Exploiting Technology during the Pandemic: Early Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The paper adopts mixed methods to examine how countries deployed technology to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reviews the literature, analyzes secondary data to discern patterns, and uses deductive reasoning to inform findings and draw policy implications. The paper finds that the pandemic exposed weaknesses in firm services, government operations, and revenues with revealed financing gaps; it motivated innovations which fostered a shift to digital platforms; and the internet-enabled social connections and became a lifeline for many businesses, households, and governments, thereby enhancing services, and reducing vulnerabilities to corruption. The technology, therefore, galvanized material improvements during the pandemic but also disseminated fake news, which undermined confidence in vaccinations, leading to vaccine hesitancy. Finally, the chapter documents the use of technology during the pandemic citing the case of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Sudan in SSA, while highlighting benefits and challenges, and drawing policy implications, including for critical investments.

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic altered society and accelerated innovative applications in several channels of service provision and decelerated others. It affected every aspect of life, both private and public, on a scale never seen before. Closures of restaurants, shopping malls, convenient stores, gyms, schools, hospitals, sports, and public places speak volumes [1]. Consequently, governments undertook swift and synchronized measures to contain the virus by declaring curfews, enacting social distancing, and enforcing facemasks, with individuals ending up interacting with their handheld devices to stay abreast of virus developments and getting informed while at home. According to Kuboye [1], zoom, Huawei Cloud, WeLink, and WebEx, for instance, became commonplace. The pandemic led institutions to set up facilities to support work from home (see IMF and World Bank, [2]), while airports closed or downsized or canceled flights; shops ran out of essential products; and families scrambled to purchase food, water, toilet papers [3, 4], hand sensitizers, and many more necessities amidst excessive demand–supply constraints. The fears that toilet paper would run out led to excessive demand, and with supply chain disruptions in place, stores ran out of tissues, resulting in the great toilet paper crisis [5].

Following the negative repercussions of the pandemic, though at different paces and phases across the regions, many lives were also transmuted in a downward direction. Notably, the aftermaths of massive job losses and a rise in poverty amidst a lack of social safety nets in some low-income countries (LICs), especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was unclear when the pandemic restrictions would be lifted and whether the new normal would be established sooner than later.

The pandemic’s impact and strategies varied across regions. The US authorities immediately imposed social restrictions, and social distancing gained wide acceptance starting in March 2020. Public offices and institutions began to accommodate online platforms, to reach targeted audiences [6]. Where internet connection was strong, everyone had access, and the government moved to provide digital services, including cash transfers, with digital technologies offering opportunities to support the COVID-19 responses. According to Reagan and Bulume ([7], p. 10), “As the pandemic intensified with lockdowns, millions of people turned to internet-enabled digital platforms to transact payments, access credit, connect with friends and family, and access education and health information.”

While different definitions of technology exist out there, Kumar, Gupta, and Srivastava ([8], p. 570) offered the following:

Technology refers to techniques, frameworks and devices which are the aftereffect of scientific information being utilized for practical purposes. Artificial intelligence can be characterized as Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Computer Vision applications. These abilities instruct computers to use huge information-based models to design, depict, and predict.

The pandemic constrained mobility, compelling governments, businesses, and households to devise ways to overcome it. In medicine, the search to stop the spread of the virus and find a cure for the disease fostered digitalization. This helped track disease and predict its evolution. Marketing departments disseminated information and enticed customers to purchase products via technology. Some sports training moved online. While physical distance remained vital, many services moved to virtual platforms without sparing any field of human inquiry.

Going digital was not like a walk in the park. No matter the warnings, contact-intensive jobs demanded physical presence, exposing healthcare professionals to infections at hospitals and clinics. Among contact-intensive jobs, the impact was more acute among lower-income docile, women, and poor [9, 10]. Second, some households lacked access to the internet, and basic handheld devices, which limited their ability to work from home. Third, notwithstanding the best intentions to circumvent the pandemic and reduce costs, technology has become vulnerable to abuse, including by spreading fake news. The Board of Directors of Facebook, for example, suspended the account of former President Donald J. Trump from using his account to spread fake news, to millions around the globe, especially following the riot on January 6, 2021, at the U. S Capitol. Considering such susceptibilities, critics advanced conspiracy theories against vaccines [11].

Despite global improvements in big data, privacy laws, consumer protection, and regulatory architecture following the post-global financial crisis, technological benefits remained inequitable and constrained by illiteracy, lack of internet, limited access to energy, and extreme poverty. According to Signe [12], the pandemic changed how the global economy works, exposing many limitations of existing systems and demonstrating the need to reimagine the role of information technology as a critical tool for economic growth and development.

Three case studies covering Kenya, Nigeria, and South Sudan supported the central thesis, illustrating the extent to which the governments deployed technology to provide services during the pandemic, despite lack of widespread internet connection [13]. In Kenya, the government used mobile money to transfer financial support to the vulnerable. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) also digitized revenues and provided related information. In Nigeria, the government used digital platforms to do several tasks, including improving tax collections, providing services to the vulnerable, and announcing containment measures against the pandemic. In South Sudan, where digital platforms remain limited, the government relied on national television, mobile networks, and call centers [14] to pass important messages to its citizens. The authorities also used other social media outlets, including personal phones, WhatsApp groups, Facebook, and other outlets, to pass vital information, including on infections, and vaccinations. Therefore, even in South Sudan, where digital uptake remains the lowest, the government managed to rely on some digital platforms to support the COVID response.

