PREVIOUS SESSIONS

Minister Mondli Gungubele of the Department of Communications & Digital Technologies, South Africa, delivers a keynote at Africa Tech Festival, envisioning Africa's digital transformation.

He highlights Cape Town's role as a digital hub and addresses the continent's digital divide. Gungubele emphasizes infrastructure development, including fiber optic networks and cloud services, to advance digital connectivity. He outlines South Africa's initiatives and invites partnerships for local manufacturing of devices.

The Minister concludes with optimism for collaborative efforts in Africa's digital future.

At Africa Tech Festival, Huawei's Sub-Saharan Africa Region President outlines the company's strategy for fostering digital and energy revolutions on the continent.

They highlight ICT advancements such as 5G, cloud, AI, and solar energy driving productivity. Huawei emphasizes the importance of digitalization and interconnected infrastructure for Africa's leapfrog development. Initiatives in cloud migration, AI, and green energy are discussed, along with plans to train 100,000 digital talents by 2026.

The session showcases Huawei's commitment to a digitally prosperous and sustainable Africa.

Philip Stupak, Assistant National Cyber Director for the Office of the National Cyber Director, discussed cybersecurity's role in enhancing connectivity and achieving collective goals at Africa Tech Festival 2023. He highlighted the Digital Transformation with Africa initiative (DTA), aiming to expand digital access and literacy in alignment with the African Union's strategy.

Stupak emphasized the U.S.'s commitment to building resilient networks and advocated for a Zero Trust architecture, prioritizing verification over blind trust. He underscored the Biden-Harris administration's strategic changes and stressed the importance of public-private collaboration in mitigating cyber risks. Stupak urged for the growth of national cyber workforces and digital literacy to ensure future resilience.

Step into the world of African technological progress with the opening keynote of Africa Tech Festival 2023!

James Williams, the Event Director at Informa Tech, inaugurates the event, highlighting its record-breaking achievements and addressing challenges faced by African tech, while also showcasing the continent's potential for growth and innovation.

Discover transformative themes like Africa Ignite for startups and discussions on fintech, AI, and digital infrastructure. This session sets the stage for a week of vibrant discussions, emphasizing Africa's role in the global tech ecosystem and its journey towards technological excellence. Join the conversation that shapes tomorrow's African tech landscape.

SPEAKERS:

• Russell Southwood - CEO, Balancing Act Nika Naghavi - Executive Director, MNOs, MFS Africa 
• Andile Ngcaba - Chairman, Convergence Partners 
• Funke Opeke - CEO, MainOne 
• Nic Rudnick - Group Deputy Executive Chairman, Liquid Intelligent Technologies

DESCRIPTION:

From the first mobile roll-out in Africa to the present day, Africa’s communications revolution has taken 36 years and, arguably, this is just the end of the beginning. This sessions brings industry veterans who played key roles in this historic journey together to tease out what it can tell us about what will happen over the next ten years. 

•  Mobile data & infrastructure: how roll-out barriers were negotiated and what work remains 
• Mobile money the transformer: how these services came to be born and the future of this 'magic sauce' 
• Digital life: how Africans have taken to using the internet and why the best is yet to come  
• Innovation & start-ups: what lit the fuse for African start-ups and how they will change how business is done in Africa?

SPEAKERS:

•  Nitesh Singh, MD and Lead for Communication, Media and Technology (CMT), Accenture South Africa 
• Habiba Ben Barka - Chief of Africa Section, United Nations Conference on Trade & Development 
• Joseph Ndaba - Commissioner 4IR/CEO MDIHub, Republic of South Africa 
• Nastassha Dooks - Business Executive Head - SME & SOHO, Vodacom 
• Masha Mathopane - Director: Inclusive Economy at Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Gauteng Provincial Government.

