Tag: AfricaNews

GITEX Africa 2023, now the largest tech and start-up show in the African continent, will make its highly anticipated debut from 31 May-2 June, with the final preparations underway across ten halls and 45,000sqm of exhibition space in a purpose-built super venue at Place Bab Jdid, Bd Al Yarmouk in the Red City of Marrakech. It will welcome 900 big tech companies, government entities, start-ups and participants from more than 100 countries, while attracting tens of thousands of attendees from all over the world.

GITEX Africa is the largest business event launch of any industry in the Middle East and Africa in recent years, and is affiliated with GITEX Global in Dubai, the world’s largest tech and start-up show, rated by global tech executives as the world’s best global tech event.

Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, GITEX Africa is hosted by the Digital Development Agency (ADD), under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.

Addressing media at the show’s official preview press conference today was H.E Dr Ghita Mezzour, Minister of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform; Sidi Mohammed Drissi Melyani, the General Director of ADD; and Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, GITEX Africa’s organiser.

In attendance were GITEX Africa’s official institutional partners the ANRT (Moroccan National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency), AMDIE (Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency), ONMT (Moroccan National Tourist Office), ONDA (National Airports Office), Royal Air Maroc, and ONCF (Moroccan National Railway Office).

“The Kingdom of Morocco is proud to host GITEX Africa under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him,” said H.E. Dr Mezzour. “We’re witnessing a historic event, the first ever edition of GITEX Africa, and the largest tech networking and learning business event in the African continent.

“GITEX Africa will be an opportunity for Moroccan and African start-ups owners and young programmers to get in touch with regional and global investors and business incubators. An opportunity as well to networking with actors in both public and private sectors.”

Mr. Sidi Mohammed Drissi Melyani, the General Director of ADD, added that hosting GITEX Africa underlines Morocco’s commitment to work alongside the private and public sector to accelerate Africa’s digital infrastructure development while promoting cross-continental e-governance policies that improve digital transparency, openness and process integration: “The Kingdom of Morocco as well as the whole African continent is so honoured to host the first edition of GITEX Africa Morocco, which will take place in Marrakech from May 31st to June 2nd, 2023,” said Mr. Melyani.

“This big event, organised under the high patronage of his Majesty the King Mohammed VI, is an important opportunity to value the efforts deployed by all the Moroccan stakeholders in the field of digital development. It is also a platform of networking between exhibitors, investors, researchers and tech operators around innovative solutions and digital transformation. This first edition will definitely contribute to enhance digital transition in Africa as a future innovation hub, led by its young talents and competitive start-ups.”

Magnifying Africa’s collective digital innovation ambitions and achievements

GITEX Africa’s impressive scale in its debut edition reflects the ambitions of Africa’s digital movement, with cross-continental initiatives such as Smart Africa’s vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030 propelling the continent to the forefront of the global digital economy.

“For too long, the world’s second largest continent has been under-stated and overlooked for its profound digital opportunities and aspirations,” commented Ms. LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International.

“At GITEX Africa, our mission is to curate an event that will serve the purpose of the African community in accessing business development, investment and learning opportunities. We focus on empowering the new generation of tech and creative talents to augment the culture of entrepreneurship and provide a single occasion that shall bring together the public and private sector leaderships to build tangible meaningful outcomes.”

That GITEX Africa hoisted the sold-out sign fuelling further expansion months before its grand opening is testament to the world’s confidence and optimism in the African digital opportunity, amplified by figures that underline the aspirations of African countries in their quest for digital excellence.

Africa’s vibrant start-up ecosystem also continues to grab headlines with the creation of seven unicorns over the last few years while according to analysts Briter Bridges, African start-ups raised a total of US$5.4 billion across 900-plus deals in 2022.

The influx of global interest will see GITEX Africa 2023 host more than 400 disruptive start-ups from 30 countries, including 200 international award-winning start-ups and 11 unicorns eager to share their achievements and access the promising African innovation hub.

All will have the opportunity to connect with 250 investors from 34 countries with US$200 billion worth of assets under management. As the ultimate start-up incubator and magnet for flourishing VC funds, GITEX Africa will deliver a structured and carefully curated scouting platform for these investors, of which 70 percent are coming from outside of Africa.

Added Ms. LohMirmand: “GITEX integrates Africa strategically into the hyper-connected tech ecosystem across 100 countries. It now firmly plugs Africa into the global entrepreneurial innovation economy boasting of resources imperative for the region to dynamize its digital transformation mission.”

