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.
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
A New Era of Growth: AfriLabs expands its network to 320 innovation hubs in 51 African countries
We are excited to announce that we have crossed 300 member hubs as a community and are now in 51 African countries. As a network organisation that is strengthening innovation across Africa, we understand the importance of having everyone that shares the same vision on board, and that’s why this milestone means a lot to us. The journey of AfriLabs is one charged with the strength of a connected community. As we celebrate 10 years of existence, this gives us a moment to reflect on our impact through the decade and also to celebrate our commitment and growth so far – from 5 founding hub members to a fast-growing community of 320 innovation hubs in 51 countries! “As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, it’s really amazing to look back at the various milestones achieved over the years and what a way to crown the celebration by gaining access to 51 African countries. This is what a Pan-African community should look like – broad, diverse and inclusive. The future has never been more exciting” said Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of AfriLabs at the announcement of the new members during the 2021 AfriLabs Annual General Meeting. We have 28 entries of new hubs spread across the 5 regions of Africa to enable the extension of the network into 8 new cities and 2 new countries. The new countries include the Central African Republic and Sao Tome & Principe. 2 hubs were admitted from North Africa, 5 from East Africa, 12 from West Africa, 5 from Southern Africa, and 4 from Central Africa, making it a total of 28 hubs to be admitted. Joining us from North Africa is 302labs Coworking Space in Cairo, Egypt, and H.SEVEN in Casablanca, Morocco. Baraza Media Lab – Nairobi, Kenya, Barkulan Coworking and Innovation Hub – Hargeysa, Somaliland, Winam Capital – Kisumu, Kenya, STEM Impact Centre – Nairobi, Kenya, and iVenture Africa – Kampala, Uganda from East Africa. “I am extremely excited to expand my network. The opportunities to meet with African entrepreneurs are limited in Somaliland and I hope to come stronger with inspirations and ways to build an ecosystem here” said Ahmed Omer, founder of Barkulan Hub. Centre for Social Innovations (CSI) – Kumasi, Ghana, Agrico Hub – Techiman, Ghana, Social Entrepreneurship Hub – Takoradi, Ghana, Africa ICT Right – Accra, Ghana, Dansyn Innovation Social Organization (Dansyn ISO) – Bolgatanga/ Upper East Region, Ghana, Engausa Global Technologies Hub – Kano, Nigeria, Hamplus Technologies Int’l [Hamplus Hub] – Abraka, Nigeria, KeoLID Innovation Hub – Ouagadougou, Bobo-dioulasso, and Koudougou, Burkina Faso, Wootlab Innovations Limited – Abuja, Nigeria, Guzakuza – Accra, Ghana and Rhotel House of Innovation – Monrovia, Liberia and The Bulb, Lagos, Nigeria have joined the network from West Africa. We have Africa Beyond 4IR – Pretoria, South Africa, WECREATE Zambia – Lusaka, Zambia, NyamukAfrica – Lusaka, Zambia, WomHub – Johannesburg, South Africa and MSU Innovation Hub – Gweru, Zimbabwe from Southern Africa become a part of our network. From Central Africa, we have O’Botama – Yaoundé, Cameroun, Centrafrique Tech – Bangui, Central African Republic, Hardware Innovation Valley Community – Buea, Cameroon and SOW Hub Ecosistema d Startup – São Tomé, São Tomé e Príncipe. Yunika Robert Bellarmine N., Co-Founder & President of Hardware Innovation Valley Community (HIVC) said: “Being actors in technology requires an extension of one’s action to a community of a bigger network hence creating a greater possibility for impact as tech hubs and innovators. Being part of this formidable AfriLabs network is equated to stepping on one’s feet on a platform of reputable transformation. As Co-Founder and Lead of Hardware Innovation Valley Community Hub, I will say on behalf of my team that this is a very exciting start to endless opportunities and collaborations.”
