the

Chisomo Daka, Founder, CEO & CTO, Daka Space Technology (Malawi)

When it comes to access to technology thanks to internet penetration, Africa still has so much room improvement. Malawi is an example. They also have Chisomo Daka. The physicist founded Daka Space Technology, a Malawian spacebased technology start-up. He is also the founder and the incumbent Managing Director at Airwave Technologies (2017) based in Blantyre (Malawi) and deals with computing and technology.

Daka Space Technologies (DST) LTD essentially conducts space technology research, develops and deploys low-cost and reliable space technology innovations that greatly improve living standards by enabling digital access and successful implementation of sustainable development initiatives in Malawi and across African countries.

DST also provides satellite communication and remote sensing as services to governments, businesses and end users (i.e customers) for various applications and use cases. The star-tup embarks on partnerships with research and academic institutions, especially those interested in space science research, and provides them with hands-on space based technology learning platforms and expert experience in conducting space research projects to both students and research experts.

Malawi, like more and more African countries, is venturing into a space odyssey. It turns out there are around 80 space application projects are currently being implemented across the continent, funded by both continental and global institutions. Daka aligns his vision with Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want as inspired by the African Union and DST looks at a self-reliant Malawi.

Daka doubles up as a Physics lecturer at Malawi University of Science & Technology (MUST). He graduated from the University of Malawi in 2015 with a Bachelor of Education Science (Physics and Maths). As of today, he holds an MSc. Physics degree from Lovely Professional University in India. The young Daka is also an active advocate of scientific and technological innovations among the youth and strongly believes in the notion of adoption of local technological solutions for sustainable development.

Prof Bitange Ndemo - Kenya’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union

Prof Ndemo is regarded by many as The Father of Technology in Kenya. If you look back at all the key decisions and their impact on digital transformation in Kenya, they inevitably led back to something he did, facilitated or inspired. Be it be the installation of undersea submarine cables, the development of business process outsourcing industry, the reduction in mobile termination rates (MTRs), initiating Kenya Open Data, and the growth of tech hubs such as iHub and mLab in Kenya through effective regulation

Currently serving as Kenya’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, he is an academician shaping the future CIOs, a newspaper columnist with the Daily Nation and the Business Daily who breaks dx language down into mwananchi language.

He is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi’s Business School. When speaking to the digital transformation taking place in Kenya and in Africa, he pegged digitalization and ICT as now encompassing 12 per cent to 15 per cent of the country’s GDP. His impact as a technocrat is global. He is an advisor and Board member to several organisations including Safaricom, a member of the OECD Expert Panel for Blockchain, World Economic Forum Global Blockchain Council (part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Fourth Industrial Revolution Councils).

Prof Ndemo’s research centers on the link between ICTs and SMEs with emphasis on how ICTs influence economic development in Africa. SMEs account for the employment of about 80 per cent of the population. He holds a PhD in Industrial Economics from the University of Sheffield in the UK, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Minnesota.

Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO, Big Cabal Media (Nigeria)

When Big Tech Cabal got funding worth $2.3 million in March 2022, it made news. Not for the amount, of course. There have been jaw dropping numbers the past two years. But because it is the first digital news outlet in Africa to raise above $2 million in funding. Like any other media house still standing, the idea is to thrive. Their business model experimentation has certainly delivered results, allowing for compounded annual growth rates of over 200 per cent revenue. Big Cabal Media comprises of TechCabal, a pan-African and beyond brand, and Zikoko, a national brand revolving around the youth culture for Gen Zers and Millennials continentally and beyond.

Instead of overly relying on advertising, BCM houses other arms serving different clients and generating revenue for the publications to thrive. Cabal Creative, an in-house content studio has produced content for global brands such as Google, Uber and Coca-Cola. TC Insights, a data analytics consulting service, works on research, data, and industry strategy. TC Events is a significant revenue driver for the company. BCM said revenue last year was 4x what the company recorded in 2020 while maintaining a CAGR of 225 per cent over the previous four years. This has allowed each of their publications to be well funded with the money coming in allowing them to pursue more ambitious editorial projects.

As one of the most-read tech publications covering Africa, TechCabal has newsletters such as The Next Wave and TC Events, an events arm that organises well-sought-after gatherings of operators and investors. Their website, TechCabal, reaches 300,000 to 500,000 unique readers monthly with their newsletters being read by over 60,000 subscribers across more than 30 countries. The fund will be used for audience growth across and beyond Africa, increasing the video capacity in a world where video is becoming ever so important in storytelling, new verticals, and new products. The CEO also plans to further develop Zikoko Memes, a Giphy-like product focusing on African memes, gifs and images that the company launched in 2020.