The paper’s objectives are to (i) identify how digital platforms have been exploited; (ii) highlight the benefits of technology; and prevailing impediments; and (iii) offer proposals to enhance technological services to provide efficient services in future pandemics.

The study contributes to the literature by documenting how the pandemic fostered the use of technology to provide services to household and ensure minimal disruption of firm operations. The countries analyzed exhibit disparities in access to the internet, electronic devices, literacy levels, and propensity to adopt new ways of life. However, digitization of services excludes some segments of society from critical government services, which is insupportable in progressive societies. Even if all supply-side constraints are addressed, some segments of society will not use digital services. The paper thus discusses incentives that discourage nondigital channels, to enable a reader to draw insights into how services can be improved, going forward.

The chapter proceeds in sections. Section 2 reviews the literature and examines how the pandemic has compelled society to exploit technology to provide basic services; Section 3 outlines a conceptual framework linking technology to select theories; Section 4 discusses case studies; and Section 5 draws policy implications. Finally, Section 6 concludes the paper.

2. The literature on technological channels and digital services during the pandemic

In citing a global system for mobile communications association (GSMA) paper [15], Kuboye [1] reported that close to half of the world population “use mobile internet and those living outside those covered areas of mobile broadband network continue to reduce as a result of the upgrade of 2G sites to 3G and 4G especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Table 1 shows a marked global use of technology during the pandemic.

Area	Service provider	Area of usage percent increase (% in bracket)	Source
	AT&T (US)	Core Network traffic (22)	AT& AT
Telecommunication traffic	British telecom (UK)	Fixed network traffic (60 on weekdays)	British telecom
	Telecom Italy	Internet traffic (70)	Telecom Italia
	Vodafone	Mobile data traffic in Italy and Spain	Vodafone
Over the top	Facebook	Facebook messenger (50)	Facebook
		WhatsApp (overall: 50; Spain: 76)	WhatsApp
		Video calling (100)	Facebook
	Netflix	Subscriber base (9.6)	Netflix
	E-commerce (Mexico)	Numbers of users	Competitive intelligence
Video conference	Zoom	Daily usage (300)	JP Morgan
	Cisco WebEx	Subscribers (33)	Cisco
	Teams (Italy)	Monthly users (775)

Table 1.

Internet usage increase triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Kuboye [1].

A recent World Bank study finds that about 58 governments in developing countries had used digital payments to deliver pandemic assistance, including by depositing benefits into existing and opening new accounts. It found that most regulatory measures rolled out in response to COVID-19 were in the digital space, including digital savings, banking, and capital raising. While the pandemic has originated a greater disposition toward digital finance, some consumers did not rapidly jolt toward those. According to Klapper and Miller [13, 16], “Consumers needed connectivity, including ownership of a mobile phone, access to internet and digital skills to manage mobile apps and online applications to use digital financial services.” Hence digital uptake presupposes access to technology, capacity building, and consciousness, to leverage existing digital ecosystem, such as Government-to-Person (G2P) payments, to accelerate their use.

The chapter reveals six instances where the public relied on digital platforms to reduce costs and provide services during the pandemic. We discuss them below.

2.1 Education services going digital

While educational institutions were on the path to increasing online presence in the years before the pandemic, the onset of the scourge accelerated online migration. There were more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries affected by school closures due to the pandemic in March 2020.

2.2 Health services going digital

The pandemic altered how services were accessed. Text messages and group chats became instant sources of information about the virus. The internet-enabled platforms allowed various actors to provide innovative solutions in health through telehealth, contact tracing, retailing, and addressing supply disruptions, expanding information sharing, starting smart manufacturing and factory automation, supporting e-tourism, and modernizing entertainment. Despite challenges, these proved useful in the fight against the pandemic [17].

Sierra Leone, like other developing countries, faces numerous challenges, including slow uptake of digital technology. Nonetheless, the trend toward digital platforms started with the official launch of the financial inclusion agenda in 2009 upon joining the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), announcing its commitment to the Maya Declaration in 2012, and developing an innovative program that supported digitalized cash payments during Ebola from 2014 to 2016. Therefore, when the country experienced the Ebola outbreak in 2014, the authorities used mobile technology to pay salaries of health workers; monitor, track, manage, and provide cash to infected communities and households. They also relied on two emergency hotlines, 117 and 711.

2.3 Businesses increased online presence during the pandemic

Some firms advertised through and shifted to operations online, increasing sales and changing the mode of services. Mugume and Bulime [7] and Mburu [18] reached similar conclusions on sales during the lockdowns. Mburu [18] found that the lockdown in Kenya was associated with a 35 percent growth in online purchases of food, an 18 percent growth in pharmaceuticals, and a 54 percent growth in agribusinesses.

