Africa

We were just inspired by a great panel at SXSW this Sunday. TMC Ruge, co-founder of Projectdiaspora.org, led a fantastic discussion on the future of connected Africa.

Africa in focus: did you know that…

  • In 2008, internet usage in Africa wasn’t really being tracked in the media. However, between 2008 and 2011, undersea cables have been and will be bringing broadband connectivity to the continent in a major way.
  • There are 1 billion people in 53 countries in Africa. 450 million are under the age of 15. Economist George B.N. Ayittey refers to them as the “The Cheetah Generation,” disruptors of the status quo who will revolutionize Africa and grow up in the information age.
  • 450 million on the continent are mobile subscribers. That number is predicted to grow by 12% through 2013. Ruge thinks it will be even higher due to the youth demand.

The rise of Africa’s Digerati
We are seeing the beginnings of Technology Centers and Incubation Labs springing up in hub communities in Africa. Ruge predict that these centers will be the launching points for the future tech talents of the continent. Through the magic of video Skype, we had the pleasure of hearing:

  • A team from Limbe Labs in Cameroon shared the development of the SMS technologies.
  • Appfrica Labs, from Uganda, talked about projects in transparency for African governments, engaging the global market such as Facebook and iPhones, and moving towards creating content mobilely.
  • Erik Hersman, also known as @whiteafrican, from iHub in Nairobi, talked about the need not only people for to meet with each other but also for social entrepreneurs to have access to fast and reliable internet access.

Takeaways from the session
Many fascinating discussions resulted from the topic:

  • The big problem in Africa is that we don’t have any way to buy things, there is no e-commerce capacity. Anticipation is that this will be overcome in the near future.
  • Mobile phones are the primary devices in Africa, let’s leverage them!
  • To spread the word about this African tech revolution: talk, write, participate, represent, inspire
  • The new generation is going to revolutionize the way we think

Other SXSW Posts. Photo Credit: Martin23230

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