Kenya will for the second time in three years host a summit organised by The Economist Events on February 1st 2017 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in Nairobi. The day long summit themed ‘Driving economic and health-care innovation for tomorrow’s Africa is expected to bring together local and international delegates drawn from the private sector, the business community, African governments, media and international bodies.
According to the organisers, the high-level summit will explore how African economies can effectively innovate and navigate through the challenges experienced in health care, infant health, infrastructure, productivity, education and make changes in their already established systems. “The ‘Innovating Economies’ Summit will bring together institutions, investors and innovators from diverse industries with policymakers from across the continent to discuss the changes and benefits brought on by high-tech inventions and technology as well as policy interventions and business processes that add value and solve real challenges,” said Sunayna Sethi Senior Programme Editor EMEA at The Economist.
Nairobi’s bold growing profile as an innovation and entrepreneurship hub informed the decision to have the summit held in the city. “Nairobi has been described by many as ‘Africa’s Silicon Valley’, with an established tech scene and start-up incubators like iHub, which has spawned over 1,300 jobs. Technology accounts for over 8% of Kenya’s GDP. The Kenyan government has also shown commitment to growing the sector even further, improving IT infrastructure and making it easier for entrepreneurs to set up their own start-ups” said Sunayna.
Amrote Abdella, Regional Director for Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative said: “Innovation is the cornerstone of Africa’s growth into the digital age. Through affordable access to broadband, skills development, and investment in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Africa can become a net exporter of value-added goods and services in this knowledge economy. As we enter the 4th Industrial Revolution, it is critical that Africa becomes a producer, and not just a consumer of technology.”
The high-level roster of attendees, drawn from South Africa, the US, the UK and Africa will also help identify innovation enablers and discuss innovative solutions for a broad range of issues faced by Africa’s economies from poor infrastructure to their growing youth population, and from high rates of urbanisation to the lack of manpower development skills.
[crp]Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Ms. Phyllis Kandie is expected to open the summit. Other speakers at the event include Amit Thakker, Chairman, Africa Healthcare Federation, Githinji Gitahi, CEO, Amref Health Africa and Toni Townes-Whitley Corporate vice president, Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft. Others include: Donald Kaberuka, Former President, African Development Bank; Biju Mohandas, Head, Health & Education, Sub Saharan Africa, International Finance Corporation and Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Regional Adviser for prevention of NCDs, World Health Organisation – Regional Office for Africa
The meeting is organised by The Economist Events and sponsored by Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson and EIB.
