AfriLabs launches its e-learning platform to support innovation across Africa
AfriLabs has successfully launched the AfriLabs Academy in a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, 18th May 2022 with major stakeholders and key players in the African Innovation Ecosystem present. Innovation hubs in Africa are key structures in enabling tech and entrepreneurship and are providing scalable solutions to Africa’s core economic and social problems. However, some of these hubs require support to help them function at full capacity. In 2020, AfriLabs under the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme undertook a Needs Assessment to identify the needs of Enterprise Support Organisations (ESOs) and hubs. “The Needs Assessment report established a need for a comprehensive harmonized ESOs curriculum framework that addresses the skills and business development gaps as well as their financial sustainability. The AfriLabs Academy addresses the skills and knowledge gap” Nanko Madu, Director of Programmes, AfriLabs during the launch of the platform on Wednesday, 18th May 2022. AfriLabs Academy is an initiative of AfriLabs and a part of the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (carried out thanks to AFD’s support through the Digital Africa seed fund). It was designed to equip African Hub managers and staff, ESOs and other startup support structures with the training and management skills needed to improve their ability and capacity to support the growing number of startups and MSMEs in their communities. The content on the platform was co-created and certified by Strathmore University. “The AfriLabs Academy is a knowledge repository for innovation hubs and other stakeholders across Africa designed to equip startup ecosystem enablers with the needed skills and training to support African startups. I am proud of the team, partners, and community for making this happen.” Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director, AfriLabs said during the launch. The platform responds to demands from the innovation ecosystem for greater support in building successful tech- startups, and the critical need to build cadres of skilled and effective leaders by adapting best skills, practices and strategies unique to the African context. Moetaz Hemly, Board Chair, AfriLabs during his speech said “The AfriLabs Academy focuses on the realities and challenges of African hubs and startups, and its modules were developed by Africans and are very practical for the African Innovation Ecosystem. This is aligned with AfriLabs’ mission in building the capacity of hubs across the continent.” “The AfriLabs Academy is a reflection of our commitment to making better entrepreneurs for tomorrow. This is exciting because it tells us that together as a community, we can really achieve a lot together. There was a lot of effort put in, to make sure the content was not just educational but also very interactive.” Rebecca Enonchong, former Board Chair of AfriLabs also noted at the launch. Emmanuel Kweyu of Strathmore University said that the AfriLabs Academy courses are divided into GROWTH and SCALE-UP stages designed to continually improve, with quality assessment and certification from Strathmore University. Visit the platform today at www.academy.afrilabs.com to start your learning journey. For more information about the platform and to make enquiries, kindly send an email to funmilayo@afrilabs.com. and cc: adebambo@gmail.com.
Celebrating Africa’s Trade Genius and Mapping the Future of Intra-African Trade
Africa has a rich history of trade that we should celebrate and learn from. As Africans eager to do business across the continent, we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors who perfected trade across the region and the continent, like Mirambo of the Nyamwezi of Tanzania, and King Kaleb of Aksum of Ethiopia and Eritrea leading well-known trading civilisations that transacted with their neighbours as well as foreigners. Think of our ancient and famous trading cities such as Kilwa Kisiwani and Sofala off the Eastern coastline. Indeed, the art and practice of trade that is rooted in African genius and history, influenced the whole world. From the Mutapa kingdom’s trade, that stretched from Zimbabwe across to Mozambique, to the city of Gao in West Africa whose trade routes reached Cairo in North Africa, Africans traversed deserts, rivers, forests and oceans in pursuit of business solutions for Africa and the world – think of the Sahara trade route that was part of the original silk road – reaching ancient Afghanistan, Iraq and China! “We must tell these stories because this is where we will find ourselves. And to know that we are descendants of innovative, successful, culturally shrewd business people.. from craftspeople to diplomats, to engineers to doctors to philosophers, to educationalists. Colonialism robbed us of these stories, it robbed us of our dignity and we only get this dignity back by realising that our history began long before the scramble for Africa”. Mona Nya Our organisation, infrastructure, communication and ability to regulate how we traded, what we traded and with whom we traded were key centuries ago. This enabled us to successfully manufacture goods at production centres that we built, and trade them within our communities and with traders from China, Europe and so on. This was our trade genius. We always understood the value of intra African and global trade and for a long time, we did it effectively. However, there were failures along the way, which saw Africa lose her raw materials, put up boundaries and lose trust in her own people. AfriLabs, Mozilla and Omidyar Network were honoured to host Brian Kagoro, Mona Nya, Adetola Onayemi, Bismark