DESCRIPTION:

Small, medium & micro enterprises are Africa’s economic backbone. The sector’s scale is breathtaking: SMMEs comprise 90% of the private sector, employing more than 80% of the workforce, totaling 44 million. The fact that its power remains ‘potential’ indicates a sector that remains acutely underserved. This session explores how placing Africa’s SMMEs at the centre of the digital revolution and equipping them with the tools to thrive will unlock economic development across sectors, regions, and demographics. •  Digital gap: SMMEs are often late digital adopters, rarely by choice. How can improved access to communities, markets, financial services, and data tackle investment and infrastructure gaps? •  Government: unpacking why policy and regulation must be the first steps in creating enabling lending frameworks and nurturing ecosystems for the continent’s nascent enterprises.

SPEAKERS:

• Danson Njue Senior Research Analyst Omdia 
• JP van der Merwe Head of Investment Promotion WESGRO 
• Lavina Ramkissoon Chairperson & Co Founder Fintech Association of South Africa

DESCRIPTION:

Technological innovation has already transformed Africa. Record internet penetration & financial investment, a lead in mobile money innovation, and a rising, wealthier middle-class are all meaningful indicators of the progress delivered by tech-enabled digital economies - but what next? This session looks ahead to what innovations are coming down the line in the next 10 years, and how these new technologies aim to deliver real-world solutions to the continent’s most urgent priorities -  connectivity, education, trade, agriculture, healthcare, and financial tech. Innovation drivers: exploring the support networks and vehicles that drive tech innovation in Africa - policy & legislation, market access, PPPs.

SPEAKER:

• Leo Chen President, Sub-Saharan Africa Region Huawei

SPEAKERS:

• Paula Gilbert - Editor, Connecting Africa 
• Fiona Tabraham - Chief Executive, CapaCiTi 
• Chris Fabian - Co-founder & Co-Lead, Giga - UNICEF
• Anita Van Vuuren - Chief Education Specialist (CES), Western Cape Government

DESCRIPTION: 

A median continental age of 20, 60% under the age of 25, the world’s youngest continent - you’ve already heard the statistics, but what do they really mean? The answer is very little without the education and training to turn Africa’s youthful population into skilled, productive contributors and beneficiaries of the continent’s Fourth Industrial Revolution. There’s no denying the incredible potential Africa’s youth presents but to still be talking about ‘potential’ in 15 years would be an opportunity squandered. This panel session unpacks how governments, development agencies, tech giants, and start-ups are working to ensure the continent’s youth are given the connectivity, environment, skills and opportunities to ensure Africa takes its rightful place on tech’s global stage.

• Targeted training: prioritising in-demand industry skills is critical to ensuring employability in a labour market that gains on average 11 million workers each year  
• Forgotten majority? Highlighting and funding fledging young entrepreneurs with the right support at the right times is critical to taking them from micro-enterprise to global business

SPEAKER:

• Fadi Pharaon, Senior Vice President & Head of Market Area Middle East & Africa at Ericsson. 

DESCRIPTION:

The digitalization trend is accelerating in Africa with continued strong growth in mobile network access. With the 4G era already here in many countries, and 5G on the horizon, the value of connectivity for social and economic prosperity will continue to increase. As 4G and 5G become widely available, ground-breaking consumer and enterprise innovations will happen, enabling digitalization at scale. In this session, new ways of enabling limitless possibilities for innovation and digital transformation will be discussed and we will look at the near term focus on 4G investment while paving the way for 5G.

SPEAKERS: 

• Louise Claassen - Co-founder & Creative and Technology Lead, ORBmersive 
• Alex Masu - Head of Africa and Middle East - Network Investments, Meta 
• Brian Afande - Co-Founder & Managing Director, BlackRhino VR

DESCRIPTION:

The chances are that if you’re interested in technology, you’ll have heard the term ‘Metaverse’ recently. The Metaverse, like much of the tech that enables it, remains at a nascent stage of development, but estimates have put its revenue potential at $800B by 2024. Many global tech brands are already betting big on the idea, and the dream of an immersive, business-ready 3D world is very much alive. This session looks past the hype to explore real-world application of a new virtual universe for business and consumer, dives into how Africa aims to build its own unique space in the Metaverse and how pioneers are leveraging new tech to make this vision a reality.