Infrastructure is both the backbone for the economy but also the motherboard for technological innovation. Without adequate infrastructure, Africa’s economies cannot realise their full potential. The continent’s low economic performance and weak integration into the global economy is in part a result of inadequate infrastructure – mainly energy, transportation, telecommunications, water and sanitation, and irrigation.
Much of the policy concern over infrastructure focuses on issues such as rates of return on investment, impact on public finances, the formation of private-public partnerships, and identification of sources of funding. Other concerns, especially from civil society organisations, stress the environmental and social costs of large infrastructure projects.
Source: http://newafricanmagazine.com/infrastructure-for-innovation