Addo and José Luis Tavares Semedo for a conversation that reflected on this rich history and shared ideas for how we could collectively ensure successful modern-day intra African trade. Watch Brian Kagoro’s keynote here. We concluded that to set us up on the right path to successful intra-African trade, one of the more important issues to determine was our larger ‘WHY’ to keep us on mission and educate our movement, interactions and decisions. “We are in a generation where hundreds of years of miseducation and schooling have taught our people that when they approach the global market they do so from a point of inferiority, or catch up or trying to mimic that external world. So in the absence of a larger WHY, a purpose that drives us, a consciousness, a self-belief and self-confidence, we are likely to be caught up in what we are seeing as Europe and American myths”. – Brian Kagoro The future of intra African trade is in our hands and its success is dependent on the actions of Pan Africans from all spheres from financial and development institutions, to civil society, corporates, innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers, historians, national governments and so on working towards Africa’s economic development, self-sufficiency and dignity. For their part, Africa’s innovators continue to show their capacity to innovate world-class products and services and build world-class businesses. Acquisitions, taking companies public, successful fundraises, improved livelihoods, digitalisation across African entities, demand for skill and knowledge, regional and Pan African scale of businesses and steady increase of local funders for local businesses are a testament to the fact that the African innovation ecosystem has been gearing up for Pan African domination and is ready for a new wave of exponential growth fueled in part by the supportive structure that AU member states have now promised to provide through the African Continental Free Trade Area. Historically, we are a people willing to put in the work to contribute to long term development whether technological or economical. At AfriLabs we showcase this in the way our member hubs and partners preserve our history, protect our innovations, produce new innovations continuously and provide holistic support to innovators across the continent. Members like the Media Innovation Network that is supporting creative storytellers and Baraza Media Lab that’s working to strengthen Kenya’s media ecosystem are ensuring that innovation stories are told well and preserved. Association of Startup and SME Enablers of Kenya, Ghana Hubs Network and Innovation Support Network have been at the forefront of leading policy agendas by ensuring that the needs and rights of the innovator are top of mind when crafting national innovation policies. These networks are also amplifying the voices of their hub members to increase national collaborations and catalyse sustainable growth of their national innovation ecosystems. Hubs across the continent are supporting manufacturing processes and connecting customers to hardware, engineering and manufacturing companies to increase Africa’s capacity to produce finished goods. Check out this Nigeria Hardware Ecosystem Map championed by Clintonel Innovation Centre among others. Gearbox on its part offers prototyping facilities, training in manufacturing, fabrication and design as well as mentorship, investment opportunities and community development. Our partners Liquid Technologies are working with hubs like Innovation Village, Bongo Hive and others by offering critical infrastructures like high-speed connectivity and cloud services, and supporting gaming and IOT as avenues for African innovators to create. AfriLabs member hubs across the continent are providing holistic support to innovators across the continent by offering open, safe spaces for community-led innovation, mentorship, care to ensure mental health, programs to develop entrepreneurship skills and grow businesses, and connections to private and public sector actors. Our hubs are now working towards facilitating cross border trade by creating amongst them a masterpass that gives entrepreneurs business support in 347 hubs spread across 52 African countries, and this network continues to
African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship: What We Have Learnt So Far
by Taiye Salami, Project Officer, and Stephanie Titcombe, Project Associate at AfriLabs In the third quarter of 2021, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)’s vision to support the mandate of The African Union (AU) via its commission (the African Union Commission), through the GIZ DataCipation project, materialized into what is now the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program. The aim of the program is to identify and deploy highly competent technology innovators from the African continent to units and organs within the African Union headquarters as resident fellows. The mandate of the fellows is to understand the system within their assigned units, identify data and process management challenges and lead the development and the deployment of sustainable and innovative technology solutions. AfriLabs as the implementing partner designed and managed the project’s implementation which includes but is not limited to the identification and deployment of the fellows to their respective units in Addis Ababa, Banjul, and Accra in Ethiopia, The Gambia and Ghana respectively. After a few months of doing this, we have a couple of insights to report on our experience so far. Here are some of the important lessons we have learnt so far: Get stakeholder buy-in fast The level of success the program has recorded so far can be traced to the support