabi offer more than cultural context. They provide ways of thinking about knowledge, relationships, responsibility, trust and human agency that could enrich how we understand digital transformation, artificial intelligence and the future of work, in Africa and beyond.
Post2026
The debate about Africa’s digital future often begins with technology: broadband, artificial intelligence, fintech, digital identity, cloud infrastructure and startups. But technology is rarely the real constraint. The deeper challenge is whether institutions, firms and governments have the capability to turn technological adoption into sustained improvements in productivity, public services and economic opportunity.
Post2026
Resilience is often celebrated as one of the great strengths of people and businesses in developing economies. But there is a point at which resilience stops being an advantage and becomes a tax. When firms must constantly improvise around weak infrastructure, unreliable institutions and unpredictable systems, enormous amounts of human and financial capital are spent simply keeping things functioning. Development should reduce the amount of resilience people need for ordinary life.
