AI Expo Africa’s strategy to grow Artificial Intelligence in Africa
THE FUTURE OF TECH IN AFRICA AND HOW THE YOUTH CAN GET INVOLVED THE world is facing one of the most challenging times due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Africa has not been excluded from the negative impact. However, with adversity comes opportunity. Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have been at the forefront of the tech revolution in Africa and this is evident through the huge fintech investment received from various sources this year. The rise in the penetration of mobile phones has opened many opportunities for companies to create solutions to many issues that rural people face. Mobile money transactions have increased exponentially and created many
innovative start-ups. DueDash is a platform that brings start-ups, founders, investors, corporates, and specialised services professionals together. They get to share experiences and there is a wealth of information and knowledge to guide start-ups through the daunting journey. The Cape Town Sparring Ring was created two months ago to provide support to the African start-up community. The platform has a special focus on female and youth start-ups to gain the necessary knowledge and to build sustainable businesses. Once startups have successfully completed
the “investor readiness check”, they are exposed to investors on the platform. With funding for business support services through AWS, Freshworks and HubSpot these start-ups are exposed to professional guidance and support to assist them to turn their idea into reality. Join the Cape Town Sparring Ring through the link below and experience the community that ensures no investable start-up is left behind. https://community. duedash.com/share/ WAh6VlAxaI2fXtLy?utm_ source=manual
With adversity comes opportunity
Telecommunications Minister Stella NdabeniAbrahams (centre) visited AI Expo Africa last year and provided a keynote address at the
ONLINE 2020 show. The minister is flanked by AI Expo Africa co-founders Dr Nick Bradshaw (left) and Roy Bannister (right).
Trade, Education, Community
MAURITIUS emerged the highestranked African country in the Oxford Insights 2020 Government AI Readiness Index, ranking 45th out of 172 countries around the world. How do we keep Africa from trailing in the global AI race? Having successfully run AI Expo Africa – the continent’s largest B2B / B2G AI and smart technology conference – over the last three consecutive years, we believe it’ll come down to three things: trade, education and community. AI Expo Africa 2020 ONLINE was our largest edition to date, drawing more than 2000 registered delegates and over 500 companies from 45 countries around the world to over 80 virtual booths. The online format saw more international exhibitors take part through the expo’s hugely successful international pavilions which brought start-ups and organisation s from France, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Israel. The expo’s virtual innovation wall, which this year hosted over 30 posters addressing social, economic and environmental challenges facing Africa that can be solved using AI, gave start-ups a platform to showcase new innovations to potential partners and investors. AI Expo Africa is now more than just an annual tech or business conference. Join our community at www.aiexpoafrica.com
The virtual lobby at AI Expo Africa 2020 ONLINE, which this year was the largest global AI virtual event, with over 80 online exhibitors featuring African and global tech companies like SAP, Microsoft, Huawei, Dell, Intel, Blue Prism, Oracle, UIPath and arm. The speaking programme featured over 80 global and African AI thought-leaders.