the fellows have received from the African Union Commission and GIZ DataCipation Teams to ensure that they hit the ground running immediately after resumption. The experience has confirmed what we already factored into our design; that the buy-in of all relevant stakeholders from top-to-bottom is critical to the performance and the success of the fellows in an institution like the African Union Commission. The abundance of talents on the continent One of the key objectives of this program is to source for and identify the best talents that the continent has to offer. It took us several months to do that but based on the profile and quality of applications received, we can state for a fact that there is an abundance of young talents in Africa. Be iterative but ensure to accommodate for existing systems and processes We discovered very quickly that we had to find a balance between what we are used to (which is to understand the challenges, context and the affected, co-design a solution with all relevant stakeholders, then commence implementation and monitor from start to finish) and what it takes to effectively function and deliver at the African Union Commission. There are reasons why the existing systems and processes are in place and to better innovate in such an environment, a thorough understanding of the status quo especially during implementation is required. This lesson prompted the training and encouragement of the fellows to not just be agile but to also respect and leverage existing systems and processes. Leverage an inclusive approach Africa is a continent of diverse countries, cultures and languages but we have one common interest; the growth, development, independence, and sustainability of the continent. To ensure the inclusion of eligible young data and technology enthusiasts across Africa, we designed and implemented a non–barrier application and review process that factored in gender, geographical location, and language were critical parts of the review and selection process. The review and selection process also leveraged three of the most widespread African Union languages: Arabic, English and French, which resulted in over 700 applications from across the continent, and a merit-based selection process in assessing the applicants. This approach ensured that none of the applicants from across the region suffered discrimination based on gender, religion, or political affiliations. The entire process produced an equal spread of male and female fellows for the program. We expect to learn more in the coming weeks on how to plan and execute an impactful pan-African programme, so stay with us as we keep you updated on the activities of the pilot edition of the fellowship.
AfriLabs community expands into a new country – Mauritania and adds 27 new members
In our continuous drive to support local innovation communities, AfriLabs has welcomed 27 innovation hubs into our network. This takes the largest pan-African network of innovation enablers from 320 hubs in 51 African countries to 347 hubs in 52 African countries and over 200 cities. We recently marked our 10 years anniversary, celebrating our strides, reflecting on our journey and planning for the future. The growing interest by hubs across the continent to join the AfriLabs network is a good sign that we are getting some things right. We are happy to have these organisations align with our vision to build a thriving innovation economy in Africa. At AfriLabs, we believe that to scale support for innovation across the continent, local innovation ecosystems must be empowered with access to funds and knowledge, and be given the platform to collaborate with each other. That’s why we are relentless in our call for more hubs to join us. The new members admitted this quarter include: PAUWES Entrepreneurship Hub (Algeria), Afkar (Tunisia), Hadina Rimtic (Mauritania), Founders Factory Africa, (South Africa), Grid Innovation and Incubation Hub (Rwanda), MCI Media Hub (Uganda), StartHub Africa (Uganda), Founder Square Ventures, (Kenya), Ifakara Innovation Hub (Tanzania), Eko Innovation Centre (Nigeria), The Nest Innovation Technology Park Ltd (Nigeria), Iba Ajie (Nigeria), Renaissance Innovation Lab (Nigeria), Blue Sapphire Hub (Nigeria) and FutureLabs (Nigeria). “We take our admission process very seriously. Every hub being admitted into the AfriLabs network has shown that they are catalysts for innovation and entrepreneurship in their respective communities.” Moetaz Helmy, AfriLabs Board Chair said. “We have heard and watched over the years the excellent work done by AfriLabs to push the bounds of entrepreneurship in Africa to create a thriving continent. We are excited to join this vast network of supporters of innovation. We believe AfriLabs will equip us with the necessary tools to continue this great work in our community.” said Ayuk Etta, Executive Director of Mountain Hub, Cameroon about their admission. Other new members include: InnoHub (Ghana), Impact Hub (Côte d’Ivoire), KMindz (Cape Verde), Chad Innovation Hub (Chad), Sahel Green Hub (Chad), Silikin Village (DR. Congo), Kinshasa Digital (DR.Congo), Kobo Hub (DR. Congo), Mountain Hub (Cameroon), Team@solutions (Cameroon), The Workshop (Congo) and Société d’Incubation Numérique du Gabon (Gabon). “I am pleased that we are now part of AfriLabs. This will enable us to collaborate with hubs across the continent and contribute our quota to developing enterprises, increasing funding for startups and driving employability in Africa. AfriLabs is the most prestigious community of tech hubs in Africa and we are proud to take our place amongst the continent’s elite.” Edwin Ajogun the Country Director of Eko Innovation Centre commented about the centre joining AfriLabs.