Similarly, Brazil paid low-income workers via the state-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal (CEF) into their digital accounts. Available evidence indicates that men and wealthy people were more likely to use merchant payments than women and the poor. Further, person-to-person remittance transfers remained the most common type of digital transaction and proved resilient [13]. While digitization made headways, cash still dominates merchant payments globally, and there are instances in which merchants reverted to cash payments. Examples from Sierra Leone showed that firms formed partnerships with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and signed MoUs with banks, to use digital platforms. This led MNOs to introduce products such as Orange Money and Lajor Loan by Orange Mobile Company, as well as Afrimoney and Africredit, enabling mobile customers to pay electricity bills, transfer money to and from their bank accounts and access digital credits. Firms also advertised through WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social media platforms.

2.4 Governments services going digital

Before the pandemic, the idea of e-government was in vogue. When the pandemic struck, governments moved to collect taxes online and achieved economies of scale. Some also moved services online, including applications for food, medicines, and conditional cash transfers. Collecting taxes online, including by filing returns, grew, and some NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in LICs, including in South Sudan, appreciated this approach as efficient. Sierra Leone also transferred cash through digital platforms. Since 2014, the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) has been running a cash transfer program, “Ep Fet Po,” to fight poverty. The NaCSA, with World Bank support, provided emergency cash to four provincial headquarters to 29,000 vulnerable informal households, which is about US$135.

2.5 Work from home (WFH) arrangements expanded

The pandemic altered the future of work. On March 13, 2022, for example, the IMF advised its staff to work from home for the first time since the virus broke out. The staff heeded the advice and explored WFH options. In terms of technology, staff used WebEx, Zoom, Polycom platform, and Microsoft Teams. The transition proved challenging and compelled investments on the part of employees in terms of time, resources, and institutional change. The technical glitches were noted, but over time, staff adapted, and today, WFH has become a new normal. In the case of SSA, these arrangements differ greatly. For the countries with the means, staff worked from home and those without means such as South Sudan, staff reduced hours and days but still had to come to offices.

2.6 The pandemic accelerated digital payments

Kosse and Szemere [19] reported that cash in circulation reached a record high due to an increase in demand for high-value banknotes, indicating that the public steadily held cash as a store of value rather than for mere transaction demand. It also indicated that the pandemic motivated a move toward Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and an increased in contactless payments. The Ernst & Young publication [20] indicated what FinTech can and cannot do. It showed that the use of FinTech applications increased following the pandemic, rising by 72 percent. The Findex 2021 report shows that the pandemic catalyzed growth in the use of digital payments, namely:

In developing economies in 2021, 18 percent of adults paid utility bills directly from an account. About one-third of these adults did so for the first time after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of adults making a digital merchant payment also increased after COVID-19. For example, in India about 80 million adults made their first digital merchant payment during the pandemic. In China, 82 percent of adults made a digital merchant payment in 2021, including over 100 million adults (11 percent) who did so for the first time after the start of the pandemic. In developing economies, excluding China, 20 percent of adults made a digital merchant payment in 2021. Contained within that 20 percent are the 8 percent of adults, on average, who did so for the first time after the start of the pandemic, or about 40 percent of those who made a digital merchant payment. These data point to the role of the pandemic and social distancing restrictions in accelerating the adoption of digital payments.

The pandemic forced many things to move online instantly, including shopping for food, and advent of useful services such as DoorDash, which went public in December 2020, focusing on delivering at customers’ doorsteps. The shift was disruptive, but countries and people adapted. “Further, the International Monetary Fund [38] indicates that massive data generation, advances in computer algorithms and increases in processing power explain the recent development of FinTech” ([7], p. 163).

The move toward digital life is not without perils. In countries that lacked developed digital ecosystems, people relied on cash even during the lockdowns. Nigeria provides one of the examples relating to a firm FarmCrowdy. It was compelled to switch from digital payments to cash for its operations in rural areas, given that the local agent networks ceased to function. Ethiopia also provides another example. Given its low penetration of mobile money prior to the pandemic, its online shopping platform, Helloomarket, had to authorize cash on delivery and provide other forms of cash deposits, post offices, or with agents outside the capital [13].

3. The conceptual framework

The pandemic touched on many economic theories, from the Keynesian to human capital theory to access to finance, among others. Keynesianism posits that fluctuations in components of the aggregate demand such as household consumption, government spending, firm investment, or net exports, have a bearing on growth, while theories on access to finance point to constraints induced by long distance, affordability, prohibitive borrowing cost, illiteracy, lack of credit histories and firm viability. Human capital is conceived to rely on critical investments, while productivity and efficiency gains can be augmented through greater training and educational improvements.

The pandemic touched on several theoretical frameworks and the application of technology underlies them. To minimize disruption to education, kids moved to online courses; to enhance access to finance, firms exploited digital platforms to extend services; and to stimulate aggregate demand, taxation, and spending moved online. Therefore, technology played a moderating role during the pandemic and underpinned major theoretical arguments and different channels (see Table 2).

Country	Uninform indicators for comparison across the three countries
	Digital financial services	Digital health services	Digital learning services	Digital government services	Digital business products
Kenya	Substantial	Substantial	Substantial	Substantial	Substantial
Nigeria	Substantial	Substantial	Substantial	Substantial	Substantial
South Sudan	Insignificant	Limited	None	None	Limited

Table 2.

The platform to assess the three countries.

Source: Author’s Construct, [21].

