Digital innovation and structural transformation of French-speaking African economies: Risky opportunities for development?[Innovation numérique et transformation structurelle des économies africaines francophones, opportunités risquées pour le développement]

Digital technologies are inducing rapid and profound changes in Sub-Saharan Africa and are transforming traditional political, economic, social and cultural models. But who is benefiting from these changes? Are these technologies contributing to a structural transformation of West African economies and societies, breaking with the development models which have prevailed so far? This article summarizes the state of our knowledge on the nature of the relationships between digital technologies and the structural transformation of African economies (pooling of resources, services industrialization and risks of a globalized governance) and on the emergence of multi-level regulation frameworks in this technological sector. To do so, we build on various empirical experiences, respectively in the French-speaking area's governance, in the support of national research and innovation policies, and in the analysis of digital development in the agricultural sector. We thus document the scope of opportunities and risks of digital expansion with regards to the development of French-Speaking African countries.