By: Chané Fraser

Imagine a classroom in rural Ghana, a bustling kiosk in Nairobi, or a co-working hub in Dakar, all connected by a common thread: digital transformation. The Cenfri executive summary unpacks how this shift is reshaping livelihoods and why mastering digital skills is no longer optional.

The Digital Economy on the Move

• In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 80% of youth work in the informal sector, which is increasingly digital. Think mobile money, social media shops, and delivery services, all run from a smartphone.

• For example, in Ghana in 2018, around 25% of informal jobs already called for digital skills. That’s projected to climb to 45% by 2030.
  
  

A Multi‑Tiered Skills Breakdown

• Consumer Skills: Basic tasks like social media, mobile payments, or creating posts, often self-taught.
  
  

• Productive Skills: Skills such as data filtering, digital graphic design, cloud tools, and digital marketing, key for informal entrepreneurship.

• Developer Skills: Programming, app building, system architecture, critical for tech sector growth.
  
  

• E‑Leadership Skills: Steering digital transformations within businesses and organizations, essential for shaping new systems and models.

The Roadblocks: Education Still Falling Short

Foundational literacy and numeracy are lagging: only 7% of primary students are proficient readers, and about 14% excel at math
Even fewer advance to tertiary education, and many drop out before secondary school. Girls and youth from low-income or minority groups are most affected. 

Digital education infrastructure is also uneven:

• Many primary schools lack consistent electricity and internet.
  
  

• Data is expensive, for instance, a single 1GB video lecture can cost up to 4% of monthly income.
  
  

And teachers often lack the training to integrate technology effectively, far less to teach advanced tech concepts. 

How Youth Actually Learn Digital Skills

Digital learning doesn’t always happen in classrooms. Many pick up skills through:

• Self-learning and peer support
  
  

• Formal education like TVETs and universities
  
  

• Bootcamps, hubs, and employer training
  
  

• EdTech platforms—some offering local content, low data use, or offline modes.
  
  

Local Realities: Ghana, Kenya, Senegal

• Ghana boasts improved infrastructure, yet productive and developer skills are still lagging.
  
  

• Kenya has high mobile internet use and tech awareness, but formal development training remains limited and expensive.
  
  

• Senegal has made soft strides, like virtual “Open Digital Spaces,” but out-of-school youth still face huge barriers to access

Recommendations: A Two‑Track Strategy for Impact

1. Short‑Term (Now):
   
   

   • Focus on delivering productive digital skills to in‑school and out‑of‑school youth through formal and community channels.
     
     

   • Use open digital spaces and accessible programs to bridge immediate gaps. 

2. Long‑Term (Tomorrow):
   
   

   • Build developer and e‑leadership capacity—starting with coding in primary schools, then scaling upward.
     
     

   • Equip teachers and facilitators in schools and digital hubs to lead instruction.
     
     

Further steps include promoting certifications (e.g. ICDL) for young working adults, boosting STEM uptake in higher education, and fostering industry–academy collaborations to ensure training meets real-world demand. 

Why Digital Skills Matter

• Success today depends on digital know-how, especially where formal jobs are limited. Giving all young people access to these skills sparks new opportunities and drives growth. Combining quick, practical training with long-term investment is key to lasting change and a brighter future.

⁎ Reference Article Link: https://cenfri.org/wp-content/uploads/Skills-for-a-digital-economy_executive-summary.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawMVcWxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE0dTRncE9JaXVqcGtLc0xYAR6GM2idJ7I0TkEuwGgjWg64eGhQDfOp1W0n5ov1A2Ui6kIy90z0VaSiBqzohw_aem_V4D_ydicjPZ5TWpkZ_AsUA