The paper uses a specific platform (Table 2) to assess the use of technology to provide services.

4. Three case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa

The three countries differ in several ways. Growth has been uneven across them, while inflation has broadly remained low in Kenya but very elevated in Nigeria and South Sudan since 2012. Given its past conflict, South Sudan’s inflation has been among the highest before the pandemic relative to SSA averages. The countries also differ in poverty rates, access to finance, public health, and more. These countries are, therefore, different in terms of resources, political dispensations, and policies, with these differences expected as seen in Table 3.

		Year
Country	Series	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Kenya	GDP (%)	4.6	3.8	5.0	5.0	4.2	3.8	5.6	5.1	−0.3	7.5
	CAB (%)	−7.5	−7.9	−9.3	−6.3	−5.4	−7.0	−5.4	−5.2	−4.8	−5.2
	Inf (%)	9.4	5.7	6.9	6.6	6.3	8.0	4.7	5.2	5.4	6.1
Nigeria	GDP (%)	4.2	6.7	6.3	2.7	−1.6	0.8	1.9	2.2	−1.8	3.6
	CAB (%)	3.7	3.7	0.2	−3.1	1.3	3.6	1.7	−3.1	−3.7	−0.4
	Inf (%)	12.2	8.5	8.1	9.0	15.7	16.5	12.1	11.4	13.2	17.0
South Sudan	GDP (%)	46.1	13.1	3.4	−10.8	..	..	..	..	..	..
	CAB (%)	..	..	−5.7	−4.2	−5.8	8.3	−9.0	−4.2	−35.0	−0.1
	Inf (%)	45.5	−0.1	1.7	52.8	380.0	187.9	83.5	87.2	29.7	10.5
SSA	GDP %)	2.7	5.1	4.9	2.8	1.4	2.5	2.8	2.6	−2.1	4.2
	CAB (% of GDP)	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
	Inf (%)	6.6	4.9	4.4	3.6	5.4	5.2	4.1	2.8	3.3	4.6

Table 3.

Select indicators for Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, and SSA average, 2012–2021.

Source: World Development Indicators, [22].

Key: CAB = current account balance as % of GDP; inf = inflation, consumer prices, as annual growth.

Previous studies underscore the centrality of financial inclusion to foster economic growth, with implication to reduce poverty, and enhance equality (see [7, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27]). While access to finance remains a major constraint to firms [28, 29], access to mobile technology has helped in recent years and picked up steeply during the pandemic. This reality has led many researchers over the years to examine the determinants of financial inclusion in Africa. It continues with the advent of the pandemic, which fostered digitalization relative to the previous years [30, 31].

The pandemic accelerated the use of digital technology. In Sierra Leone, for example, value of transactions grew by 73.8 percent in September 2021 to Le 9.6 trillion from Le 5.5 trillion in 2019 (Figure 1). The volume of transactions also rose from 1.4 m to 2.2 m during the same period [32]. Transactions conducted through digital accounts increased by 32 percent to 14.3 m in December 2020 [33]. The value of digital transactions in December 2020 reached Le 1.7b, an increase of 69 percent from December 2019.

Figure 1.

Toward digital financial transactions in Sierra Leone, 2016–2020. Source: UNCDP [21].

The increased use of mobile technology comes with downside risks, including associated fraud and abuse of confidential data. This led to a loss of trust in big data for public entities, bankruptcies of mobile money operators, insufficient user protection, and over-indebtedness [34, 35, 36, 37].

The next subsection illustrates the increasing use of technology in the three case studies to provide services during the pandemic.

4.1 Kenya’s use of technology to provide services during the pandemic

4.1.1 Access to finance and digital payments

Payment systems have evolved over millennia from barter to gold or silver to cash payment to mobile money (MM) to other forms of money, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), crypto assets, stableCoins, and suchlike (see [38]). Distinct reasons have been cited for using CDBCs, which include the need to reduce cash. Traditionally, payment systems in Kenya have focused either on largest-value transactions or retailed or low-value transactions, with the latter including card payments, mobile money, account clearing house (ACH), and real-time gross settlements (RTGS). That said, CBDCs carry some risks, including financial exclusion, technology risks, privacy breaches, and competition with deposit banks.

Kenya launched in 2007 the m-PESA is mobile money in Kenya, which increased digital money and cemented the position of Kenya in the continent as a global leader in the industry. As Mugume and Bulime [7] show, recent estimates indicate that Africa accounts for half of the global 1.2 billion mobile money accounts [31, 35, 36, 39]. The digital platforms boosted the circulation of mobile phone inflows, again driving appreciable growth in the mobile money industry. In Kenya, one study found that the adoption of mobile money by businesses reduced the incidence of theft, boosted productivity, and sped up transactions between businesses and suppliers [40, 41]. In addition, Kenya’s main E-commerce platform—Jumia Kenya—partnered with the agricultural value-chain platform Twiga Foods to sell baskets of fruits and vegetables to consumers.

