Harnessing the 4IR in SADC: Roles for Policymakers

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the role of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), highlighting the necessity of adopting General Purpose Technologies to drive economic growth despite significant digital divides and infrastructure constraints.

• The Fourth Industrial Revolution is driven by General Purpose Technologies (GPTs) including artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, cloud computing, 3D printing, the internet of things, synthetic biology, and advanced materials.
• There is a significant digital divide in Africa; in 2018, only 24% of the population had internet access, compared to a global average of 51% and 80% in Europe. In the SADC region, the penetration rate was 26% based on 2017 data.
• To harness new technologies, 'follower' countries must overcome supply-side constraints, specifically the lack of enabling ICT infrastructure and policy agility, as well as demand-side constraints regarding innovation ecosystems and ICT skills. Within SADC, reducing costs and improving coverage requires infrastructure sharing and ICT spectrum management.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). Harnessing the 4IR in SADC: Roles for Policymakers. https://saiia.org.za/research/harnessing-the-4ir-in-sadc-roles-for-policymakers/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Harnessing the 4IR in SADC: Roles for Policymakers. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/harnessing-the-4ir-in-sadc-roles-for-policymakers/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Harnessing the 4IR in SADC: Roles for Policymakers |date=12 November 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/harnessing-the-4ir-in-sadc-roles-for-policymakers/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019harnessing, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Harnessing the 4IR in SADC: Roles for Policymakers}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/harnessing-the-4ir-in-sadc-roles-for-policymakers/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }