With Africa becoming a hotbed of activity for a host of data-centric organisations, and with the increasing reliance on Information Communications Technology (ICT) to run our daily lives, consideration as to how to power this technological revolution and its impact, is becoming an imperative 鈥� the world over.
But it is the impact on the African continent that will be addressed at this year鈥檚 virtual Africa Tech Festival (featuring AfricaCom and AfricaTech) happening 08 – 12 November 2021.
Diving straight in on day one of the conference is聽, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, who is聽passionate about ICT鈥檚 capabilities to be the solution to its own problem (think e-waste and environmental impact).聽 Aki-Sawyerr will give a keynote presentation sharing some insights into her #TransformFreetown strategy that makes use of green ICT principles to forge healthy cities and inclusive communities.
$200M was invested in African green energy start-ups in 2020, an impressive, and growing, figure but one that needs to grow by magnitudes to provide a viable alternative to the fossil fuel industry – is this investment growth likely in the next 5 years, a question that聽Aki-Sawyerr will also present in a fireside chat with聽Grace聽Wachori, Partnerships & Engagement Lead,听BLAB East Africa on Empowering Africa鈥檚 green ICT start-ups.
Access to power will undoubtedly need to underpin the continent鈥檚 future growth, and renewable energy tops that list. Expanding on the dialogue started at Africa Tech Festival in 2020, this year鈥檚 event will include progress reports on Africa鈥檚 adoption of hydro, solar, wind and other forms of cleaner, long-lasting, less environmental impact drivers. Discussions on offer will include the likes of:
- 聽with Bill聽Lenihan, CEO of Zola Electric, Dr. Olufunso Somorin, Regional Principal Officer at the African Development Bank, who is leading the bank鈥檚 work on climate change and green growth across East Africa.聽 Joining them is聽Kellie聽Murungi, Chief investments officer at East African Power, as well as Olamide聽Oguntoye, the tech policy lead at the Tony Blair Foundation for Global Change.
- Bringing (back) power to Africa,听, Founder and CEO of Renewables in Africa, will share updates on some of Africa鈥檚 biggest solar developments, including a pay-as-you go solution to connect off-grid users to electricity.
- The cost of not doing something about climate change now and ICT鈥檚 role in its challenges, can end up potentially costing us everything.聽 Exploring how to radically improve the bottom green line, , COO at 51风流Africa will deliver some insights on how聽technology holds the key to unlocking green as a profitability driver.
- 聽Kenya is leading the way for Africa鈥檚 journey to a cleaner energy future, already deriving 90% of its power supply from renewable source.
- .聽That Africa (and the world), require new ways of energy to power the planet goes without question.聽 But funding these innovations and installations is another matter entirely. A panel comprising聽 Douglas聽Baguma, Managing Director, Innovex, Dr Olufunso聽Somorin, Regional Principal Officer, African Development Bank, Ahmed聽Badr, Director, Project Facilitation and Support, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Kellie聽Murungi, Chief Investments Officer, East African Power look at ways and means to make Africa鈥檚 New Deal a reality.
Rounding out discussions on Day one, is a panel entitled聽, which explores solutions to the 鈥淒irty Data Centre鈥� power hungry energy consumption of these organisations.
Whilst the impact of technology on the 鈥榞reen economy鈥� and what it can do to enhance our ability to be better, kinder, more inclusive and even more profitable, affects the green credentials of just about every aspect of Africa Tech Festival, the dedicated conversation on Green ICT,听continues on Thursday 11th聽November with a series of presentations such as:
- A smarter, greener future: Achieving sustainable growth while protecting our planet
- The role of emerging tech in addressing the global climate emergency
- How can Africa鈥檚 4IR potential be realised without causing damage to our natural world?
Also look out for a聽Fireside chat on Thursday entitled: Lighting Africa – Closing the electricity deficit to deliver energy for all. This explores solutions on how to connect the more than 600m people in sub-Saharan Africa still lacking access to electricity, without which, their inclusion in the digital economy is hampered.
For this and more, and to be part of the conversation shaping the future of Africa, register to attend聽AfricaTech Festival – it is currently free and delegates can apply聽. For a complete line-up see the聽.