The Government of Kenya, businesses, and individuals turned to mobile financial services (DFS) to reduce costs and mitigate the spread of the virus. Government formed partnerships, and some international financial institutions (IFIs) transferred cash through the DFS. Kenya, like other countries, used digital platforms to advance financial inclusion. In a study focusing on 52 countries from emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), Kenya was ranked third in financial inclusion after Mongolia and China. Digital financial inclusion has come to overtake traditional bank financial inclusion in Kenya. According to the recent FinAccess data, the financial inclusion index rose to 83 percent in 2021 from 26 percent in 2006. There were 67.8 million registered mobile money accounts by May 2021. It is noted that 79 percent of adults have a mobile money account relative to 40 percent of adults with a bank account in 2021.

The use of digital technology can be observed both from volume and value for transactions in Kenya during the pandemic (see Figure 2). First, mobile penetration² went up to 129 percent in 2021 from 31 percent in 2007 [38]. The value of transactions saw a whopping 24, 440 percent, rising from $0.2 billion in 2007 to $49 billion (about $150 per person in the US) in 2022. Mobile transactions, as a share of total transactions, rose about 56 percent to 80 percent during the pandemic in Kenya. Volume and value of digital transactions grew by about 82 percent and 39 percent, respectively, by March 2021. In addition, the mobile money mitigation measures outlined to shield the public against the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to this growth.

Figure 2.

Appreciable growth in mobile money during the pandemic. Source: CBK Supervision Department, [42].

In a study using micro-level data in Kenya, and Uganda, Mugume, and Bulime [7] examine the factors that drive DFS to boost gender equality, enhance financial inclusion, and support growth [43]. They find that individuals with at least one registered SIM card; those who trusted mobile money agents; middle-aged males; and the employed are highly likely to adopt DFS. They found that women tended to use DFS less than men in the study and that while gaps exist, Kenya is far ahead of Uganda. The observed difference in gender inequalities in DFS is primarily underpinned by several socioeconomic factors such as limited affordability and financial literacy skills, which hamper women's digitalization [43, 44]. Low trust in mobile money agents also affected DFS in Uganda than in Kenya.

Even from the Findex 2021 report, we see an appreciable growth in registered mobile money accounts during the pandemic in Kenya (see Figure 3).

Figure 3.

Number of registered mobile money accounts. Source: IMF Financial Access Survey, [34].

4.1.2 Cash transfers through digital platforms

To support vulnerable members of the community, the Government of Kenya established in 2015 the Inua Jamii program, a cash transfer program, to support the beneficiaries with limited payments to help mitigate poverty and extreme hunger. It is usually paid through their bank accounts. The Government also launched a complementary nutrition program called Nutrition Improvement through Cash and Health Education (NICHE), which targets vulnerable households with cash, nutrition counseling, and child protection services to tackle undernutrition and vulnerability. They received funds in 2023, with the government releasing Sh8.6 billion to 1.1 million to Inua Jamii beneficiaries and another Sh11.2 million for NICHE. To protect beneficiaries’ data and enhance efficiency, Inua Jamii has resolved to digitize payments starting in 2023.

In countries where governments set up benefit programs for the elderly and pay through bank accounts, providing support during the pandemic became swift and safe. The authorities used cash transfers to support the vulnerable, according to the World Bank study. These were one-off payments, and at times complementing existing support payments to households. Kenya, for instance, illustrates a potency that comes from leveraging digital platforms during a crisis:

Private sector firms and non-profit organizations created Shikilia to raise money and advocate for monthly cash transfers for low-income households in Kenya to offset the impact of COVID-19. Working in collaboration with GiveDirectly, a nonprofit organization that links online donors (including individual donors) with people in need, Shikilia sends monthly benefits to low-income households, many of which have lost income during COVID-19, using mobile money. One of the noteworthy aspects of the Shikilia initiative is the analysis of geospatial, demographic and telecommunications data to identify communities at greatest risk and target them for support.

Several factors support the shift to digital platforms in Kenya. First, the government encouraged and invested in digital platforms before the pandemic. Second, commercial banks increased the lending limits, to allow more cash or digital money in the hands of the customers (see Mburu, [18]). Third, the government encouraged competitive entry for the MNOs, which promoted DFS. Fourth, the pandemic induced shifts in digital transactions by firms, including marketing; and springing up of social and religious events. Maina [45] reported that all banks in Kenya had put in place digital strategies long before the pandemic, with the latter enhancing implementation. He found that international tier 1 banks implemented diverse digital strategies during the pandemic, including digitization of more banking processes and services, creating partnerships with Fintechs and Telecoms, and introducing digital signatures and workflow automation. That said, challenges included cyber security risks, wastage of resources and time in remote working, regulatory challenges, internet access, increase in emergency investments, and resistance to change.

Maina [45] urged banks to be agile in their culture, and strategies; the policymakers to address challenges of executing digital strategies; ensure adequate policies and resources to cope with the challenges; and Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to expedite the review and approval of new digital products and services during the pandemic and in future. Following the pandemic, CBK [46, 47] puts in place relief measures such as flexibility in the repayment of loans, extension of payment periods, and loan restructuring. To facilitate the use of digital platforms, CBK requested banks to waive all charges for balance inquiry and eliminate charges for transfers between mobile wallets and bank accounts.

The business community innovated and offered unique products to their customers beyond Kenya. This saved time and served customers’ needs, as Table 4 illustrates, across SSA and yonder.

