The 6th edition of the three-day (April 26-28) Transform Africa Summit kicked off at Victoria falls in Zimbabwe attended by four heads of state.
“Modernaisation and industrialisation of our great continent urgently requires the adoption of science, technology and innovation,” said President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe in his opening remarks.
“We must seamlessly intergrate the frontier of science and technology with the unique needs and strategic socio-economic development goals of the continent and our respective nations,” President Mnangagwa added.
The Zimbabwean leader told delegates at the summit, “the numerous innovations and start ups by our talented youthful population require the support not only of our governments but also from global capital. It is therefore, pleasing that this summit has a broad array of participants from both the public and private sector, extending beyond the African continent.”
President Kagame who is also the Chair of the Smart Africa Alliance delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony of Transform Africa Summit 2023.
“We need to make the digital identities of individuals and businesses portable across borders while using technology to reduce barriers to trade. All of these items are within our power to achieve,” President Kagame noted.
President Kagame also hinted on the increasingly emerging use of artificial intelligence applications.
“This powerful technology has made headlines in recent weeks. It is already possible to see that Africa actually has the most to gain, because of how these applications can narrow productivity gaps between African firms and our competitors on other continents. We should therefore quickly embrace artificial intelligence and make it work for us,” said President Kagame.
Later in the day, President Kagame chaired the Smart Africa Board Meeting attended by Heads of State and their representatives from the Alliance’s 36 member countries, international organisations and global private sector players to discuss Africa’s digital agenda.
“African governments and stakeholders from the continent and beyond have an obligation to usher Africa into a knowledge-based economy anchored on the benefits of technology,” said President Mnangagwa.
The summit attracted President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, and King Mswati III of Eswatini.