Niral Patel, Director, Google Cloud Africa, CEO (South Africa)

While they may not have had the first mover advantage with cloud in Africa, Google Cloud certainly picked up their skirts and made a run for it when they landed. Starting off with the laying of Equiano, the Big Tech firm would also expand its network through the Equiano subsea cable and build dedicated Cloud Interconnect sites in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos and Nairobi to scale up Cloud capability for Africa.

Africa, we cannot deny, is on the cusp of a digital transformation. It is expected that 300 million people will be coming online in the next five years. The technology will have to be very different to carry these numbers. Enter businesses embracing cloud to innovate rapidly and solve challenges more nimbly. ogle Cloud has been carbon neutral since 2007. It is working towards the goal of operating entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030, which would them make Google’s the first cloud provider to achieve this milestone.

Google is tapping into its private subsea cable, Equiano, which connects Africa and Europe, to power the sites. Equiano has been under development since 2019 and has so far made four landings — in Togo, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa. South Africa now joins Google’s global network of 35 cloud regions and 106 zones.

The decision to set up shop in South Africa was informed by the demand for cloud services and the market’s potential. Google Cloud is on the lookout for more markets within the continent as demand for its products soars. Early adopters so far include large enterprise companies, and e-commerce firms like South Africa’s TakeAlot and Kenya’s Twiga.

According to research by AlphaBeta Economics, commissioned by Google Cloud, the South Africa cloud region will contribute over $2.1 billion to South Africa’s GDP and support the creation of more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.

Eric Hersman, Co-Founder, Gridless Compute (Kenya)

Hersman is the man behind introducing Jack Dorsey, Block Head, Chairman & Co-Founder, Block, to Kenyans. His relationship with Block goes beyond camaraderie. Gridless was a well-kept secret to locals until December 2022 when they got $2 million in funding to use in bitcoin mining in East Africa to increase energy access across Africa and further distribute and secure the bitcoin network. The start-up creates, builds, and operates bitcoin mining sites alongside small-scale renewable energy producers in rural Africa using excess energy.

Serving as the anchor tenant, Gridless finances the construction and managing the operation of data centres in rural communities where traditional industrial or commercial customers are not available. Still in its first year, Gridless has contracted five project pilots in rural Kenya with HydroBox, an African hydroelectric energy company. There are plans to expand to other geographies in East Africa in the near future.

Crypto mining can provide new economic opportunities for people in Africa, creating job in the tech industry and generating revenue. The long-term plan is financial inclusion with cryptocurrency providing an alternative way to participate in the global financial system. Cryptocurrency mining requires high-tech equipment and infrastructure, which can drive the development of technology in Africa and promote technological innovation.

Hersman is also the co-founder of Nairobi Garage, BRCK, Ushahidi, Inc, Founder iHub Nairobi, and a TED Senior Fellow.

Solomon Torgbor, Co-Founder & COO, Jetstream Africa (Ghana)

The startup was founded by Miishe Addy and Solomon Torgbor in 2018 with the intent to enable African businesses see and control their own cross-border supply chains. It aggregates private sector logistics providers at African ports and borders bringing them online. Initially, they buzzed around fragmentation problems and lack of coordination at African ports; an experience Torgbor was all too familiar with. Having worked Maersk’s freight forwarding subsidiary Damco for eight years where he would see cargoes sitting for weeks at container terminals without moving forward in the supply chain. It turned out these delays were due to errors and incorrect paperwork at customs, importers, and exporters not having working capital at the right time to pay their logistics bills all culminating in poor coordination on the ground. When it came to exports, the cargo volumes were sometimes too small to ship cost-effectively by sea freight. It charges for freight, clearance, and financial services. For freight, it charges a per-container or per-kilogram fee. For customs clearance, it charges a flat fee. For financing and insurance services, it charges a commission on the value of the goods being shipped. They grew 512 per cent during the pandemic. In January 2023, they announced they had secured $13 million in equity and debt pre-Series A financing, 18 months after a $3 million seed round.

Jetstream has now evolved into a freight forwarder, handling the end-to-end movement, both export and import, charge a fee for it, and supplies finance to those who need it. Their revenue has grown by 48 per cent and active customers by 102 per cent within the past year. The round will help them expand into new markets as well as capitalise on trade policies. They are particularly keen on inter-continental trade.