Country	Platform	Focus	Payment methods	Credit	COVID-19 response
Kenya	Twiga foods	Agriculture; (B2B)	Mobile money	Digital credit (piloted with IBM Research)	Launched business-to- consumer solution in partnership with Jumia
Kenya	Sendy	Transport, deliveries, logistics (B2B)	Mobile money	-	Launched grocery deliveries in partnership with stores and supermarkets
Nigeria	FarmCrowdy	agriculture	Cash on delivery, mobile money	Linked to the crowdfunded platform, CrowdInvest	Increased demand to participate in the platform. Had to discontinue mobile payments due to disruption in agency network
Kenya/Nigeria	Flutterwave	Payments	Online payments	-	Launched Flutterwave market to help MSMEs digitize their business
Uganda	SafeBoda	Motorbike taxis	Prepaid e-wallet, cash on delivery	Loans for motorbike purchases in partnership with Finca Uganda	Launched grocery and restaurant deliveries via motorbike
Ethiopia	Helloomarket	General merchandise	Mobile money, cash on delivery, deposits at agents or bank branches	Plans to partner with banks for credit products	Increased interest from vendors and sales of essential items
Brazil	Compre Local	Local grocery stores and restaurants	Payment link via SMS and WhatsApp	-	Started to support local businesses affected by the lockdown

Table 4.

Examples of new and NICHE platforms employing innovative business models and focusing on traditionally underserved market segments.

Source: Buboye [1].

The pandemic exposed digital divide in Kenya, like in other LICs. Lack of internet in some counties and limited cell phone uptake in some areas speak volume. Cybercrime also became an issue in Kenya, rising in 2020 during the pandemic by 30 percent. It amplified the vulnerability of connections, providing an advantage for fraudsters to maneuver [48]. Therefore, early lessons from Kenya are distinctively clear. Mobile technology was already ascending in Kenya and rose during the pandemic, and on a positive note, Kenya already has an ID system linked to the KRA PIN number. Anyone above 18 must get an ID in Kenya to transact. Nonetheless, the government still needs to act, including by addressing cyber threats, tackling supply-side gaps in the delivery of quality financial services, and improving connectivity.

4.1.3 Delivery of education during the pandemic

Following the abrupt closure of schools, the Ministry of Education provided little or no clarity regarding the fate of the end-year examinations. As confusion reigned, schools worried about whether they would be able to complete the syllabus in time once they reopened, as the closure was seen as a temporary measure. As the reopening was delayed, private schools became innovative and began to embrace online learning. As a result, and for fear of failing to complete the syllabus in time, they started to experiment with online learning. The need to complete the syllabus in time and the urge to protect their incomes motivated them as they were unused to unexpected interruptions. After the experimentation, public schools and universities quickly went digital. Although they faced poor internet and mobile telephone access in those areas, the rest of the other places continued with the approach until schools reopened. The notable platforms used included WebEx and Microsoft Teams. To better deliver education to the students, educational institutions in Kenya created and distributed digital learning materials, video lectures, and online assessments.

4.1.4 Health services delivery

For fear of infections, patients and doctors avoided contact, embracing the concept of telemedicine and allowing doctors and patients to interact via video calls or phone. In addition, there arose an upsurge in digital health apps such as Byon8 in Kenya to provide health information, COVID-19 updates, and self-assessment tools. On its part, the government used digital technology to support contact tracing, resulting in reduced growth of the COVID-19 virus.

4.1.5 E-commerce and work from home

For the fear of contracting the virus, individuals changed how they did business. Those who used to frequent the fast-food places and hang out resorted to the use of food delivery services such as Glovo, Uber Eats, Jumia Food Kenya, and Jikoni Eats through increased delivery apps and services. Online shopping grew as the E-commerce platforms saw a rapid growth in demand for these services as customers resorted to online purchases for essential and nonessential goods.

Public and private sector workers were forced to stay home until the pandemic ended. However, they embraced and continue to provide services through digital tools such as video conferencing apps such as Zoom, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams. In addition, cloud-based productivity suites and project management software have become important for working remotely and virtual meetings.

4.2 Nigeria’s uptake of technology during the pandemic

Nigeria is the largest economy and the most populated nation in Africa, with major strides in access to technology, even before the pandemic hit. Just like other countries in the region, the use of technology in Nigeria faces some constraints. Nigerian mobile money provider Paga reported, at the outset of the pandemic, that it had doubled the number of merchants in its network, witnessing a 200 percent increase in quarterly users. “In the autumn of 2020, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) conducted phone surveys with 793 digital finance users in Nigeria. They found that 51 percent of respondents reported being exposed to attempted fraud or swindles during the pandemic, while the share of the same was 57 percent in Kenya.” Buboye ([1], p. 36) also noted that “In the course of the outbreak of COVID-19, the Nigerian society adopted digital life as an alternative to physical interaction so as to keep afloat in the period of the lockdown.”

4.2.1 Digital platform supporting tax revenues

From the perspective of digital revolution, Nigeria moved in 2021 to tax foreign tech firms, thereby increasing its tax proceeds (see Nigeria’s Finance Act 2021 and the Digital Tax Framework). It is noted that Nigeria had modified its corporate tax legislation to enable the taxation of nonresident digital businesses between 2019 and 2020. Notwithstanding gains made thus far, existing literature points to the need for the authorities in Nigeria to improve digital networks, and enhance taxpayers’ knowledge and usage of digital finance instruments to comply with their tax responsibilities, including those that are transnational [49, 50].

