AfriConEU International Brokerage Event | Parallel event in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
A blogpost of? Promise Mwakale , Buni Hub .
Buni, as part of the AfriConEU consortium, held parallel sessions as part of the AfriConEU International Brokerage Event on Wednesday, 2nd & Thursday, 3rd November 2022, in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania. The event was well attended, with 60 participants. It was kicked off on the day by Mr. Kiko Kiwanga, Co-founder of TAOTIC Hub from Morogoro. Kiko was the host for the first day. He kicked off by challenging the participants to use the next 2 days to reflect on what drives digital innovation forward in our country. Ms. Faith Amos introduced AfriConEU, and the AfriConEU Networking Academy, which will develop, test, and validate an innovative mechanism for connecting and sharing best practices, experiences, and resources between DIHs in Africa and Europe.?
The first session was the AgriTech Breakout session led by Ms. Rose Funja, a veteran software engineer managing director at a cloud-based microfinance management platform (Agrinfo) and Co-founder of Impact Hub. Rose talked about how farmers could get solutions to pressing agriculture challenges which increase crop yields, reduce farming costs, and have sustainable agriculture. This is the case of Agrinfo, the startup she manages, which uses drones to get precise data by scanning farms using an agriculture sensor. The drones can view both the visible and invisible spectrum since the visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye. They can plan, analyze and act upon the data collected by the drone. According to the data collected. It can detect how your crops/plants are growing [which are healthy and unhealthy/ diseased or dead]. This is an excellent example of how AgriTech has influenced agriculture outputs. She also talked about another great AgriTech, Jembe Kilimo, which provides farmers with decision support systems allowing them to optimize sustainably. The second breakout session was ICT4Development, led by Mr. Jumanne Mtambalike, an innovator and technology enthusiast. He talked about the growth in access to technologies, how the digital economy is affecting the country and Africa in general, and mobile penetration and how it highly drives the economy, money transactions, and digital transformation in Africa/ internationally. He spoke of creating businesses that can bring opportunities, impact, change, and sustainability. We have to be honest with each other in building startups/ businesses.
The challenge discussed during the session was the cost of electronic devices (mobile phones) as one factor that makes adaptation difficult. This includes digital and network/connectivity difficulties, calling chargers, and digital literacy. The African internet economy needs to produce more software engineers and developers to fully utilize the African internet economy. Digital platforms in Africa are currently dominated by countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Ghana.?
According to research, it has taken almost 15 years for Africa to reach the European mobile/digital transformation. It is our time to shine and seize this opportunity – Mr. Jumanne Mtambalike.?
Let’s collaborate to improve learning outcomes for all children of Tanzania and prepare them to become future self-sufficient & self-reliant digital citizens. This is why Shule Direct is transforming traditional education into a digitized mode. Tech is changing the means of learning digitally, how to deliver quality education – Ms. Iku Lazaro, Co-founder of Shule Direct.?
Ms. Iku was the third speaker at the EdTech Breakout Session; she spoke about the current climate that puts the importance of soft skills over hard skills in employment. This has meant a need for change in how educational content is delivered to the learners to create competence instead of marks and social, emotional, and physical content intelligence. We need to prioritize skills that have become important, such as; Stakeholder engagement, digital engagement, digital literacy, and cross-border operation. Challenges we still have to tackle are the creation and dissemination of digital content, learning inclusion, and cost- infrastructure/ mobile/internet. There is a need to revolutionize learning. Participants contributed that opportunities currently stand in research, gender inclusion, augmented/ interactive education, in-out school, in-service teachers CPD that can be available in edtech.
Day 2: The World Café?
The world café session was central to the third objective of discussing critical issues but presented opportunities related to all three goals. The world café was a series of moderated, collaborative conversations among diverse groups of participants. Key elements include giving all participants space to speak, connecting ideas from different actors, and providing mutually relevant topics for discussion. The participants had 4 half-hour rounds rotating among other tables, each with a different prompt or theme. Facilitators at each table guided conversations among participants that explored potential collaborations, significant themes and topics, and specific challenges related to the main themes for AfriConEU.?
Here are the final thoughts from the different tables:
Scouting digital entrepreneurs and startups in the African market by Mr. Edgar Masatu (Managing Director, Anza Entrepreneurs)
Where can we best find digital entrepreneurs in African Ecosystems??
What challenges prevent scouting African startups and entrepreneurs?
What can innovators look to gain from scouting processes?
What would concrete tools support scouting African innovators?
Business and investment opportunities in the African market by Ms. Catherinerose Barretto (Co-founder, KINU)
What are investors and partners looking for in African businesses??
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What are the perceived barriers to creating connections in Africa?
How can we engage the diaspora to support their home countries?
What concrete processes can connect investors and African businesses?
Towards a common digital market and a connected startup ecosystem by Mr. Mihayo Wilmore (Founder, Twigalpha)
What key features should exist in a common market and connected ecosystem?
What are the critical barriers to connecting the markets and ecosystems?
How can we engage grassroots actors on both continents to interact?????
What will concrete steps help connect the ecosystems?
Digitalisation, jobs for the 21st century and employment opportunities by Ms. Rose Funja (MD, Agrinfo)
What are critical 21st-century skills and jobs?
How can we bring more young people and women into the market?
How can African markets attract and retain talent?
What are some concrete models for developing talent in Africa?