Africa’s workforce has been growing over the past few years and its GDP is expected to grow by 15%, doubling the current rate of growth.
Still, the International Labour Organization recently warned that Sub-Saharan Africa and northern Africa are experiencing trouble in creating jobs. In fact, while there have been 37 million new and decent wage-paying jobs created over the past decade, only 2% of Africa’s workforce hold these positions.
However, according to the World Economic Forum, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to benefit Africa in a big way. Thanks to advancements in technology, such as smartphones, Africans now have the ability to start working flexibly.
This has led several flexible office operators to open facilities in the continent, such as IWG’s Regus and Spaces brands which operate across 21 countries.
Flexible working is perfect for a geographically diverse continent like Africa as it rids workers of long commutes and allows companies to broaden their talent search. For example, Google now has 50 employees with Regus and P&G has 100 employees in Kenya.