Pretoria - The first-ever virtual SA Innovation Summit, billed as the largest start-up event in Africa, will kick off tomorrow with delegates expected to share experiences on the new age of technology and how it is changing the world.
Under the theme RE:innovation - Rethink the system, the summit will give participants an opportunity to share experiences, think, create, learn and do things differently. The summit’s main purpose is to find the most amazing tech and tech-enabled start-ups that are solving Africa’s problems.
The summit will feature an exciting line-up of speakers such as Aisha Pandor, co-founder and chief executive of SweepSouth; Mark Elliot, Master-\Card Southern Africa Division president; and Carmelle Cadet, founder and Emtech chief executive.
Speakers from across the continent will share their experiences of building successful companies that are expanding their reach in Africa.
They will also shed light on the challenges that come with starting a business from scratch, which include finances and other support from the African start-up ecosystem.
The stage will be shared with female entrepreneurs, who will recount their first-hand experiences about what it takes to be a businesswoman in Africa. They will also speak about what they think needs to be done to grow female entrepreneurship on the continent.
Those in attendance will witness the launch of the Breaking Barriers publication, detailing the experience of women driving technology start-ups in southern Africa.
Of great interest will be discussions on how Covid-19 had impacted on the digital marketplace and exploring new forms of growth, the connectivity agenda and inclusivity reforms.
Delegates will deliberate on the future of cities beyond 2020 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Changes are likely in cities around the world, especially with transport and mobility, and development of future technologies.
Organisers said the summit is about finding ways to strengthen systems through solutions based on technological and social innovation and by making the most of these for socio- economic inclusion. They expressed the hope to see attendees thinking about how they can make their innovation ecosystems more resilient.
The event will be packed with competitions, exhibitions, panel discussions, masterclasses and workshops.
Pretoria News