The AITEC East Africa ICT Summit kicks off today in Nairobi, Kenya, and is set to feature an innovation accelerator and an innovator’s pavilion intended to showcase local startups to industry players in attendance.
The event spans two days, and hopes to provide a platform for ICT professionals and managers from all sectors to gather information, contacts, and knowledge to take back to their organisations.
Throughout the event, an innovation accelerator will invite startups to present their innovations and promote themselves to potential customers and investors.
Day two will see an innovation accelerator forum takes place, addressing issues related to the incubation and innovation ecosystem in East Africa.
AITEC said the intention is to bring together stakeholders from all countries in the region to share their experiences, identify best practice, and develop collaboration.
“We can do much more to develop a strong and effective regional community of ICT innovators and entrepreneurs that lead the way in regional integration and increased technological self-reliance, providing the foundations of an East African ICT services industry,” said Sean Moroney, chairman of AITEC Africa.
The innovator’s pavilion is hosted in collaboration with Tanzania’s information and ICT sector development project TANZICT; with a number of Tanzanian startups to showcase at the event alongside their other East African colleagues.
“The innovator’s pavilion is a unique setting for young startup companies to demo and exhibit their ICT products and services. The purpose is to expose these talents to other professionals at the industry, meet possible partners and share experiences with developers from neighboring countries,” said Teemu Seppala, innovation advisor at TANZICT.
“We hope that our companies will gain knowledge, widen their networks, we will strengthen contacts with East African investors and develop the [Tanzanian] ICT ecosystem overall further.”
