The 21st century will most likely belong to China as the Chinese Century. But with a rapid increase in Chinese investment and African innovation, the 22nd century may see the dawn of the African Century.
China’s investment in Africa will create an infrastructure for African culture and innovation to accelerate. Chinese investments and contracts in sub-Saharan Africa total $299 billion from 2005 to 2018, according to the China Investment Global Tracker.
Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed to invest a further a $60 billion in African Nations. If the continent can successfully navigate the issues raised by Chinese neo-colonial ambitions such as the fear of “debt trap” diplomacy, with $130 billion in loans from China to African nations since 2000 they will be able to ascend from this trajectory into global power.
In this new age of unparalleled prosperity and influence, AI will wake up to its African soul. The musician Brian Eno once said that the problem with computers is that there is “Not Enough Africa” in them; computing needs to involve more of our bodies and more embodied rhythms, just as African music requires of its players.