La communauté AfriLabs se déploie dans un nouveau pays – la Mauritanie et compte 27 nouveaux membres
Dans le cadre de nos efforts continus visant à soutenir les communautés d’innovation locales, AfriLabs a accueilli 27 hubs d’innovation dans son réseau. Ainsi, le plus grand réseau panafricain de facilitateurs d’innovation passe de 320 hubs dans 51 pays Africains à 347 hubs dans 52 pays Africains et plus de 200 villes. Nous avons récemment fêté notre 10e anniversaire, où nous avons célébré nos progrès, examiné notre parcours et planifié l’avenir. L’intérêt croissant des plateformes du continent à rejoindre le réseau AfriLabs est un bon signe car cela prouve que nous sommes sur la bonne voie. Nous sommes heureux de voir ces organisations se rallier à notre vision de bâtir une économie de l’innovation florissante en Afrique. Chez AfriLabs, nous pensons que pour accroître le soutien à l’innovation sur le continent, il faut doter les écosystèmes d’innovation locaux d’un accès aux fonds, aux connaissances, et leur donner la possibilité de collaborer les uns avec les autres. C’est pourquoi nous ne cessons de demander à d’autres hubs de nous rejoindre. Les nouveaux membres admis ce trimestre sont PAUWES Entrepreneurship Hub (Algérie), Afkar (Tunisie), Hadina Rimtic (Mauritanie), Founders Factory Africa, (Afrique du Sud), Grid Innovation and Incubation Hub (Rwanda), MCI Media Hub (Ouganda), StartHub Africa (Ouganda), Founder Square Ventures, (Kenya), Ifakara Innovation Hub (Tanzanie), Eko Innovation Centre (Nigéria), The Nest Innovation Technology Park Ltd (Nigéria), Iba Ajie (Nigéria), Renaissance Innovation Lab (Nigéria), Blue Sapphire Hub (Nigéria) et FutureLabs (Nigéria). “Nous prenons notre processus d’admission très au sérieux. Chaque hub admis dans le réseau AfriLabs a prouvé qu’il était un catalyseur de l’innovation et de l’entrepreneuriat dans leurs communautés respectives.” Moetaz Helmy, Président du Conseil d’Administration de AfriLabs, a déclaré. “Nous avons entendu et observé au fil des ans l’excellent travail réalisé par AfriLabs afin de repousser les limites de l’entrepreneuriat en Afrique pour créer un continent prospère. Nous sommes ravis de rejoindre ce vaste réseau de défenseurs de l’innovation. Nous pensons qu’AfriLabs nous fournira les outils nécessaires pour poursuivre ce travail remarquable dans notre communauté”, a déclaré Ayuk Etta, Directeur Exécutif de Mountain Hub, au Cameroun, à propos de leur admission. Parmi les autres nouveaux membres figurent : InnoHub (Ghana), Impact Hub (Côte d’Ivoire), KMindz (Cap Vert), Chad Innovation Hub (Tchad), Sahel Green Hub (Tchad), Silikin Village (RD Congo), Kinshasa Digital (RD Congo), Kobo Hub (RD Congo), Mountain Hub (Cameroun), Team@solutions (Cameroun), The Workshop (Congo) et la Société d’Incubation Numérique du Gabon (Gabon). “Je suis heureux que nous fassions désormais partie de AfriLabs. Cela nous permettra de collaborer avec les hubs à travers le continent et de contribuer notre quota au développement des entreprises, à accroître le financement des startups et à stimuler la création d’emploi en Afrique. AfriLabs est la plus prestigieuse communauté de hubs technologiques en Afrique et nous sommes fiers de faire partie de l’élite du continent”. Edwin Ajogun, Directeur National de l’Eko Innovation Centre, a déclaré par rapport à l’adhésion du centre à AfriLabs.
