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AI EXPO AFRICA 2020 ONLINE drives Regional & International B2B/B2G 4IR Trade with 45 countries
AI Expo Africa 2020 ONLINE —Africa’s largest B2B / B2G artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and smart technology conference — broke new ground this year with the virtual platform drawing more than 2000 registered delegates and over 500 companies from 45 countries around the world.
THIS YEAR’S two-day live edition -- held on 3 and 4 September -- was allied to a 30-day on-demand show wrapped up on 3 October. With over 82,000+ platform visits during the show, delegates were able to watch 40 hours of thought leadership talks from global and local brands, visit more than 80 sponsor booths in the virtual expo hall, and review over 30 posters at the virtual innovation wall.
Day 1 of the show was opened by South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, French Ambassador to South Africa Aurelien Lechevallier, and Han Peters, the Dutch Ambassador to South Africa. This while Day 2 of the show was opened by University of Johannesburg Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Chair Presidential 4IR Commission, South Africa Prof Tshilidzi Marwala; Western Cape Provincial
Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier, and Dr. Nicolas Brühl, Ambassador of Switzerland in South Africa.
Keynote speakers included:
• MTN Nigeria CTO & Data Science Nigeria founder Olubayo Adekanmbi
• SAP Global Senior Director – Industries & Customer Advisory, Rudeon Snell
• ITU Head of Strategic Engagement, Frederic Werner
• UiPath Chief Evangelist, Guy Kirkwood
• CLEVVA CEO Ryan Falkenberg
• Microsoft Global Director Artificial Intelligence, Mohammad Albataineh
• InstaDeep Tunisia CEO and co-founder Karim Beguir
• Intel AI Sales Director & STEM Education Advocate Monica Livingston
• Intel Strategic Alliances and AI Programmes Director Radhika Anand
• Dell Technologies Systems Engineering Director, Greg McDonald
• NVIDIA Head of Emerging Areas, Kate Kallot
Nick Bradshaw, CEO AI Media Group and co-founder of AI Expo Africa event said, “This edition of AI Expo Africa is our largest to date and also the largest of its class to be run in the Africa region and has received very positive feedback from both local, regional, and international trade delegates, as well as speakers and sponsors.”
Bradshaw explained that the online format was chosen for this year’s edition due to restrictions around hosting face-to-face events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, “It was important to us to create a “digital twin” of our successful face-to-face format that has been hailed as world class and supported this year by the likes of SAP, Microsoft, Huawei, Oracle, ITU, Arm, Dell, Intel, UiPath and Blue Prism to name but a few. We had a much larger contingent of international companies that were able to join us via the convenience of the virtual expo hall and our international pavilions hosted by the Dutch, Israeli, Swiss, and French Embassies in South Africa.”
Bradshaw added, “The AI Media Group, organisers of AI Expo Africa, would like to thank all sponsors, speakers, and delegates who supported and attended the event. Without their commitment and leap of faith in these challenging times this edition would not have been possible.”
Attendance
Headline numbers for AI Expo Africa 2020 ONLINE were as follows:
• 2112 Registered Delegates at Live Show (2413 including OnDemand show)
• 77,557 Platform visits at Live Show (82,388 including OnDemand show)
• 502 unique companies attended the event
Diversity & inclusivity
• Delegate diversity - 32% Female, 68% Male
• 80 speakers from 13 countries represented in the speaking programme which had 40 hours of talks (30% Female, 70% Male)
• 34 ePosters presented for six Innovation Challenges from seven countries ( 45% Female, 55% Male)
• A total of 45 countries were represented at the show over the 2 Live Show days
Delegate Feedback
Roy Bannister Co-Founder of AI Media Group stated, “Overall feedback from sponsors and delegates has been amazing, the inclusion of many more exhibitors via the show’s international pavilions and online format was a big contributor to this year’s massive success.”
A delegate survey conducted by AI Media Group showed that 97% of respondents said they enjoyed themselves and learnt something new, this while 95% felt the show met all their expectations, with 98% of respondents stating they would come to AI Expo Africa 2021.
Bannister concluded, “Many companies who couldn’t have attended due to travel costs and the logistical admin associated with face-to-face events and COVID saw this as a clear advantage of the online format. The convenience of being able to watch talks with live Q&A chat and the ability to watch talks at any time was well-received and valued. The online event experience also offers unique features and opportunities that aren’t available in traditional formats. These included real-time analytics, bespoke reporting, and a 30 day show archive.”
Here’s what some of our delegates and speakers had to say:
“Enjoyed the consistent ethical discussion around impact of AI to progress our society” Capitec Bank, SA “Amazed at the local talent and resources available” OUTsurance, SA “We are super proud of being part of this” INTERPOL, Netherlands “As an online event, it was very good” ABSA, SA “Enjoying my first virtual conference from my office at home” Data Dialect, SA “Congratulations Dr Nick Bradshaw and Roy Bannister with going online. Well done!” SAIS, SA
“So so so proud of my team at LUMA Law thank you to AI Expo Africa” LUMA Law, SA
“Very diverse themes addressing important issues” AIMS, Ghana
“Well worth a visit to this awesome online venue! Kudos!” Nvidia, UK
“Microsoft Labs were flippin awesome!” Drone Eye Technology, SA
“The Microsoft AI Lab was informative” University of JHB, SA
“Great job” Allan Gray, SA
“Congrats for putting such a great event” UN Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Switzerland
“My first fully digital conference was amazing” Kudoti, SA
“Well done on another cracking event” Ocular Technologies, SA
“Very informative, exciting times ahead” Redflank Consulting, SA
“Awesome virtual expo! Thank you for bringing Analytics & 4IR minds together” Liberty Group, SA
“I was impressed with what you have accomplished. Well done!” Stellenbosch University, SA
“AI Expo Africa bar none, is one of the best online conference experiences I have had!” TIES, USA
“AI Expo Africa was amazing!” UNESCO, Switzerland
“Thanks for hosting such an amazing conference, showcasing pure African talent” AfricaNova Solutions, SA
“It was above my expectations” Social Lab, Germany
“Superb event, with great interaction and engagement. Excellent agenda and networking opportunities” SAP, SA
“Amazing event. Thanks Nick and Roy. This is great for Africa” Afya Rekod, Kenya
“I would like to commend you and your team on a wonderful Expo.” Engineering Human Performance, SA
Missed the show? The AI Expo Africa 2020 talks are now all available on our AI TV YouTube Channel. Those looking to secure a place on the 2021 Super Early Bird list can do so by signing up for our Super Early Bird news mailer at http://aiexpoafrica.com/registration This will guarantee early access to the show, news and offers for AI Expo Africa 2021. ai