AfriLabs announces more strategic partners for the AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2021 event: EU-Africa Digilogic, Mozilla, and the University of Basel
Ecosystem Enablers with a common goal of a connected Africa join forces at the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering to drive innovation as the future of Africa’s growth. We are delighted to have these outstanding organizations come on board to support the largest pan-African conference in Africa. DIGILOGIC, a Horizon 2020 project, funded by the European Commission, is the first European and African Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) focusing on smart logistics. DIGILOGIC enables the growth of a common innovators’ ecosystem, where talents from both Europe and Africa will benefit from access to technology, knowledge, and ultimately market opportunities and investments. The African partners are: Prototipi (a Nigerian SME), MEST Africa (an NGO based in Ghana), and Bongo-Hive (a DIH based in Zambia); the European partners are Digital Logistics Hub (Germany), VTT (a research centre from Finland), Endeva (an NGO based in Germany) and Friuli Innovazione (a DIH based in Italy). Prototipi and MEST will lead DIGILOGIC workshop “The Pan-EU Africa sustainable network of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) fostering smart logistics solutions” at the Afrilabs Annual Gathering 2021. At Mozilla, there is a global community of technologists, thinkers, and builders working together to keep the Internet alive and accessible, for individuals worldwide to be informed contributors and creators of the Web. They believe this act of human collaboration across an open platform is essential to individual growth and our collective future. In 2020, AfriLabs and Mozilla partnered to convene a series of roundtable discussions with African startups, entrepreneurs, developers, and innovators to better understand the tech ecosystem and identify new product ideas – to spur the next generation of open innovation. A report based on these discussions will be published before the end of the year. During the upcoming Gathering, Mozilla will lead workshops on the Common Voice project and Lean Data Practices. The University of Basel has been educating talents from Switzerland and abroad since 1460. Since then, it has been continuously contributing to the creation and transfer of knowledge, adapting to new frameworks, and driving reflection and change in society, business, and culture. Today, the University of Basel is among the Top 100 leading research universities. In its global outreach, Africa and Basel have been developing joint activities for a long time. The Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB), the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), swisspeace, the Center for African Studies in Basel (ZASB), and the University’s National and International Cooperation (NIC) have been engaging partners for many. Today, for raising high potential science entrepreneurs, the University of Basel prides itself on working with AfriLabs, the leading tech hub and innovation space supporter on the African Continent. About the AfriLabs Annual Gathering The AfriLabs Annual Gathering is AfriLabs’ flagship event which provides a unique opportunity for tech hubs within the AfriLabs network and other stakeholders of the African technology and innovation ecosystem (such as corporates, development agencies, academia, and investors) to convene, network, learn and share knowledge. The 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering marks AfriLabs’ 10th year of existence and the event aims to celebrate and reflect on this milestone, and what the future holds for innovation in Africa. Register here.
2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering: Leveraging Academia as a tool for building the next generation of entrepreneurs on the continent
AfriLabs is excited to partner with Honoris United Universities for the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering as we seek to involve the academia in raising the next generation of entrepreneurs to expand the growth of innovation on the continent. Honoris is invested in reshaping the delivery of education to improve the standard of living of Africans with a focus on entrepreneurship, partnerships, skills development, 21st-century learning environments, and women entrepreneurship. Part of their commitment is to transform the African continent by empowering the next generation of agile leaders with entrepreneurial mindsets. The partnership with AfriLabs, the largest pan-African network of technology and innovation hubs with over 300 members across 50 African countries, is to conduct joint activities that serve the missions of both organizations with a view to collaborating on new and existing programmes across the continent. This includes the AfriLabs Annual Gathering, a unique opportunity for stakeholders in the African tech ecosystem to convene, network, share knowledge around a common theme and build partnerships. Honoris hubs are welcomed into the pan-African AfriLabs network, giving access to joint learning, events, collaboration, and cultural/knowledge exchange. This includes most recently the Collective Lab in Tunisia, as well as future additions of Nile’s Start-up 2.0 in Nigeria and Regent’s Red-Hub in South Africa. This year, Nile University, a member institution of the Honoris network has been selected as one of the venues for the ecosystem tour and activities on day 3 of the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering. The day will be characterized by a tour of Nile University facilities plus a session to formally announce the partnership which will also feature an engaging panel discussion themed Innovative Entrepreneurship and Employability, involving faculty, alumna, entrepreneurs, and key employability partners such as the Tony Elumelu Foundation and PwC. About the AfriLabs Annual Gathering. The AfriLabs Annual Gathering is AfriLabs’ flagship event which provides a unique opportunity for tech hubs within the AfriLabs network and other stakeholders of the African technology and innovation ecosystem (such as corporates, development agencies, academia, and investors) to