AfriLabs launches the maiden edition of its annual magazine – Kubatana
Discover stories of our collective effort in advancing innovation in Africa In the 2nd half of 2021, AfriLabs started the development of an Annual Magazine named Kubatana meaning ‘togetherness’ in the Shona language of Zimbabwe. Today, we are excited to announce the launch of Kubatana. Kubatana is a tool for impact storytelling on AfriLabs’ work while also showcasing and celebrating the work that AfriLabs’ hub members and innovation ecosystem builders do across Africa. It is a comprehensive compilation of the latest developments from AfriLabs hub members, other innovation leaders and organisations; and ecosystem stories in Africa and the Diaspora. It also featured guest articles, stories, interviews, innovation space showcases, insights, and reports in a highly visual and interactive format. “We have so much to say about AfriLabs and the African Innovation Support System and that is what Kubatana is all about – these are stories about enabling innovation on the continent that are not told as often as they should be. We promise you an interesting and enlightening experience as you flip through the pages of Kubatana and meet the superheroes that empower innovation in their communities” Anna Ekeledo, AfriLabs Executive Director said. Special thanks to our AfriLabs Community members, content contributors and partners GIZ-Make IT, Liquid Telecom, KTN Global Alliance, FMO Ventures, Mozilla, Ebeosi, VC4A and EHA Clinics for supporting the first edition of the magazine. The magazine is now available digitally and later in print. Read here.
Zambia To Host The 2022 AfriLabs Annual Gathering
Exploring a theme that focuses on collaboration and connectivity, this year’s edition of the Gathering will be held in Lusaka, Zambia from the 25th to the 28th of October. AfriLabs is pleased to announce the theme for this year’s AfriLabs Annual Gathering – “INTER-AFRICA CONNECTIVITY, COLLABORATION & INNOVATION”. The 2022 AfriLabs Annual Gathering will be held in Zambia and will have Jacaranda Hub as the host hub. This was announced at a press briefing in Lusaka, the Zambian capital. Register now: www.afrilabsgathering.com The AfriLabs Board Chair, Moetaz Helmy during the briefing spoke about the focus for this year’s Gathering. “The Gathering this year focuses on the innate ability of Africa to build Africa. We want to look inward and interrogate how we can scale the innovation economy regionally and across the continent. We want to explore ways we can improve innovation support and tackle our well-known challenges. We are inviting everyone that has Africa’s growth at heart, everyone that believes that leveraging collaboration and communal effort is how we will make progress as a people” AfriLabs is Africa’s largest community of innovation hubs and enablers who seeks to build a thriving innovation ecosystem, powered by its community of innovation hubs. These hubs provide centres for financial, legal, business, and training support necessary for aiding successful entrepreneurs in developing innovative solutions to Africa’s problems and creating employment opportunities to stimulate economic growth. AfriLabs supports these innovation centres with access to resources and builds their capacity with knowledge sharing while offering a platform for collaboration and partnership. “This year’s Gathering is themed “INTER-AFRICA CONNECTIVITY, COLLABORATION & INNOVATION” and what better time to explore this topic than now. AfriLabs just celebrated a decade of existence and we are looking into the next decade; what can we do better? What can the innovation ecosystem in Africa do better to improve the quality and impact of the innovations we produce?” said Anna Ekeledo, AfriLabs Executive Director at the briefing. “For there to be growth, there must be sustainable innovation, and for there to be sustainable innovation, there must be structures that support and enable innovation. We can’t scale and sustain our progress if we are not intentional about it.” The Zambian Minister of Science & Technology, Minister Hon. Felix Mutati was also present at the briefing. “Hosting this year’s Gathering presents an opportunity for Zambia to show more of its potential as a leader in entrepreneurship and innovation in the Southern African region” “I want to agree with the Executive Director of AfriLabs, that if we are to make progress as an African continent, the doors must be open to each other. We must partner and collaborate with each other to open doors to innovation transformation” he said during his speech. “Collaboration and engagement must be a part of stakeholders’ agenda of supporting startups”. Speaking on the Zambian Government involvement in developing the local innovation ecosystem, Mara Zhanet Michelo, CEO of Jacaranda Hub, Zambia said “I would also like to commend the new dawn government under the leadership of His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema on its commitment to driving technology and innovation through the newly formed Ministry of Technology and Science. In executing its mandate, the Ministry of Technology and Science is fostering research and innovation in order to improve commercialization and market acceptance in digital economies. The Ministry is now in the centre of the human development process and Jacaranda Hub is proud