We are living in a time of remarkable innovation. Artificial Intelligence is reshaping healthcare diagnostics, agricultural technologies are boosting yields, education tech is transforming classrooms, fintech is expanding access to banking, and digital platforms are opening up entirely new markets.
The transformations and the future promises are just undeniable.
In the middle of all this promise and hope is an unsettling truth for many, which is that access is not evenly distributed. Today, an estimated 3 billion people globally remain disconnected from the internet and the digital tools that are rapidly becoming the foundation of modern life. In Africa and across other developing nations, this digital divide is not just about connectivity, but also about equity, dignity, and whether the future will include or exclude millions.
We sought to answer the question, “are those who are disconnected excluded from the impact of the tech advancements? The answer is no; even when people are not direct users of new technology, they are still deeply affected by it.
- The rural patient who walks into a clinic and is diagnosed by an AI-powered system that is trained on datasets, and which does not reflect his living conditions, environment, or genetic diversity.
- The dedicated teacher in a remote community who is expected to integrate new education tech into her classroom but only to find that it is available only in English, requires infrastructure she doesn’t have, and does not align with her context.
- The young person who, against all odds, gains entry into the global digital economy, but with no protections, little bargaining power, and great vulnerability to exploitation.
Meanwhile, those with existing access and privilege will see their lives improve dramatically. They will benefit from more accurate health innovations, more efficient food supply chains, financial tools that grow their wealth, and education platforms that accelerate their opportunities.
If we are not intentional, the future will not simply be unequal. It will be a gaping divide.
A Call to Innovators and Policymakers
I write this to draw attention to, and appeal to innovators, deployers, funders, and policymakers. Please recognize that your beautiful ideas, your groundbreaking tools, can either bridge inequity or deepen it. The choice is in the design, the deployment, and the policy frameworks you advance.
This means asking tough but vital questions:
- Whose realities informed the datasets you used?
- Is your interface designed in multiple languages and for multiple levels of literacy?
- Does your innovation work offline or in low-connectivity environments?
- Have you considered gendered access differences, where women and girls are often last in line for devices and training?
- How might your platform protect new entrants to the digital workforce from predatory practices, ensuring they are not just users, but beneficiaries?
- Are you building with, not just for, the communities most affected?
The Hero Innovations We Need
The future does not need more technologies that only serve the already-connected. It needs hero innovations that intentionally bridge divides and expand access.
A hero innovation is one that:
- Recognizes the excluded and designs for their inclusion.
- Builds adaptability into its core so that rural teachers, frontline health workers, and smallholder farmers can use it as easily as urban professionals.
- Embeds equity into the business model, not just the policy conversation.
- Anticipates misuse or unintended harms and designs protections upfront.
The Future We Are Responsible For
The truth is, technology will define the next decades of health, education, food security, and livelihoods. But unless we build with equity at the center, it will not just advance — it will divide.
And so, this is a plea to every builder, coder, policymaker, funder, and dreamer: as you imagine the future, ask yourself — is my innovation bridging the inequities, or widening them?
Because history will remember the answers.
Staying curious. Staying committed.
— Yop Rwang Pam
#TechForGood #Equity #Leadership #DigitalInclusion #SystemsThinking #AI #Africa
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