A recent webinar has highlighted the transformative role that digital technologies could play in reshaping Africa’s construction and infrastructure landscape—an industry under pressure from rapid population growth, urbanisation and enormous infrastructure backlogs.
3D Printing Leads the Digital Shift
Africa is already home to groundbreaking innovation: the world’s first 3D-printed school, built in 2021 in Malawi’s Salima district. Printed in just 18 hours, the structure was delivered by 14Trees—a partnership between Switzerland’s Holcim and the UK’s British International Investment. The process drastically cuts construction time, cost and material consumption, while slashing the environmental footprint by more than 50% compared to traditional building methods.
Malawi faces a shortage of 36,000 classrooms, which UNICEF says would take 70 years to deliver through conventional construction. According to 14Trees, 3D printing could close that gap within a decade, underscoring the vast potential of the technology across a continent struggling to meet surging infrastructure demands.
Experts Highlight the Power of Digitalisation
The webinar, titled “Leveraging Technology to Overcome Challenges in the African Construction Industry,” explored how digital tools—from 3D printing to digital twins—could reshape the continent’s construction sector.
Moderated by Professor Dr Khumbulani Mpofu, vice-chancellor of Solusi University in Zimbabwe, the panel featured:
- Mark Worrall, CEO, Estates and Infrastructure Exchange (EIX)
- Tunde Ogunshakin, Director of Digital Transformation, AEO Group
- Eng Refilwe Buthelezi, President, Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO)
- James Afolalu, Digital twins and infrastructure systems specialist
- Eng Sophoniass Deneke, President, Ethiopian Construction Technology and Management Professionals Association (ECoTMPA)
Ethiopia Turns to 3D Printing to Ease Housing Pressure
During the discussion, Eng Sophoniass Deneke highlighted Ethiopia’s adoption of 3D concrete printing to tackle its housing deficit, which exceeds 1 million units. In April, the Federal Housing Corporation signed an agreement with Austria’s Baumit Group to deploy the technology nationwide.
The system—using 98% locally sourced materials—is capable of completing large-scale housing developments within months, and even constructing villa-style homes in a single day. Deneke explained that the technology relies on a lost formwork system, which replaces plywood and metal formwork with printed concrete moulds. These can be produced onsite or in a pre-cast format, including via mobile, containerised printing units.
Local adaptability has been central to implementation. “We use our own materials—sand, limestone and cement—so we don’t rely on imported inputs,” Deneke said.
Faster, Cheaper and More Efficient
A four-printer workshop can produce up to 480 square metres per day, and the technology has already enabled the construction of ground-plus-nine-storey buildings in just 30 days. Compared to Ethiopia’s most advanced conventional methods, 3D printing:
- cuts construction time by 50%
- reduces concrete and rebar use by 40%
- boosts labour productivity by 40%
Concerns about job losses are largely unfounded, Deneke added, because Ethiopia’s model is a hybrid system that blends traditional and digital construction. Vertical elements may be printed, but horizontal components still rely on conventional techniques, ensuring continued demand for skilled labour.
Environmental and Social Benefits
The technology also brings significant sustainability gains. Waste is reduced by 50%, timber use by 70%, and the mobile nature of the system sharply lowers transport and logistics requirements.