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
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
Governance: designing progressive policy as unique as the ecosystem, and delivering security, access to capital, and financial incentives. Are ‘Start-up Acts’ the future?
Value-led: prioritising factors critical for tech ecosystem appeal - cost of living & labour, visa & customs restrictions, infrastructure - that make investors come and talent stay
Hubs & incubators: co-working space that delivers skills and training, bringing entrepreneurs together to foster relationships and introductions to mentors and investors
- Leading lights: Countries leading by example in the pursuit of better tech ecosystems - Egypt, South Africa, Rwanda, and which emergent countries are stepping up?
Using simplified mobile workflows and unified data to present a single user interface for the lifecycle of an incident.
- Challenges faced by first-responders
- In-Vehicle Video
- Activating BWV
- Tagging of BWV and ANPR
- Remote statement taking
Benefits:
- Improved mission-critical communications.
- Creating efficiency gains and mitigating risks to all parties.
- Provide situational awareness to your team.
- Use footage of crime scenes and traffic accidents to recreate the scene.
- Video evidence provides transparency and accountability for the public and frontline staff.
Africa’s satellite sector is on the rise. In the next 3 years, 125 satellites will be launched by 23 nations, quadrupling existing capacity. While connectivity remains the core offering, opportunities to address Africa’s unique infrastructure challenges continue to grow as launch and operation costs decline.
From weather monitoring & food security to transport & conservation, this session will explore the critical importance of satellite, and how it can complement Africa’s existing communication networks to build connected, intelligent, tech-enabled societies.
Innovation: exploring how equipment and service innovations in IoT, terminals, links, and new LEO constellations are diversifying offerings to complement GEO & MEO services
- New models: rethinking MNO, ISP and government partnerships to address legacy hurdles like investment, service delivery, regulatory bureaucracy to unlock affordable connectivity
While many nations have made impressive recent advances in internet provision, hundreds of millions of Africans still lack ‘meaningful connectivity’. Simply put, many of those connected lack internet that is fast and reliable, or can't afford the data or devices to fulfil the day-to-day tasks that allow meaningful participation in the digital economy.
Economic Key: prioritising connectivity access that facilitates access to online banking, education, healthcare and eCommerce services to unleash benefits for the wider economy.
- Access4All: exploring geographical, gender & financial factors underpinning many of these connectivity trends, and the importance of policy and tech innovation in tackling these barriers.
How connectivity networks are designed and built is fundamentally important in internet provision - the traditional model for these networks was investor-backed enterprises building independent networks for the exclusive use of their customers. This is changing.
The reality is that competition for natural resources, spectrum licences, investment, customers, & talent will always exist. This session explores how the industry is moving away from purely vertically-integrated models to modern ‘coopetition’ strategies that create open-access infrastructure through simultaneous cooperation & competition, and how both can be a positive for all parties and, importantly, the consumer.
Infra 2.0: unpacking the value of more formal approaches to research, investment & knowledge sharing for Africa’s telecoms industries, one which integrates government policy early-stage
- Last mile: the power of PPPs and novel investment models for underserved communities where connectivity demands high capital investment & operating costs while delivering modest returns
Blockchain and cryptocurrency have the potential to revolutionise African banking. From real estate to education, the technology is ideally placed to address some of the heritage challenges that have stifled the development of the continent’s digital economies.
This session unpacks the value potential for Africa: from cross-border interoperability and peer-to-peer lending, to remittances and supply-chain optimization. We’ll explore how addressing hurdles like energy demands & regulation can unlock wide-scale adoption and better access to financing for millions
Market-led: prioritising in-market usability to solve real-world challenges like personal verification, through business models that flex with evolving, maturing African markets
- Pioneers: how are early adopters, Kenya & Ethiopia, using regulatory frameworks to integrate the tech into existing digital infrastructure? What could South Africa’s Digital Rand mean?
Africa’s MVNOs have never been more important to its tech ecosystem. The COVID-19 pandemic proved a disruptive but vital innovation accelerant for a sector which had previously struggled to make serious inroads into the continent’s operator market.
The view from 2022 is a promising one - greater data use as employees shift to home-working, a renewed impetus on partnership, and product innovation are all key drivers in Africa’s MVNO revolution. This panel session will look at how MVNOs are evolving away from price differentiation to build value-add services that provide more personalised, customer-centric experiences.
Growth areas: unpacking opportunity presented by tech innovation - handsets, IoT & smart devices, 5G, and big data - in industry verticals such as banking, media, entertainment & retail
- Policy: how regulators are striving to build fairer, more modern operator ecosystems to cater for MVNOs - allowing open-access to spectrum allocation, and new market & sector expansion
Africa’s growing broadband penetration and disposable incomes are driving an ‘over-the-top’ boom - originally seen as a threat, telcos are increasingly producing their own content and launching platforms.
As traditional revenue streams are increasingly squeezed by the rise of free messaging & calls, network congestion, rising infrastructure costs, and a lack of regulation present threats to the telco's bottom line.
