Intelligent manufacturing eco-system: A post COVID-19 recovery and growth opportunity for manufacturing industry in Sub-Saharan countries.

The lagging behind intelligent technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic together have impacted the emerging economy particularly the manufacturing sector in sub-Saharan countries. This paper systematically discusses intelligent manufacturing technologies with an aim to map out their importance and industrial applicability and to show their significance to contain COVID-19 pandemic. Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) is then adapted as a post COVID-19 recovery and growth opportunity to ensemble to production processes of manufacturing industry in the sub-Saharan countries. Proposition of a Triple Helix Collaboration Eco-system that delineate a recursive contribution of Government(s), academia, and industry accompanies the IMS adoption. The intention is to shape the existing industrial challenges through networking in the area of intelligence technologies. While proposing the Eco-system, a post COVID-19 recovery and growth opportunity and intra-Africa scientific collaborations are taken into account.

The need to localize energy technologies for Africa's post COVID-19 recovery and growth

Africa has limited capacity to develop its own energy technologies and has been largely dependent on importation for its economic development. It is anticipated that there will be huge challenge for the very limited manufacturing industries in the continent to respond to the increasing energy demand. This will largely require the up scaling of the local manufacturing industries in-terms of skills, design capability, engineering management, manufacturing process and other related issues. Experiences from the developed world showed that academics and industries play critical role in innovation and technology development with proper policy and focus from the policymakers. African academics and industries could play similar role but requires revitalizing with enabling policies and sufficient funding. For this reason, African governments should prioritize their policies and investments towards achieving local energy technology development and innovation in order to build resilient economy. In light of this, we provided necessary recommendations for African led development pathways and policies to promote local manufacturing of energy technologies. This will have huge implications in supporting post COVID recovery and sustainable growth of the African countries.

Comparative assessment of the challenges faced by the solar energy industry in Ethiopia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on social, economic, and political situations of all countries around the world with no sight to its end. Business sectors such as solar distributors, which have been instrumental in supporting the governments' ambitious universal electrification programs, have been negatively affected by the pandemic. The main aim of this paper is therefore to explore and conduct a comparative assessment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic of the key challenges of solar-based businesses in Ethiopia focusing on the distributors and installers and to provide policy recommendations. Qualitative and quantitative assessments were employed during this study. The results show that before the pandemic, finding a skilled workforce, gaining a technical knowledge of the technology, competing in the market, and lack of consumer awareness and initial investment were the key challenges. The importation of solar technologies has been halted by the arrival of the COVID-19 exacerbating existing challenges and threatening the very existence of the businesses. The impact of the pandemic on income levels of end-users of solar technologies, together with the lack of sufficient supply of technologies to the businesses, most of the businesses are forced to lay off their employees deepening the unemployment rate and, in some cases, forcing businesses to be closed. These circumstances affect economic development and dents the progress made so far in facilitating energy access to remote communities. To protect these vulnerable but very essential small businesses, necessary interventions are recommended. This article is categorized under:Photovoltaics > Economics and Policy.

COVID-19 and energy access: An opportunity or a challenge for the African continent?

As the COVID-19 pandemic gains ground in the African continent, it will create havoc and unprecedented health and economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the robustness and resilience of the economies and services such as health systems around the world and it is disaster in the making while the pandemic is spreading fast to the African continent. This is alarming mainly because the continent has weak health system compounded by low access to modern and reliable electricity. It is also anticipated that the crisis will be brought ample opportunities and the African governments and the people should make coordinated and concerted effort in developing conducive business environment and exploit the opportunities presented to facilitate energy access focusing on clean and renewable energy technologies. This is a big test for the continent and thus it will either brought prosperity through facilitating universal energy access by effectively utilizing the opportunities brought by the crisis or the lack of energy access will continue affecting communities the ability to improve their livelihoods.