President Paul Kagame has, on Wednesday, April 26, arrived in Zimbabwe for the 6th edition of Transform Africa Summit, according to the Office of the President.
The three-day summit slated for April 26 to 28 will draw more than 2,000 global and regional leaders from government, business and international organizations to collaborate on new ways of shaping, accelerating and sustaining the continent’s on-going digital revolution.
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He is expected to deliver a keynote address alongside host President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, and King Mswati III of Eswatini.
Kagame will also chair the Smart Africa Board Meeting.
Happening for the first time outside Rwanda, this year’s edition will run under the theme, "Connect, Transform and Innovate,” with a special focus on regulation and policy, digital infrastructure financing, capacity building and skills development, and digital continental trade.
The last edition took place in 2019 with a focus on job creation and emergence of enterprises and since then, it was postponed due to Covid-19 related restrictions and its impact on nations.
The forum presents an opportunity for meaningful engagements on how governments can attract large-scale investments and enable fast growth and exports as well as for the private sector to thrive in an innovation and ICT-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Launched in 2013, the Smart Africa Alliance now consists of 36 member countries, international organisations and global private sector players tasked with Africa’s digital agenda.
The Alliance is empowered by a bold and innovative commitment to transform Africa into a knowledge based economy through affordable access to broadband and the use of ICT, towards accelerating and sustaining its socio-economic development.
Rwanda joined Angola, Djbouti, Guinea and Tunisia in ratifying the Smart Africa Alliance agreement, which will now come into force and aims to transform Africa into a digital single market and promote the use of technology and innovation across the continent by 2030.