African countries have, largely unsuccessfully, tried many approaches over the past 50 years to develop manufacturing. Despite t

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问题     African countries have, largely unsuccessfully, tried many approaches over the past 50 years to develop manufacturing. Despite this, the ambition remains. However, new and emerging technologies associated with the "new industrial revolution" will have to be mastered.
    One of the largest manufacturing sub-sectors in Africa is food and beverages. Trends such as population growth, urbanization and the rise of the middle class are increasing the demand for more, better quality and more diversified food products. It is a huge opportunity for manufacturing.
    Emerging technologies such as AI and 3D-printing can play a catalysing role. AI applications being implemented elsewhere are ready contributing to improving food production from the "farm to the fork", for instance, by helping farmers to monitor growing conditions and to identify crop diseases timeously, by tracking products along the entire supply chain, by improving food-sorting and equipment-cleaning, by monitoring hygiene in factories, and by helping entrepreneurs develop new products. Block chain, a new digital technology that creates trust between parties and reduces the need for intermediaries, can help in this by improving the functioning of financial and land markets. 3D printing is contributing to the "mass customization" of new food products. It will not only drive customization of products to more closely meet consumer needs, but may also democratize production and innovation.
    Boosting African industrialization through food processing will require drought-proofing agriculture, given that the continent is one of those worst affected by climate change. This is an opportunity for "green" industrialization and promotion of the circular economy. Africa has nine times the solar potential of Europe and an annual equivalent to one hundred million tons of oil. With such considerable potential energy resources, the costs of electricity, one of the most vital inputs into manufacturing, should drop significantly in Africa in years to come.
    How do African countries harness these opportunities? Yes, there is a digital divide and yes, Africa lags behind in terms of many indicators of participation in the digital economy. Yes, there may not at present be enough science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills available in local labour markets. However, in the digital economy, leapfrogging is possible. Kenya is already a world leader in financial technology. And new mobile technology is already being used to stream video lectures into African classrooms: there is nothing inevitable or permanent as far as the skills gap is concerned.
    It is wrong to argue that Africa should still be investing in traditional manufacturing sectors based on the idea that somehow this will give African countries the experience to "learn" how to industrialize. There is little opportunity in "old" industries where useful learning can occur in the age of disruptive digital manufacturing. In fact, it may only serve to lock certain countries into dead-end manufacturing sectors. What is far more sensible today is to invest in entrepreneurial ability. Africa has great entrepreneurs. Let’ s start now to build the start-up ecosystems that can generate the future giants of African manufacturing.

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答案 在过去的50年里,非洲国家尝试了多种方法来发展制造业,但大多没有成功。尽管如此,发展制造业的雄心依旧。然而,要实现这一目标,它们必须掌握与“新工业革命”有关的新兴技术。 非洲制造业中最大的子行业之一是食品和饮料业。随着人口增长、城市化的发展和中产阶级的崛起,人们对更多、更高质量和更多样化食品的需求正在不断增加。制造业孕育巨大的机遇。 诸如人工智能和3D打印等新兴技术发挥了推动作用。正在应用于各领域的人工智能技术,将有助于提高粮食产量,实现“农场到餐桌”服务,例如,通过帮助农民监测种植条件和及时识别作物病害,跟踪整个供应链中的产品,改进食品分类和设备清洁,监测工厂卫生状况,并帮助企业家开发新产品。作为一种新的数字技术,区块链能够共建信任,减少对中间商的依赖,它通过改善金融和土地市场的运作来提供帮助。3D打印技术推动新食品的“大规模定制”。它不仅将推动产品定制以更好地满足消费者需求,还有望推动生产和创新的大众化。 非洲大陆是受气候变化影响最严重的地区之一,要实现通过食品加工促进非洲工业化,非洲国家需要推动农业抗旱。这也有利于推动“绿色”工业化并促进循环经济。非洲的太阳能潜力是欧洲的9倍,其年总量相当于1亿吨石油。拥有如此可观的潜在能源资源,作为制造业最重要的投入之一的电力成本在未来几年里应该会大幅下降。 非洲国家如何把握这些机会?的确,这之间存在数字鸿沟,就参与数字经济的诸多指标而言,非洲远远落后了。诚然,当前非洲当地劳动力市场可能缺乏足够的科学、技术、工程和数学技能。但是,在数字经济时代。跨越式发展并不是不可能。肯尼亚已经成为金融技术领域的世界领导者。非洲部分学校正在借助新的移动技术将视频讲座传输到课堂:就技能差距而言,没有什么是必然的或者永恒不变的。 认为非洲应该继续投资传统制造业的观点是错误的,因为这将在某种程度上给非洲围家提供“学习”,如何工业化的经验。在颠覆性的数字制造时代,“旧”行业很少有机会能学到有用的知识。实际上,这可能只会使某些国家陷入制造业的死胡同。如今更明智的做法是投资创业能力。非洲也有很多伟大的企业家。让我们现在就开始建立初创企业生态系统以此催生未来非洲制造业的巨头。

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