4.2.2 Financial services going digital

The use of mobile money platforms also rose during the pandemic. Examples include Moniepoint, a mobile money platform created during the pandemic to provide financial services to households that wanted to minimize exposure to the pandemic and save time.

4.2.3 Telemedicine shored up in Nigeria during the pandemic

Telemedicine also became a reality in Nigeria. Companies including Helium Health, which specializes in digitizing medical records, debuted their online consultation platform to meet patient demand resulting from the pandemic in late 2020. If the customer has access to the internet, a mobile device, and a link to a meeting, they become clicks away from medical services. This platform allows the patient and health care professionals to interact, while diagnosing and recommending applicable treatment or drugs.

4.2.4 E-learning

Although e-learning took off in Nigeria in 2006 with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) at the apex tertiary level, many in the form of primary and post-primary education driven by the private sector embraced e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic becoming intense, the use of e-learning platforms increased in the public sector, including at the subnational levels, while it almost became a norm in the private sector.

4.2.5 Social media became a source of information and marketing tools

Available evidence also indicates that digital platforms, including WhatsApp groups and Facebook motivated the online sales of firms owned by low-income women during the lockdown in Nigeria [7, 51]. Their use includes passing information, mobilizing support, and achieving causes such as encouraging remittances for family support. In the end, the federal government, and multilateral organizations noticeably espoused digital platforms to advance cash and social transfers to vulnerable populations during this crisis.

4.3 South Sudan’s use of technology during the pandemic

South Sudan is a fragile, LIC, and its use of technology remains negligible. It is also among the least affected by the pandemic, at least from the public data and partly due to underreporting of cases. The lack of advances in mobile technology did not stop the public and the government from finding ways to circumvent the effects of the pandemic. Two examples bolster this point: limited use of m-Gurush (local mobile money) and national call center through a public hotline 6666.

4.3.1 The pandemic and public health in South Sudan

The Ministry of Health established the South Sudan National Public Health Call Center on May 12, 2020, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and advise the public on other epidemic-prone diseases. Individuals would call the center, providing both verified and unverified information [14]. The receiving team would send these calls to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to provide proper management.

This initiative proved successful. It allowed officers to address inbound and outbound calls; with most inquiries and issues triaged; referrals made on time; health education and psychological support rendered; communication among officers improved; critical records maintained; MoH/PHEOC/Partners received monthly reports; and they efficiently deployed funds. Notwithstanding, MoH, and officials from the call center identified serious challenges, including poor network, unreliable internet, weaknesses in the call forwarding system or poor call distribution, weak coordination, and delays in responding to the referred alerts. Some mobile phones or toll-free lines also became spoiled and proved inefficient in receiving incoming calls. Lack of auto security locks for the center rooms; lack of computer’s anti-virus services; inadequate number of call agents to manage calls; and delay of incentives payments became challenging as well.

Broadly, the officers, for example, received calls such as those depicted in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Increased calls to National Hotline during the pandemic in South Sudan. Source: MoH, [52].

4.3.2 Minimal use of technology to provide services during the pandemic

Despite the surmountable constraints, South Sudan minimally used the technology during the pandemic. First, individuals resorted to using WhatsApp groups to pass information. Through the MoH, national health officials used radio and national TV to pass critical message to the masses, concerning infections rate, quarantines, and vaccines. WhatsApp groups that became sources of information, for both credible and false alarms, include the Sunrise Forum, Republic, Social Net, Jieng Nation Forum, Pentagon, Red Army Foundation, diverse South Sudanese Community Associations, and many more. Second, the National Revenue Authority (NRA) moved toward greater digitalization of tax revenue and other electronic measures to remain effective. Some NGOs and large taxpayers welcome this approach owing to related efficiency gains and convenience. Finally, international partners that provided cash transfers to qualifying vulnerable populations relied on both cash delivery and digital platforms to provide the needed services.

Despite these benefits, South Sudan was clearly constrained in using technology to contain the pandemic and provide basic services. This subsection highlights a few constraints.

First, the lack of reliable power constrained hospitals and impeded essential operations. At times, generators ran out of power during operations, and patients unfortunately lost lives at hospitals, including Juba Teaching Hospital.

Second, unlike in Kenya or Nigeria, kids in South Sudan remained at home and did not attend online classes because families lacked facilities deployed in other countries. This led to kids losing out, affecting the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals. Examples documented in other countries indicate that those that lack resources to avail of online learning opportunities resulted in huge setbacks, with students losing months or years of schoolwork [53].

Finally, shallow mobile penetration limited access to DFS in South Sudan. A few mobile money operators remain constrained by a host of challenges, including illiteracy, lack of supportive regulatory and supervisory framework, poor power supply, and poverty. Many households could not afford handheld devices or access expensive internet services. Modem costs more and the fee is unaffordable to many households. Those with jobs worked in face-to-face contexts and became exposed due to underreporting in South Sudan. Broadly, South Sudan lacks social safety nets, complicating compliance with pandemic measures. Garang [54] had this to say:

Without facilities to work from home, and lacking social safety nets, households have been caught between a rock and a hard surface. Some found themselves facing tough decisions: either they stay home and starve or come out and risk infection. Many chose the latter; some suffered a fatal ending from Covid-19, but went uncounted, partly due to the lack of contact tracing and limited testing.

