Kenya is set up to host the Linked Africa Summit 2024 intended to bridge Africa’s digital divide. The Theme of the top will be Digital Africa: Unlocking Growth Beyond Connectivity and it will concentrate on Africa’s ICT concerns directed by the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063.
The inaugural continental ICT Summit will combine African Heads of State, First Ladies, African ICT ministers, policymakers, Global ICT companies, Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Innovators to establish a roadmap to deal with the obstacles dealing with the continent through ICT and development.
Details, Communications, and the Digital Economy CS Eliud Owalo, kept in mind that African nations deal with comparable difficulties in cultivating the development of the ICT Sector and require to create cross-cutting policies to bring in financial investment and stimulate task production.
“The Connected Africa Summit 2024, will look for to deal with the numerous spaces and obstacles dealing with the continent varying from policy solution to insufficient financial investment in facilities. The goal is to unite crucial stakeholders drawn from Africa’s advancement environment to resolve both the policy and financial investment spaces within the ICT sector.” the CS stated.
The continental top, arranged for 15thto 18thApril 2024, will concentrate on the function of Digital Technology to drive Africa’s access to intra-Africa trade through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) concentrating on the digital economy.
Speaking on the chances for financial investment on the continent, ICT and Digital Economy PS Eng. John Tanui kept in mind that the continent’s vibrant population continues to innovate brand-new options to deal with the difficulties dealing with Africa however does not have the capital to scale their developments.
According to the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2022, there are presently over 400 Tech centers throughout 93 African Cities covering 42 African nations. These centers have actually drawn in over $ 45 Billion in financial investment towards African ICT start-ups with $3.3 Billion directed towards 633 tech start-ups in 2022 alone.
“The Connected Africa Summit 2024 will function as a platform to recognize more chances to scale this financial investment while combining believed leaders and policymakers to put in location the policies that will be required to speed up both facilities advancement and financial investment in the digital economy as visualized in the African Union’s Agenda 2063.” the PS stated.
Africa’s web penetration presently stands at simply over 36% with just 473 Million active web users. Of these 278 Million users access the web through their smart phones. According to the African Union, over 300 Million individuals live 50 Km far from an active fiber optic connection showing the continent’s big facilities space.
“While numerous see the ICT-related spaces on the continent varying from facilities to access to gadgets as an obstacle dealing with the continent, the Connected Africa Summit 2024 looks for to place these spaces as an essential chance for the continent and similar advancement partners and financiers. It is a chance for the continent to leapfrog and use smarter, more eco-friendly developments without the difficulties caused by the Third Industrial Revolution,” ICT Authority CEO Stanley Kamanguya stated.
The Connected Africa Summit 2024 will work as Africa’s Premier ICT and Innovation Platform through which the continent will take actions towards producing investor-friendly policies to allow it to bridge the digital divide and develop wise towns. The Summit will function as a platform where African leaders can place the African tech Agenda in preparedness for the UN Summit of The Future to be kept in September 2024 and identify their function in Green innovation and Governance on Generative AI for African truths.