Africa’s rising status as a global leader in digital transformation was apparent during day one of the inaugural GITEX Africa 2023, as tech leaders from across the continent and the world gathered to collaborate and pledge their commitments to accelerating cross-continent investment opportunities.
GITEX Africa, which ends today, in Marrakech, Morocco, welcomed thousands of attendees across its 45,000 sqm of exhibition expanse, with government ministers and private sector executives alike celebrating the collective achievements, and more importantly, advancing the future ambitions of a continent determined to elevate its entrepreneurial innovation economy.
Creating Africa’s own Silicon Valley
Babajide Sanwo-olu, Executive Governor of the Lagos State in Nigeria, was among the keynote speakers; he spoke on how Africa is on the fast-track to become the next Silicon Valley, and stressed the importance of investing in African youth, which makes up over 60 percent of the continent’s population.
“According to studies, around 30 percent of investment in Africa is dedicated to the digital economy. In a few years, not only will Africa be supplying the bulk of professionals required (in the global IT industry) but it will also be creating a lot of jobs.
“In ten years, Africa will become the place where major global companies such as Microsoft and Meta, will come to recruit intelligent profiles trained in the technical fields in which Africa abounds.”
In its debut edition, GITEX Africa features 900 exhibiting companies and start-ups eager to gain access to meaningful and valuable connections for business development while learning about the vast opportunities in the world’s rising digital economy.
Promoting financial inclusion through flourishing fintech
Africa’s flourishing fintech sector meanwhile is estimated to reach revenues of US$65 billion by 2030, growing at the world’s fastest rate at 13 times over the next seven years.
This presents a unique opportunity for the continent to leapfrog outdated stages of technological development and move straight to more advanced solutions that are being debated and scrutinised at GITEX Africa’s Fintech Summit, one of ten dedicated conference tracks at Africa’s most comprehensive leadership conference programme.
“GITEX Africa is a unique opportunity to bring together the African ecosystem around a common goal: to accelerate digitalisation in Africa and position the continent as a key global player in the development of technological innovation,” said Aalya Ghouli, CEO of DIGIFI and DIGISERV at BNP Paribas.
“The number of participants and their backgrounds prove the current effervescence of the continent and its willingness of its states to position digital at the heart of their development strategy. GITEX Africa plays a major role to support this dynamic. BNP Paribas has been promoting for years now the financial inclusion and the digitalisation of financial services in Morocco and other African territories. It is natural to support such as a forum and initiative.”
Supernova Challenge battlers take centre-stage
The GITEX Africa Supernova Challenge, Africa’s most valuable start-up pitch competition with US$100,000 in cash prizes, has pooled a shortlist of 70 disruptive start-ups from 31 countries to battle it out for supremacy across two days of live pitches in front of a 13-strong judging panel of global VCs, angel investors, and accelerators.
The shortlist of Africa’s most coveted start-up pitch competition was selected from more than 300 applications, representing nations from across the globe, including Cameroon, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Gambia, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uganda, UK, USA, and Zambia.
GITEX Africa is held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and hosted by the Digital Development Agency (ADD), under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.
The hyper connector is organised by KAOUN International, the overseas events organising company of Dubai World Trade Centre, which organises GITEX Global in Dubai, UAE, the world’s largest tech and start-up show, rated by tech executives as the world’s best global tech event.
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