15 Jan Time to establish the digital marketing skills gap across Africa

The digital marketing and communications sector is driven by the ever-changing technologies in this era of the digital economy. Thus it is safe to assume, even without the stats, that there is a gap between the digital marketing skills and available opportunities.

Some background

According to African Development Bank, Africa’s economic growth rates for 2019 and 2020 were projected at 4% and 4.1% respectively. This is on the back of sustained growth for several years now.

However, the continent is plagued by jobless economic growth.

Opportunities and challenges

The digital marketing and communications sector holds promise for employment opportunities for Africa, given that this is the youngest continent with 60% of total population (720 million) being below 25. 

Why? As we pointed out in the opening paragraph, this sector is technology driven! Youth and digital technology are like two sides of the same coin. What’s more? According to some industry experts, it is expected that the current digital economy is going to morph into the creative economy in a not-too distant future. In the main, this transition will also be favouring the youth.

BUT WAIT. The challenge is that, there are no public stats to establish what the digital marketing skills gap is at the moment.

Countries need to ensure people have the skills they need to minimize these future impacts [brought about by the advent of 4IR]—and help drive transformation in the process. African Centre for Economic Transformation.

THE SOLUTION – Digital Marketing Skills in Africa Audit 2020

The Digital Marketing Skills in Africa Audit 2020 (DMSAA2020) initiative, which was founded by eNitiate – a Pan-African digital marketing solutions company, aims to assess the current digital marketing skill levels across the continent.

The implementation of the initiative is championed by 3 African countries – Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. 

DMSAA2020 is supported by Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA) and Social Media Week Lagos. 

Target market for participation in DMSAA2020

The audit – which is in the form of an online survey, is targeting mainly professionals in the digital marketing and communications community across the African continent. 10 digital marketing skills are being assessed in the 2020 edition. 

A key performance measurement is to have 10 000 respondents participating in the online survey by the 31 January 2020. A comprehensive report will be published by 31 March of 2020. 

How to participate

Qualifying professionals can access the online survey, which is in both English and French, on http://bit.ly/dmsaa-2020. In addition, information about the initiative can be found on the official Website: http://bit.ly/dmsaa-site. The Website content is translatable into 16 languages, including Arabic, Kiswahili and 12 most popular local languages spread across the continent. 

Connect with us

Follow DMSAA2020 on: 

• TWITTER: @DMSAA2020
• FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/dmsaa-2020-fb  
• LINKEDIN: http://bit.ly/dmsaa-2020-linked