to be a co-anchor in that development process”. The AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2022 which will take place in Lusaka, from the 25th – 28th of October 2022 aims to attract hundreds of delegates from all African Countries and the diaspora. bringing together different leaders in Africa from government officials to business executives, hub managers, decision-makers, innovators, and startups. Through Ubuntu, the Annual Gathering is dedicated to uplifting Africa by relentlessly testing and trying solutions that will enhance resilience in resource utilization and leadership. Interested in partnering with AfriLabs for this year’s edition of their Annual Gathering, send an email to felista@afrilabs.com and/or jen@afrilabs.com. About AfriLabs AfriLabs is a network of technology innovation hubs across Africa, it was founded in 2011 with a desire to build a community around rapidly emerging tech hubs in Africa. AfriLabs aims to support the growth of the technology and innovation economy across Africa. The AfriLabs Annual Gathering brings opportunities for hubs in the AfriLabs network and other stakeholders to share knowledge around a common theme and build partnerships. The event was first hosted by Ghana in 2016 and now Zambia will be the first Southern African Country to host it in October 2022. Currently, AfriLabs boasts of 320 member hubs, and during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the network had a massive impact where 70% of women-based projects were supported and €267,000 was invested to support various African communities. Additionally, €36,000 was raised as grants to host SDGs and Covid-19 virtual meetups while over 2,000 ecosystem enablers, staff, and hub managers were trained on best practices for startup support. Email: secretariat@afrilabs.com Website: www.afrilabs.com Jacaranda Hub The bid to host AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Zambia was secured by Jacaranda Hub and will also be hosted by Jacaranda Hub in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology. Jacaranda Hub is a social enterprise and ecosystem developer that provides support to young people and youths through the provision of collective services, infrastructure, and specialized tools and equipment. Founded in 2017, Jacaranda Hub utilizes available global and local resources to upgrade Zambian skills through training programs that aim at progressing public services, businesses, and people’s lives. The organization is mandated to engage Zambian youth in contributing to national commercial and social-economic expansion. As such, this mandate aligns with the government’s agenda of building innovative startups in Zambia and calling for collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology to make it possible. “Our mission is to leverage ICT in promoting the Development of an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Zambia” – Mara Michelo, CEO at Jacaranda Hub
UNDP Accelerator Labs and AfriLabs Announce Powerful Partnership to Advance Innovation Policy in Africa
Abuja, Nigeria & New York, United States, 10 November 2021 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs and AfriLabs held a hybrid live and virtual event hosted by AfriLabs as part of their 2021 Annual Gathering on 29 October 2021 to formally announce their partnership and path forward. Anna Ekeledo, AfriLabs Executive Director and William Tsuma, Senior Advisor and UNDP Nigeria Accelerator Lab Focal Point attended the in-person event at the ImpactCove Hub in Abuja, Nigeria. Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa and Gina Lucarelli, UNDP Accelerator Labs Team Leader joined virtually. This partnership between two well-established actors in the African innovation ecosystem will focus on harnessing the knowledge of local innovators across the continent to close the gap towards the Sustainable Development Global Goals (SDGs). To date, Africa is only on track for Goal 14 (life below water), with a regression on Goals such as 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), which is why we urgently need to mobilize the collective intelligence of more than 1 billion Africans to accelerate progress toward these Goals. While Africa is fueled by an incredibly innovative community of grassroots innovators, youth and members of the informal sector, governments do not yet fully utilize this incredible potential. With this partnership the UNDP Accelerator Lab Network and AfriLabs bet on the African innovation ecosystem to increase its contribution to solving the continent’s most pressing development challenges and advance innovation policy in Africa. Both partners’ scale and networks across the continent make them uniquely positioned to achieve that. The UNDP Accelerator Lab Network comprises 91 labs covering 115 countries among which 35 are located in Africa, and AfriLabs is the largest pan-African network, comprising 320 technology and innovation hubs across 51 African countries and the diaspora. “With our youth population projected to be over 500 million over the next 5 years, the importance of job creation cannot be understated, and innovation hubs act as a platform that build systems and businesses that create these jobs. We see this partnership as a powerful collaboration that can multiply the effect of our goals and we look forward to recording measurable