5. Preliminary lessons from the pandemic and implications over the use of technology

While different economic actors faced digital challenges, the use of technology, nonetheless, enabled firms, households, and governments to provide critical services, including facilitating access to finance, offering medicine, transporting goods, fostering online learning, and enabling communication over distance and e-tourism [55]. The paper draws four preliminary lessons, including building trust in public institutions; investing in technology; considering mobile technology as a two-edged sword; and leveraging technology for all sectors.

5.1 Building public trust counts

In a survey conducted in Thailand in March 2020 following the declaration of the pandemic, teachers showed a cheerful outlook on using technology to teach online. Nonetheless, they face many online teaching problems [56, 57, 58, 59, 60]. In places where public health authorities were deemed credible by the public, the message and advice on prevention and treatment were well received. Thus, building trust and a positive attitude toward technology are key.

5.2 Technology as public goods

The importance of disseminating knowledge across borders, companies, and the entire society became clear. If online learning technology can play a role here, it is incumbent upon all of us to explore its full potential. As Mburu [18] showed, those that have invested in digital platforms benefited a lot during the pandemic. The public sector and private sectors do matter. Hence, the public has a role in fostering healthy and effective digitalization. Accelerating post-pandemic recovery rests in attracting private investment into mobile money operators, offering different financial products beyond loans to include savings and insurance products, and enhancing employment opportunities, especially for women and youth, with implications on reducing poverty.

5.3 Technology cuts both ways

The authorities must also know that technology remains a two-edged sword. It can advance public goods (see policy tracker) when properly exploited and public bads, if misused, as the examples of fake news, indicate in the foregoing paragraphs, aggravating vaccine hesitancy.

5.4 Public policy remains indispensable in serving different demographics

In a panel discussion during the 2023 IMF/WB Spring Meetings, discussants emphasized that technology is not the issue per se but what the authorities are trying to address. In this context, public policy on the use of a particular technology should revolve around three problems:

1. How to identify the vulnerable households to receive public support

2. How to get the support needed to those identified, verified, and paid

3. How to deploy a particular technology to achieve the identified objectives

The foregone literature review clearly unveils the vital role demography plays in the uptake of mobile technology across the three countries. Owning more than one SIM card increases the chance of using digital platforms; women are less likely to use DFS than men, indicating a need to resolve gender inequalities, and that lack of trust in DFS could account for exclusion. In addition, increased competition among MNOs improves the quality and diversity of DFS services. These developments call for appropriate technology along with efficient regulations and supervision to better serve various segments of society. Therefore, interventions should aim to address infrastructural limitations, promote public–private partnerships, and the digital divide in all its dimensions, including from a gender and rural/urban perspective.

Private and public investments in information and communications technology and infrastructure development should be central; enhancing the capacity of research institutions to participate in research and development activities as well as protecting intellectual property, with positive impact on growth. Creating institutions to manage technological disruption, supporting innovation, and ensuring security remain key. As Signe [61] notes, “Policies to support innovation and protect citizens are only as good as the institutions that enforce them,” and in this context, leaders are advised to set up agile institutions empowered to work across ministries.

6. Conclusion

This chapter has set out to answer the two related research questions on the uptake and use of technology in Africa during the pandemic. From the foregoing discussions, public institutions, including schools, universities, industries, hospitals, and clinics, became altered in some fundamental ways during the pandemic. The local and national authorities began to explore new ways and leverage related technologies to continue their daily operations in a seamless fashion. They used technology to provide education, public health, finance, and basic services. However, as the three case studies show, countries differ in their approach to technology deployments. In large part, this is due to existing challenges such as illiteracy, poverty, low mobile penetration, unreliable power supply, and public attitude toward disease, which invariably constrain the uptake of mobile technology. These resulted in differential outcomes across regions and countries.

In particular, the chapter analyzed the question on how countries have deployed technology to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic and arrived at key findings. First, the paper finds that SSA countries have embraced technology to address challenges such as reducing costs and providing services in the areas of education, health, financial sector, and education. Second, existing gaps in access to technology exist across and within countries and in other dimensions, including gender, income classes, age, and education. Third, the paper finds that the technology has been two-edged swords, supporting the authorities in mitigating the impact and enhancing disinformation in some circles. Finally, the paper finds that role of trust in public institutions is key for addressing the pandemic or related challenges.

Going forward, the paper recommends public investments in financial literacy, digital platforms, and knowledge creation, which remain central to tackling future pandemics and crises. Therefore, interventions should aim to address infrastructural limitations, promote public–private partnerships, and tackle digital divide in all its dimensions, including from a gender and rural-urban perspective.

This study has some limitations. The research has been constrained by a small sample size of three studies, a short time frame, and the qualitative nature of the methodology. Future research could focus on examining longer time dimensions and increasing the regional coverage in the future to include broad categories such as east, north, south, and west Africa.