The upcoming Africa Tech Summit, slated for next month, will bring together African technology leaders to share expertise and do business, organisers have said. The summit is slated to take place on February 14-15 in Kigali. Andrew Fassnidge, the founder of Africa Tech Summit, told The New Times that they expect to have 50 expert speakers from technology companies, banks, governments, digital ventures, pan-African start-ups, as well as entrepreneurs, regulators, investors, and the media. He said that already over 25 speakers have confirmed, and most of them will be representing such companies as Facebook, Andela, Taxify, AHL Venture Partners, Draper Dark Flow, Safaricom, Atlas Mara, BitPesa, babyl Rwanda, aKoma, kLab, iHub, and Boomplay Music, among others. The two-day summit, which will be taking place in Rwanda for the first time, has previously taken place in South Africa and in the United Kingdom. Claudette Irere, the director of ICT at the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication, said they see the summit as a key platform that will facilitate meaningful exchanges. “Our hosting of the event means that our tech innovators will benefit immensely. Industry leaders will connect with innovators as well as share insights on technology and what needs to be done to drive the African technology sector,” she noted. At the meeting, discussions will revolve around connectivity, African mobility, cloud and internet of things (IoT), investing in African Tech, mobile and data, tech and talent, as well as future trends, organisers say. Other themes will include payments, banking and financial technology, artificial intelligence and robotics, virtual reality, and digital media. Fassnidge said they are currently working to connect leading ventures from across the continent. “Our goal is to help drive investment and grow businesses within the African tech ecosystem. We will assess some of the most exciting opportunities for partnership and investment across the continent in the fantastic setting of Kigali,” he noted. The summit will attract renowned technology experts and entrepreneurs with knowledge and experience from across Africa who will share insights, opportunities and trends in the African technology and investment ecosystem. According to Aphrodice Mutangana, the manager of kLab and co-organiser of the event, they are trying to facilitate many local entrepreneurs and innovators to attend the summit. He noted that they also expect to have specific sessions that will directly link technology entrepreneurs to different investors who attend the event. Mutangana said they plan to have ‘Face The Gorillas’ and IT pitch series sessions alongside the main event. During such events, small, early-stage and emerging start-ups usually pitch their ideas to investors, mostly venture capitalists. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
