Africa Tech Summit brings major industry players to London

By Polycarp Kazaresam

Is London joining the ranks of Lagos, Cape Town and Cairo as a major African tech hub? If yesterday was anything to go by, yes. Africa Tech Summit London (ATSLDN) welcomed 200 delegates with the purpose of driving investment and business between Africa and Europe.

Boutique hotel The Grand at Trafalgar Square welcomed various leaders of Africa’s tech industry. These include executives from Etisalat, EcoBank and BitPesa. As organiser Andrew Fassnidge mentioned, West, East and North Africa were represented by the speakers alone. Speeches and panels tackled contemporary concerns of the African tech ecosystem, such as the role of financial technology (fintech).

Fintech regulation was a hot topic among “The F Word” panellists and keynote speaker Alexia Christie. Christie, technology lawyer for Webber Wentzel, described African regulators as an entity struggling to “get it arms around the movable feast that is fintech”.

A panel on blockchain featured an engaging debate from Charlene Chen, COO at BitPesa, and Phillip Jarman, COO at BenBen. “We talk about blockchain as this transparent ledger,” Jarman said. “Transparency doesn’t work for every market…there’s a quote from an MIT professor - ‘culture eats tech for breakfast’”.

"Blockchain the African Opportunity" panel, featuring Phillip Jarman (left) and Charlene Chen (centre)

Other panels included “How to Invest in African Tech”, “Building, Launching and Monetising” and “Data is Knowledge – Knowledge is Power”.  Attendees had opportunities to ask panellists questions, and also network during periodic networking sessions.

Morning networking session at ATSLDN

Overall, the summit offered an accessible insight into the present state of the African technology industry, while offering ambitious solutions for its future. Discussions covered up-and-coming start-ups like Zoona, alongside big hitters like Hotel.ng. Interestingly, there was minimal discussion of Kenyan tech darling m-Pesa. “I’m pleased to hear m-Pesa doesn’t play huge role events like this,” Lanre Akinola, Editor of African Business Magazine commented. “There really is more examples”.

ATSLDN did a brilliant job of bringing together industry leaders, journalists, students, investors and various other delegates. For an event in its second year, the summit attracted significant names and developed in-depth solutions for challenges facing the industry.  We certainly hope to see ATSLDN return in 2018.

 

African Business Review’s April issue is now live.

Stay connected: follow @AfricaBizReview and @WedaeliABR on Twitter.

African Business Review is also on Facebook

Share

Featured Articles

Abu Dhabi Airports prepares for Terminal A opening

A decade in the making, Abu Dhabi International Airport welcomes 6,000 volunteers to test operational readiness of stunning new Terminal A building

Business Chief expands portfolio with new look and coverage

Business Chief Middle East & Africa launches with fresh new look and extended coverage of the region, with exclusive executive interviews and insights

How Octopus Energy grew to become an industry giant

Octopus Energy continues to grow after a deal was agreed to acquire Shell Energy in the UK and Germany, taking its customer base to almost seven million

Perkbox CEO: How to support employees through tough times

Human Capital

How Middle East is embracing the future of digital finance

Corporate Finance

UAE Lulu Group shifts business for global growth and IPO

Corporate Finance