Cape Town: May 2023 – The Sentech Africa Tech Week will breeze into Cape Town once again from 2nd-5th May, 2023. The conference is set to be a tour de force revolving around providing illuminating answers to long-held local challenges. Members of public and private sectors, big businesses and small, are invited to book their spot and absorb insights that are ripe and urgent to our time. Sentech is the proud returning headline sponsor for this event.
Sentech’s CEO, Mlamli Booi says “SENTECH Africa Tech Week resonates with our culture of innovative value creation and commitment to ensuring access to content and connectivity. As we evolve into A global leader in digital infrastructure, enabling connectivity and content delivery’, we want the continent to be part of and benefit from that transformation.” Booi added “We look forward to this gathering of tech minds and showcasing Sentech’s capability in creating digitally connected communities.”
Tom Cruise referenced Ubuntu in his latest speech at an awards show; Gary Vaynerchuk endorses the networking app that we use; and Former US President Barack Obama has spoken positively about Africa’s tech industry and its potential for growth and development. For example, in 2018, he spoke at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, which brought together entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials from across Africa and around the world to explore opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Overall, Obama has expressed his belief in the potential for Africa’s tech industry to drive economic growth, create jobs, and provide new solutions to some of the continent’s most pressing challenges.
Ralf Fletcher, CEO of Topco Media, sees the conference as a nod to the promise in an African business – both big and small ones. Africa Tech Week has always been a bridge that connects growing companies to the learnings they’d need as a prefix for improved innovation. However, it is now quintessential – attracting the entrepreneur wanting to sneak out from worn-out systems and revolutionise their sectors.
This year, Africa Tech Week attendees will be spoiled with keynote addresses and panel discussions from formidable changemakers in Africa. Spokespeople from companies like Google, TikTok and Microsoft will also be present. Tech-imagineers are set to present case studies and live demonstrations, all of which will flesh out a blueprint showing how each speaker re-imagines our access to truly renewable natural resources; how sustainability can be cultivated where there was once agricultural concerns; how gamification can provide an improved education experience; and how an energy crisis may find resolve through blockchain technology.
In 2022, the conference hosted voices from companies like Google, Snapscan, Uber, and the University of Stellenbosch Business School. Conference delegates for 2023 are in for a bumper edition of this same calibre, with industry-specific breakaway sessions and over 20 hours of networking opportunities.
The agenda is as follows:
| 2 May | Pre-registration | Sponsors and Start-Ups meet and greet | Coffee & Canapes |
| 3 May | Day 1 of Conference | Expo | Meetings | Networking |
| 4 May | Day 2 of Conference | Expo | Meetings | Networking |
| 4 May | Awards evening |
| 5 May | Winners breakfast | Site visits |
Day one and two conference highlights
Tech leaders have been transforming Africa’s challenges into opportunities – one such example is Nigeria Google’s Head of Startup Development, Folarin Aiyegbusi, who will be part of a panel discussion alongside remarkable peers in the industry. Together, they will chart how synergy can become powerful through partnerships forged among incubators, investors and start-ups.
The arrival of artificial intelligence has posed many questions for the nature of work and workers: ‘How AI will transform organisations’ is a must-see to know more; and How to Stay Relevant and Prepare for the Future of E-Commerce with panellist Alex Worz, CEO of Mr Delivery Food will explain how to prepare for the tidal wave of trends facing e-commerce: regulations, Web3, increased competition, and new ways of facilitating payments. Worz and panellists will teach about how to offer stand-out customer experience, even in the ever-densifying online marketplace. Worz will be joined by Shoprite X Head of Digital Technologies, Debbie Cunningham; and Visa Country Head, Lineshree Moodley.
Day two sees the excitement peaking further: from two sisters having invented digital x-ray glasses; to delegates playing a business match-making game dubbed ‘catch-match’ where delegates can speed-meet one another and introduce themselves to the audience using a throwable wireless microphone.
A fireside chat with creative leaders will dip into the uncapped potential of Africa’s creative economy. Boniswa Sidwaba from TikTok Africa, and Alex Goldberg from Ogilvy will be sharing how young Africans are sharing authentic narratives to media platforms, as well as how they work with creatives, and how creatives can be connected to economic opportunity.
Next up, big questions around ChatGPT and other AI innovations will be answered: How can we cultivate a human-centric tech culture, while benefiting from adding AI tools to our way of working? Together we’ll debunk how ChatGPT’s stealth can play into an organisation’s favour.
It may seem fin-tech holds an answer to growing food insecurity, water scarcity and decreasing arable land. The creators behind cutting edge tech companies like Momint and Green Carbon Token will explain how they see blockchain technology driving sustainability and meeting what the masses need.
Whether you’re in finance, agriculture, energy, education, government, or in a business bound to be impacted by tech, decision-makers from all fields are encouraged to purchase Early Bird tickets at R5,500 here.
Sponsorship and expo showcasing opportunities are available to businesses wanting to amplify their presence among tech giants. Canon South Africa – the imaging company that believes in inspiring a world of change – is a proud bronze-tier sponsor for this event. Another bronze-tier event sponsor is Khonology, the African tech company spearheading digitised solutions for a better tomorrow. BrilloSys, an internet solutions and software development company, has decided to showcase their business at an expo booth, as the South African school shoes company, Palm Footwear Manufacturers. Situate your company where it’s bound to reap the benefits of sponsorship. For this, contact Lee-Ann Bruce at lee-ann.bruce@topco.co.za or fill this form.
