AFRICA’S LEADING TECHNOLOGY POLICY EVENT, THE TRANSFORM AFRICA SUMMIT, CONFIRMED FOR SEPTEMBER 8 – 10, 2021
The summit is expected to host over 5,000 delegates from 100 countries to chart the path for Africa’s digital transformation
KIGALI, RWANDA – 26 May 2021 – The Transform Africa Summit, which is Smart Africa’s flagship technology policy event has been confirmed for the 8th to the 10th of September 2021 in a hybrid format.
The 2019 edition of the Transform Africa Summit which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, attracted 5660 delegates from 107 countries including three (3) Heads of State, namely, H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and H.E. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of Mali. Sophia, the 1st humanoid robot, was a key highlight of the summit and the event attracted heads of UN agencies, international organisations, technology companies and partners that included Kaspersky Labs, the World Bank, International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the African Union, Facebook, Afreximbank, the Africa Development Bank, Africa 50, Tata Communications and Microsoft among others.
Key highlights of the 2019 summit include the announcement of a $US50 billion facility by the World Bank towards Africa’s digital transformation
The theme for the 2021 edition and 6th iteration of the summit is – “Integrating Africa” borrowing from Smart Africa’s vision of transforming Africa into a single digital market by 2030. Over 5,000 delegates are expected to attend the summit with millions more engaged worldwide through various digital platforms.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be held partly virtually and partly physically in a hybrid format. Smart Africa will host Heads of State, Government Ministers, Captains of Industry, Technical Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Academics over the 3 days. The programmatic areas will focus on solutions to significant challenges faced by Africa which include broadband access, agricultural technology, digital health, capacity building, smart cities, artificial intelligence, continental free trade, interoperable digital identity and data governance.
The Transform Africa Summit will also host a deal room aimed at developing practical and measurable investment opportunities for member countries, entrepreneurs and Africa’s digital economy. The deal room is expected to attract investment commitments of over US$2 billion during the summit.
The 6th Transform Africa Summit will be a key platform for delivering new partnerships, project progress and a springboard for delivering the vision of transforming Africa into a single digital market.
About Smart Africa
Smart Africa is an alliance of 31 African countries, international organisations and global private sector players tasked with Africa’s digital agenda. The alliance is empowered by a bold and innovative commitment by African Heads of State to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent and usher Africa into the knowledge economy through affordable access to broadband and the use of ICTs. With a vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030, the Smart Africa Alliance brings together Heads of State who seek to accelerate the digitalization of the continent and create a common market. Launched in 2013 by seven (7) African Heads of State, the Alliance now has 31 member countries, representing over 750 million people and over 40 Private Sector members committed to the vision and the advancement of Africa.
For more information, contact:
Smart Africa Secretariat
E-mail: comms@smartafrica.org
Website: www.smartafrica.org / www.transformafricasummit.org
Published on PRFIRE