impact tailored to revolutionize the innovation ecosystem in Africa,” Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of AfriLabs said about the partnership. “Together, AfriLabs and the 35 UNDP Accelerator Labs in Africa will draw lessons from existing policies and develop a framework which will be shared as input for African leaders,” said Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa. “This can shape inclusive innovation policies that will better address the complexity of current development challenges.” “Bottom-up innovation plays a critical role if we want to accelerate progress towards the Goals,” shared Gina Lucarelli, UNDP Accelerator Labs Team Leader. “We know there is power in the homegrown innovation happening across the continent and this partnership will help us tap into this potential. I am particularly excited about the upcoming national innovation policy dialogues we are co-organizing to surface what kind of innovation policies can unleash and enable all that power.” The signing ceremony has officially kickstarted this knowledge partnership for the African innovation and development ecosystem. Next up, the partners are organizing a panel series called the “Africa Innovation Policy Dialogues” which will take place in 2021 and 2022, starting in Nigeria and Kenya in November 2021, and will discuss how local innovations can contribute to accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals even, and especially, in times of COVID-19. About AfriLabs AfriLabs was founded in 2011 to build a community around rapidly emerging tech hubs―innovation spaces that serve as meeting points and communities for developers, entrepreneurs, and investors. They believe that supporting the development of the African technology and innovation ecosystem enables Africa to participate in the global knowledge and innovation market place thereby stimulating economic growth. Currently 320 member hubs strong across 51 African countries and the diaspora, AfriLabs vision is to build a thriving innovation economy in Africa, powered by their community. To learn more, visit afrilabs.com or follow @AfriLabs on social media. About UNDP Accelerator Labs The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Lab is the world’s largest and fastest learning network on wicked sustainable development challenges. Co-built as a joint-venture with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Qatar Fund for Development, the Network covers 115 countries, and taps into local innovations to create actionable insights and reimagine sustainable development for the 21st century. Learn more at acceleratorlabs.undp.org or follow us at @UNDPAccLabs For more information or media inquiries, please contact: Joshua Omena A., AfriLabs Communications, +234 7051243829, joshua@afrilabs.com Erika Antoine, UNDP Communications, +1 929 406 5348, erika.antoine@undp.org
Moetaz Helmy is AfriLabs new Board Chair as AfriLabs elects new board members
We are pleased to announce the election of new members to the AfriLabs Board. AfriLabs now has a new Board Chair, a new Board Secretary, a new Francophone Representative and a new Board Member. At the 2021 AfriLabs Annual General Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, the AfriLabs community exercised their rights as registered members of the network and voted in new AfriLabs board members. This came on the heel of a very interactive campaign season, as nominated candidates had engaged with the community and shared their plans to move the organisation forward. AfriLabs new Board Chair is Moetaz Helmy, the co-founder of the District Spaces and kmt house in Cairo, Egypt. Moetaz Helmy is an African serial entrepreneur and founder of multiple development projects and businesses on the national and regional levels. Helmy earned a bachelor’s degree at the French University in Egypt in 2010, as well as a master’s degree from Mulhouse University, both in Mechanical and Production Engineering. In 2013 he graduated from Nantes University in France with a Master in Business Administration. He is currently the Executive Director of Rollo Africa, one of the biggest business simulation projects on the continent, powered by the African Union, UNDP and AfriLabs. Moetaz was previously the Board Secretary before his election as Board Chair. He is taking over from Rebecca Enonchong who was Board Chair for two tenures (2017-2021). “I am excited to be handing over to Moetaz who has over the years showed his passion for innovation on the continent. This is the standard – that we can change leadership but the vision remains the same, and I know the community will be expecting a certain level of continuity and even better representation of them in the Boardroom” said Rebecca at the Board handover meeting. Other elected board members include Linda Kwamboka from Kenya as Board Secretary. She was previously a Board Member from 2019 – 2021. She is also a member of the board at MFarm and iLab Africa. Elodie Nonga, founder of WETECH, Cameroon was elected as the Francophone Representative on the AfriLabs Board. Steve Tchoumba of Cameroon (Manager of ActivSpaces) was also elected as a Board Member alongside Daniel Chinagozi from Nigeria (founder of Innovation Growth Hub) who retained his seat. Kudzai Mubaiwa from Zimbabwe (co-founder of iZone Hub) also retained her seat as AfriLabs Board Treasurer.
