Next phase for Africa digital economy fit be shaped no by wetin continent lack, but by wetin e fit skip.

Na so Adeniyi Adebayo, Chief Business Officer for Yango Ride, see am. E talk say because heavy old infrastructure no too dey for many African countries, dem get rare chance to waka pass some steps comot straight enter the age of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital platforms.

For interview wey e do with TRT Afrika, Adebayo yarn say continent dey enter period wey technology fit change not only online services but agriculture, transport, manufacturing and how we dey build infrastructure.

World Bank dey estimate say digital economy don dey contribute more than 5% of Africa GDP, and analysts believe say that portion go grow as mobile internet spread and digital services begin stick more for everyday life.

“If you compare Asia versus Africa versus Europe versus North America, you would see that we have the fastest-growing digital adoption globally.”

Generation wey see arrival of digital economy

For Adebayo, the size of the change clear pass when you remember tins for personal level rather than just dey look statistics.

“Twenty-five years ago, there was nothing like the digital economy across the world, especially not in Africa. I remember very clearly when my mother bought the first Nokia 3310 phone in 2002.”

E talk say that kind experience show how quick industry fit rise and produce big value.

“The entire industry is barely 25 years old. Companies like Alphabet and Microsoft are now worth trillions of dollars. If you are an entrepreneur, it makes a lot of sense to get into a business that is growing this fast.”

Why Africa may adapt faster than richer regions

Adebayo believe one advantage for Africa be say many sectors no carry heavy expensive legacy systems.

“For a lot of African countries, we do not have a huge chunk of legacy technologies or legacy businesses. That means we can build faster and adapt to new technologies and new systems faster.”

E use telecommunications as clear example. Before mobile phone, to expand connectivity you for need costly landline infrastructure. Mobile technology make countries fit connect millions of people without first to build big fixed networks.

“You have the opportunity in Africa to leapfrog some of those stages and build directly for the present.”

The Rwanda example: skipping the missing road

To show how leapfrogging dey work for practice, Adebayo talk about Zipline, the drone delivery company wey start for Rwanda.

“They made drones to deliver medicine to remote areas. Why do you need drones? Because there are no roads. You can leapfrog the fact that you do not have roads and still deliver medicine.”

For am, na strong lesson for Africa: innovation no always mean say you must copy infrastructure path wey Europe or North America take follow.

Adebayo talk say artificial intelligence dey transform knowledge work now, but e expect say next wave go enter the physical world through robotics, drones and automated systems.

“Today AI is revolutionising digital spaces and how knowledge work happens. Over time it will spill over into the physical world.”

E talk say this fit sharply reduce production costs for many sectors.

“Imagine an era where a physical AI robot can do many of the specialised tasks that make infrastructure projects expensive. Knowledge becomes distributed, and the cost of deploying that knowledge falls sharply.”

For am, the meaning reach beyond technology companies.

“The future is super exciting because AI can revolutionise agriculture, food, transportation, industry and many other sectors. What we are seeing now is only the beginning.”

AfCFTA: Political project, economic necessity

Adebayo still see African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as important part of continent digital future, though e know say challenge big.

“We have more than a billion people split into 54 countries. What governments are trying to do is not easy.”

E talk say Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), wey dey try make cross-border payments for local currencies easy, na important first step.

“Now money can move more freely. That is a very good movement in the right direction.”

But e insist say payments alone no go reach.

“Next we need the movement of goods, services and people. If we get those next steps right, I think an era of abundance is waiting for Africa.”

Trade first, infrastructure second

One of Adebayo strongest arguments be say African governments suppose focus on making trade easy before dem expect say infrastructure go solve everything.

“When you have trade, then you have something to tax. If there is no trade, there is nothing to tax.”

E put am side-by-side: economies wey dey rely on removing natural resources from ground versus those wey dey make money from transactions between business and consumers.

“Today many African governments are taxing what comes out of the ground, not what happens between people. If you can tax trade between people, then you create the fiscal base to invest in infrastructure.”

Adebayo talk say the continent don already get small-level integration for communications and for some areas, for movement of people.

“I am not paying any tax to talk to you. We have WhatsApp, Zoom and other platforms. There is already a free flow of communication.”

Regional groups like ECOWAS and the East African Community don also make progress for people mobility.

“What we have not fully unlocked is the easy flow of money and goods.”

The regulalation obstacle

For companies wey dey operate for different African markets, fragmented regulations still big wahala.

“If you are driving for Yango in Côte d’Ivoire, there is one set of regulations for cars, drivers and taxi partners. Those rules do not automatically apply in Cameroon or Senegal.”

Every new market mean say you go need fresh negotiation and compliance process.

“You go to a new country, and it is a new conversation and a new set of rules.”

Adebayo talk say Yango strategy na to dey engage regulators and governments openly, with the bigger aim to build frameworks wey fit support cross-border services.

Despite the obstacles, Adebayo dey hopeful say deeper integration fit unlock much more trade between neighbouring African countries.

“If we bring the right infrastructure and the right regulations on board, there is no reason there should not be much more trade between neighbours than we have today.”

For am, the bigger story no be only growth of ride-hailing or digital apps. Na the chance say Africa fit join quick digital adoption, AI-driven innovation and more integrated continental market to start new level of economic growth.

“We are only at the beginning. The opportunity is not just to digitise existing businesses, but to build entirely new systems that were not possible before.”