The Africa Technology Summit (ATS), hosted by the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), begins in Accra today, convening leading corporate executives, entrepreneurs, investors and media who are shaping Africa’s tech ecosystem.
Disrupt Africa reported last month MEST had announced ATS for November 3-4, expecting strong representation from the corporate, startup and VC worlds.
The speaker list includes one panel seeing VC investors discussing the growing interest in Africa as a target for tech investment, the most attractive sub-sectors, current funding gaps and exit opportunities.
Chaired by Neal Hansch, managing partner of MEST, the panel will also feature VC4Africa chief executive officer (CEO) Ben White, Adlevo Capital managing partner Folabi Esan, Eric Osiakwan of Chanzo Capital, EchoVC’s Amber Fowler and Vincent Kouwenhoven of eVA Fund.
Another sees speakers from Samsung, IBM, Google and Uber discussing the specific challenges and opportunities in the African market and their respective rollout plans, while representatives from the likes of Spinlet, Afrinolly and Leti Arts will be discussing opportunities in new media.
There are specific sessions for fintech and e-commerce, while representatives from Hotels.ng and Mobofree will be among those discussing marketplaces.
A panel discussion will also centre of accelerators and incubators, looking at the evolution of African tech hubs and the risk and return of African startups. Alisee de Tonnac of Seedstars World will lead the discussion, and is joined by Greg Rogers of TechStars, Chika Nwobi of L5Lab and 440.ng, and Helen Anatogu of iDEA Nigeria.
Meanwhile, representatives of Acumen, Ashesi, Village Capital, Ushahidi and USAID will discuss tech for impact in Africa. MEST has also partnered with Angel Fair Africa for a third day of the conference, November 5, which will focus exclusively on connecting promising African startups with investment opportunities.