Moetaz Helmy est le nouveau Président du Conseil d’Administration de AfriLabs au moment où AfriLabs élit ses nouveaux membres du Conseil
Nous avons le plaisir d’annoncer l’élection de nouveaux membres au conseil d’administration de AfriLabs. AfriLabs a maintenant une nouvelle présidente, un nouveau secrétaire, un nouveau représentant francophone et un nouveau membre du conseil d’administration. Lors de l’Assemblée Générale Annuelle de AfriLabs 2021 à Abuja, au Nigéria, la communauté AfriLabs a exercé ses droits en tant que membres inscrits du réseau et a élu les nouveaux membres du conseil d’administration de AfriLabs. Cette élection est intervenue après une saison de campagne très interactive, puisque les candidats désignés se sont engagés auprès de la communauté et ont partagé leurs projets pour faire avancer l’organisation. Le nouveau Président du Conseil d’administration de AfriLabs est Moetaz Helmy, le co-fondateur de District Spaces et kmt house au Caire, en Egypte. Moetaz Helmy est un entrepreneur Africain en série et le fondateur de multiples projets de développement et d’entreprises aux niveaux national et régional. Helmy a obtenu une licence à l’Université Française d’Égypte en 2010, ainsi qu’un master à l’Université de Mulhouse, tous deux en ingénierie mécanique et de production. En 2013, il a obtenu un master en administration des affaires de l’Université de Nantes, en France. Il est actuellement le Directeur Exécutif de Rollo Africa, l’un des plus grands projets de simulation d’entreprise sur le continent, soutenu par l’Union Africaine, le PNUD et AfriLabs. Moetaz était auparavant le Secrétaire du Conseil avant d’être élu Président du Conseil. Il succède à Rebecca Enonchong qui a été Présidente du Conseil pendant deux mandats (2017-2021). “Je suis enthousiaste à l’idée de passer le relais à Moetaz qui, au fil des ans, a montré sa passion pour l’innovation sur le continent. Je sais que la communauté s’attendra à un certain niveau de continuité et à une meilleure représentation de ses membres au sein du conseil d’administration”, a déclaré Rebecca lors de la réunion de passation de pouvoir. Parmi les autres membres élus du conseil d’administration figurent Linda Kwamboka, du Kenya, au poste de Secrétaire du conseil. Elle était auparavant membre du conseil d’administration de 2019 à 2021. Elle est également membre du conseil d’administration de MFarm et de ‘iLab Africa. Elodie Nonga, fondatrice de WETECH, Cameroun, a été élue en tant que Représentante Francophone au Conseil d’Administration de AfriLabs. Steve Tchoumba du Cameroun (Directeur d’ActivSpaces) a également été élu membre du conseil d’administration aux côtés de Daniel Chinagozi du Nigeria (fondateur de Innovation Growth Hub) qui a conservé son siège. Kudzai Mubaiwa du Zimbabwe (co-fondateur d’iZone Hub) a également conservé son siège de Trésorière du conseil d’administration de AfriLabs.