**1. Introduction**

The COVID-19 pandemic altered society and accelerated innovative applications in several channels of service provision and decelerated others. It affected every aspect of life, both private and public, on a scale never seen before. Closures of restaurants, shopping malls, convenient stores, gyms, schools, hospitals, sports, and public places speak volumes [1]. Consequently, governments undertook swift and synchronized measures to contain the virus by declaring curfews, enacting social distancing, and enforcing facemasks, with individuals ending up interacting with their handheld devices to stay abreast of virus developments and getting informed while at home. According to Kuboye [1], zoom, Huawei Cloud, WeLink, and WebEx, for instance, became commonplace. The pandemic led institutions to set up facilities to support work from home (see IMF and World Bank, [2]), while airports closed or downsized or canceled flights; shops ran out of essential products; and families scrambled to purchase food, water, toilet papers [3, 4], hand sensitizers, and many more necessities amidst excessive demand–supply constraints. The fears that toilet paper would run

out led to excessive demand, and with supply chain disruptions in place, stores ran out of tissues, resulting in the great toilet paper crisis [5].

Following the negative repercussions of the pandemic, though at different paces and phases across the regions, many lives were also transmuted in a downward direction. Notably, the aftermaths of massive job losses and a rise in poverty amidst a lack of social safety nets in some low-income countries (LICs), especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was unclear when the pandemic restrictions would be lifted and whether the new normal would be established sooner than later.

The pandemic's impact and strategies varied across regions. The US authorities immediately imposed social restrictions, and social distancing gained wide acceptance starting in March 2020. Public offices and institutions began to accommodate online platforms, to reach targeted audiences [6]. Where internet connection was strong, everyone had access, and the government moved to provide digital services, including cash transfers, with digital technologies offering opportunities to support the COVID-19 responses. According to Reagan and Bulume ([7], p. 10), "As the pandemic intensified with lockdowns, millions of people turned to internet-enabled digital platforms to transact payments, access credit, connect with friends and family, and access education and health information."

While different definitions of technology exist out there, Kumar, Gupta, and Srivastava ([8], p. 570) offered the following:

*Technology refers to techniques, frameworks and devices which are the aftereffect of scientific information being utilized for practical purposes. Artificial intelligence can be characterized as Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Computer Vision applications. These abilities instruct computers to use huge information-based models to design, depict, and predict.*

The pandemic constrained mobility, compelling governments, businesses, and households to devise ways to overcome it. In medicine, the search to stop the spread of the virus and find a cure for the disease fostered digitalization. This helped track disease and predict its evolution. Marketing departments disseminated information and enticed customers to purchase products via technology. Some sports training moved online. While physical distance remained vital, many services moved to virtual platforms without sparing any field of human inquiry.

Going digital was not like a walk in the park. No matter the warnings, contactintensive jobs demanded physical presence, exposing healthcare professionals to infections at hospitals and clinics. Among contact-intensive jobs, the impact was more acute among lower-income docile, women, and poor [9, 10]. Second, some households lacked access to the internet, and basic handheld devices, which limited their ability to work from home. Third, notwithstanding the best intentions to circumvent the pandemic and reduce costs, technology has become vulnerable to abuse, including by spreading fake news. The Board of Directors of Facebook, for example, suspended the account of former President Donald J. Trump from using his account to spread fake news, to millions around the globe, especially following the riot on January 6, 2021, at the U. S Capitol. Considering such susceptibilities, critics advanced conspiracy theories against vaccines [11].

Despite global improvements in big data, privacy laws, consumer protection, and regulatory architecture following the post-global financial crisis, technological benefits remained inequitable and constrained by illiteracy, lack of internet, limited access to energy, and extreme poverty. According to Signe [12], the pandemic

### *Exploiting Technology during the Pandemic: Early Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112122*

changed how the global economy works, exposing many limitations of existing systems and demonstrating the need to reimagine the role of information technology as a critical tool for economic growth and development.

Three case studies covering Kenya, Nigeria, and South Sudan supported the central thesis, illustrating the extent to which the governments deployed technology to provide services during the pandemic, despite lack of widespread internet connection [13]. In Kenya, the government used mobile money to transfer financial support to the vulnerable. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) also digitized revenues and provided related information. In Nigeria, the government used digital platforms to do several tasks, including improving tax collections, providing services to the vulnerable, and announcing containment measures against the pandemic. In South Sudan, where digital platforms remain limited, the government relied on national television, mobile networks, and call centers [14] to pass important messages to its citizens. The authorities also used other social media outlets, including personal phones, WhatsApp groups, Facebook, and other outlets, to pass vital information, including on infections, and vaccinations. Therefore, even in South Sudan, where digital uptake remains the lowest, the government managed to rely on some digital platforms to support the COVID response.

The paper's objectives are to (i) identify how digital platforms have been exploited; (ii) highlight the benefits of technology; and prevailing impediments; and (iii) offer proposals to enhance technological services to provide efficient services in future pandemics.

The study contributes to the literature by documenting how the pandemic fostered the use of technology to provide services to household and ensure minimal disruption of firm operations. The countries analyzed exhibit disparities in access to the internet, electronic devices, literacy levels, and propensity to adopt new ways of life. However, digitization of services excludes some segments of society from critical government services, which is insupportable in progressive societies. Even if all supply-side constraints are addressed, some segments of society will not use digital services. The paper thus discusses incentives that discourage nondigital channels, to enable a reader to draw insights into how services can be improved, going forward.

The chapter proceeds in sections. Section 2 reviews the literature and examines how the pandemic has compelled society to exploit technology to provide basic services; Section 3 outlines a conceptual framework linking technology to select theories; Section 4 discusses case studies; and Section 5 draws policy implications. Finally, Section 6 concludes the paper.