Threats: Revenue declines, free messaging and call services, increased network congestion, rising infrastructure costs, and a lack of clear regulation are all threats to the telco bottom line
- Opportunity knocks: 4G & 5G rollouts and improved networks, development of telco OTT platforms and content, and bespoke partnerships all present growth potential
It’s an issue that continues to dog African telecoms, and one the continent could do without. Government auctions for the rights of limited spectrum are an essential part of the connectivity matrix, with telcos submitting bids for access to tap into allocated spectrum. Simple right? Apparently not.
A series of high-profile court cases have highlighted the inefficiency of the current process. A large part of the issue is that some parties miss out, with challenges on the distribution of spectrum, legitimate or not, often taking months to resolve. There is a better way of working, and it involves a more transparent and timely process to ensure enterprise and consumer aren't suffering.
Regulation is key to enabling fintech to reach its full potential and ensuring it offers protection to the consumer. To achieve this, it is key for regulators to engage with different players in the fintech industry and enable the right environment for companies to be able to test products and services.
- Regulatory Convergence: As markets across the continent evolve and the industry is constantly evolving at a rapid pace, how can policy and regulation keep up with the change?
- Tracking progress: Tracking the progress in enabling financial innovation through initiatives such as creating regulatory sandboxes in Kenya to encourage experimentation and development or creating RegTech and SupTech programmes.
The Digital revolution in the banking sector has completely transformed the way consumers interact with banks as mobile ownership increases and online banking takes over. Covid-19 has only accelerated this process with the erosion of branch banking and initiatives put in place to encourage digital transactions. This session will focus specifically on how banks are adapting to the digital revolution and partnering with other players in the ecosystem to provide a more accessible service for their customers.
- Fostering inclusion: How is this banking revolution fostering a more inclusive system for consumers across the continent? What are the key areas where there is a lot of work still to do?
- Partnerships: Exploring how banks are now embracing fintech and viewing partnerships as a mutually beneficial agreement.
- Digital lending: How crucial will it be for banks to offer digital lending? What are some of the risks that come in launching these services?
More than 60% of Sub Saharan Africa's population are smallholder farmers and responsible for 20% of the continent’s GDP and yet the continent is still a net importer. Digital solutions have the potential to offer farmers the opportunity to create more with less and innovate farming techniques.
- Innovation in agritech: Exploring the impact of new innovations including mobile driven technologies such as SMS weather alerts, sensors measuring crops health and mobile apps offering credit.
- E-commerce: Tracking the growth of e-commerce companies across the continent driving innovation and connecting informal retailers directly with farmers.
- Digital divide: How to reach farmers that do not have access to mobile handsets or broadband connectivity?
Global demand for food will increase by 70% by 2050 and at least $80 billion in investment will be needed annually to meet this demand. This session will explore what steps need to be taken to meet this and future demands by ensuring that farming practices are sustainable and do not necessitate a drain on current resources.
- Long term sustainability: Agriculture accounts for 50% of water use in South Africa and experience water losses between 30-40%, how do farming practices need to change to reduce the amount of wastage?
- Affordability: Exploring how these new farming techniques can be affordable and accessible, new products such as PAYG tractor financing, for example, have been introduced to the market allowing customers to pay as you go.
- IoT: How can IoT be used in farming to analyse and harness insights? What are the benefits of smart irrigation and how can it be scaled?
The agricultural sector in Africa has struggled from supply chain inefficiencies and a fragmented market as produce takes increasingly longer to get to the end consumer. Middlemen dominate the markets as small scale sellers do not have the capital to source directly from farmers. This leads to pricing controls in the market maintaining low prices for the producer and high for the consumer.
- Transparency & Tracking: Blockchain has the potential to create more transparency through providing records of operations & financial services through its peer-to-peer technology but what are some of the key barriers to adoption?
- Beyond Crypto: Beyond its financial functionality, what kind of innovative thinking in blockchain could transform the sector and create more opportunities for farmers?
The Covid-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on the healthcare sector in Africa and revealed some of the key gaps which need to be addressed. This session will explore how to leverage the momentum and tackle any barriers faced to be able to scale innovation in the sector.
- Adapting & Adopting: Exploring how traditional healthcare providers responded to the outbreak by adjusting their models and adapting new technology.
- Barriers to care: How can technology play a critical role in tackling the disruption in the medical supply chains and last mile health service delivery? What role does data play in securing a successful healthcare system?
- Healthtech Hubs: Healthtech hubs have risen across Africa as a space for testing and innovation in the sector. What is the desired impact of these hubs long term?
Over the last year, investment into Africa’s healthtech sector has grown by 81% as Covid-19 put a spotlight on how technology could be used to create a more accessible healthcare system. Africa’s healthcare sector is estimated to continue in its growth journey and be worth up to 11 billion dollars by 2025. Now more than ever, the interest is building - this session will focus on how different players across the healthcare system can work together not just to scale these innovations but ensure they are future-proof.
- Government policy: What kind of policies are needed to enable this investment, gw can governments create a stable operating environment to support innovation and tech in the healthcare system?
- Public & private sector partnerships: How can different stakeholders in the industry such as governments and NGOs better collaborate with the private sector to leverage opportunities and create a beneficial healthcare system for all?