convene, network, learn and share knowledge. The 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering marks AfriLabs 10th year of existence and the event aims to celebrate and reflect on this milestone, and what the future holds for innovation in Africa. Be a part of the AfriLabs Annual Gathering, to be held 27-29th October 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria as well as virtually. Register here to access the event. If interested in partnership and sponsorship, please send an email to felista@afrilabs.com. About Honoris United Universities Honoris United Universities is the first and largest pan-African private higher education network committed to educating the next generation of African leaders and professionals able to impact regionally in a globalized world. Collaborative intelligence, cultural agility, and mobile mindsets and skills are at the heart of Honoris’ vision of higher education. Honoris United Universities joins the expertise of its member institutions to develop world-class African Human talent that is competitive in today’s fast-paced, demanding, and increasingly digitized labor and start-up markets. Honoris United Universities gathers a community of 61,000 students on 70 campuses, learning centers, and online, in 10 countries and 32 cities. The network counts 14 institutions: multidisciplinary universities, specialized schools, technical and vocational institutes, contact, distance, and online institutions. Students have an opportunity to experience exclusive partnerships and exchange programs in more than 85 universities across Europe and the United States. Over 300 degrees are offered in Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Creative Arts and Design, Media, Political Science, and Education. Honoris United Universities. Education for Impact. www.honoris.net
AfriLabs and Make-IT in Africa team up to bolster local networks of African innovation enablers at the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering and beyond
AfriLabs is excited to announce that we are partnering with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to support local networks of innovation hubs in Africa. The partnership with the GIZ project Make-IT in Africa supports the organizational development of local tech hub networks and associations, as well as strengthens the connection between tech hub networks and AfriLabs through a series of strategic discussions before and during this year’s AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Nigeria. In 2019, at the AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Ethiopia, Make-IT in Africa and AfriLabs joined hands in support of emerging local hub networks. A workshop was jointly organized and hosted to discuss challenges and opportunities arising for local hub networks in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. The session promoted a better understanding of networks’ mandates and objectives, dialogue and peer exchange, but it also inspired delegates from other countries, like Rwanda, to explore setting up networks of their own. This year, we plan to build on the progress made in 2019 with a series of workshops that continue exploring the added value tech hub networks bring to our ecosystems, the needs of emerging networks and, especially, the support AfriLabs, as well as other ecosystem actors, could provide to such networks. The insights will be presented during the main panel session on Day 1 of the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering and will cater primarily to tech and innovation hubs and their networks, but will also address entrepreneurs and start-ups, policy makers, development organizations and AfriLabs itself. “AfriLabs and Make-IT in Africa share the same vision. By creating networks and nurturing regional connections, we both support local partners to lay strong foundations for robust and resilient innovation ecosystems”, says Matthias Rehfeld, Make-IT in Africa’s Head of Programme. “Having laid a great basis for our cooperation in 2019 we now bring our partnership to the next level: we are excited to continue building on the strengths of local hubs networks. ” As AfriLabs is in the process of developing its next 10-year strategy, these discussions could not be more timely. The feedback and agreements from the dialogue will inform the strategic direction AfriLabs will take in supporting existing and emerging networks in the future. AfriLabs Executive Director, Anna Ekeledo says “We are delighted by this partnership as it is very timely and plays a crucial part in improving AfriLabs strategy in enabling innovation. More than ever, we need to strengthen local hub networks if we are to scale quality and relevant innovation support to the startups beyond the reach of the limelight. This is how strategic collaborations promote inclusivity and sustainable growth, and we hope to see more in the near future.” About the AfriLabs Annual Gathering The AfriLabs Annual Gathering is AfriLabs’ flagship event which provides a unique opportunity for tech hubs within the AfriLabs network and other stakeholders of the African technology and innovation ecosystem (such as corporates, development agencies, academia, and investors) to convene, network, learn and share knowledge. The 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering marks AfriLabs 10th year of existence and the event aims to celebrate and reflect on this milestone, and what the future holds for innovation in Africa. Be a part of the AfriLabs Annual Gathering, to be held 27-29 October 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria as well as virtually. Register here to access the event. If interested in partnership and sponsorship, please send an email to felista@afrilabs.com. About Make-IT in Africa Make-IT in Africa believes in the catalytic power of African innovation and digital technologies for green and sustainable development. In close collaboration with digital visionaries like start-ups, innovation enablers and political partners, we empower African innovation ecosystems. Together, we aim to strengthen an environment in which the full potential of African digital innovation can unfold. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).