Accelerating the Moroccan digital development strategy

GITEX Africa 2023 will also accentuate the progress of Morocco’s digital development strategy, strengthening its position among the top three African countries with the best ICT infrastructure, and underlining its status as having one of the continent’s most advanced telecommunications markets.

According to analysts IDC, Morocco’s IT market, comprising hardware, software and IT services, is expected to reach a value of US$1.7 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 4.3 percent to reach US$1.9 billion in 2026. In 2023, growth is expected to be driven by enterprise and service provider spending in the North African country as organisations increasingly look to adopt hybrid cloud as a step towards their digital transformation initiatives.

World’s best minds gather at Africa’s most impactful leadership conference agenda

Africa’s most impactful leadership conference programme will meanwhile gather 250-plus speakers from 50 countries to share valuable exchanges and insights with a curious business audience motivated to draw on international experience applied to an African-centric context.

The GITEX Africa Digital Summit will lead ten conference tracks comprising 140-plus hours of mind-stretching content exploring the most pertinent transformational topics advancing Africa’s digital agenda, from generative AI and digital cities, or Fintech and agritech, to healthcare, energy, innovation, sustainable development goals, and a spotlight on the world’s most exciting start-up ecosystem.

GITEX Africa 2023 is open from 11:30am to 6:00pm on 31st May, and from 10:00am to 6:00pm on the 1st and 2nd June. Admission is for trade professionals only with a special invitation for students aged 16 years and older on day three.

Mr Bensaid spoke at the just-ended African Ministerial Conference hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco this week.

The Ministerial Conference was attended by 100 young leaders, representatives of National Youth Councils, civil society and African youth platforms.

In attendance were several African Ministers of Youth from Burkina Faso, Botswana, Niger, Namibia, Mali, Somalia, Malawi, Ghana, and Senegal, as well as officials from Cameroon and Togo, among others.

The Charter is meant to provide young people with a political and legal framework intended to support the development of youth activities at the continental, regional and national levels in Africa.

In accordance with the edict of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the North African country aims to strengthen cooperation with fellow African countries to foster the emergence of African youth.

Mr Bensaid, whose Ministry also encompasses Culture and Communication, said they desired to strengthen and consolidate the empowerment efforts of African youth.
He said this could be done by promoting significant participation in the continent’s social, economic and political development agenda.

He also reiterated his country’s commitment to strengthening South-South cooperation, saying it was at the centre of the Kingdom’s foreign policy under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

He stressed the need to reposition the Pan-African Youth Union as a continental decision-making body to carry the voice of African youth and provide real solutions to their problems.

The President of the Pan-African Youth Union, Moumouni Dialla, said the African Youth Charter “aims to protect young people against discrimination and guarantees them freedom of movement, speech, association, religion, property and other human rights while committing to promote their participation in society.”

He hailed His Majesty King Mohammed VI for the warm welcome given to the participating delegations.

Mr Dialla paid tribute to the Sovereign for his leadership favouring African youth and stressed the importance of projects initiated with the African child in mind.

He further highlighted the importance of the Pan African Youth Union as a continental body advocating for the establishment of sound public policies for African youth.

The African Ministers participating in this ministerial conference and the heads of the delegation stressed the need to preserve this institution and enhance its contribution to continental decision-making further.

The delegates expressed their gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his unfailing royal commitment to promoting the conditions of African youth.

The guardsman was killed by security units around the synagogue, the ministry said.

The guardsman was killed by security units around the synagogue, the ministry said.

English-speaking regions of Cameroon have been experiencing a conflict for nearly seven years. It is a political and security crisis between armed separatist groups seeking the independence of the self-proclaimed state of Ambazonia, composed of the northwest and southwest regions, and the Cameroonian security forces. The protests since 2016 against English discrimination policies were violently suppressed, leading to the beginning of the English-speaking separatist movement. Since then, there have been violent incidents resulting in the deaths of around 6,000 people and major humanitarian crises, with nearly 600,000 people becoming internally displaced persons in English-speaking and nearby areas.

During the event, the student council president of the Law and Political Science Department at Buéa University, Kang Blaze Moua, stated, “In the year 1884, Cameroon was annexed by Germany. In 1916, as Germany was defeated in Cameroon by the Allied forces with Britain and France, the territory was then to be divided by France taking 4/5(East Cameroon/French Cameroon) and Britain taking 1/5(West Cameroon/British Cameroons) of the territory. All these Colonial arrangements were constantly done without the concern and approval of Cameroonians. Today in Cameroon, the English-speaking regions complain of their marginalization from the dominant Francophone led government.”

“There have been various arguments between different factions in tensions that began in 2016 in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, such as the government, secessionist groups, federalist groups, unionist et al on what was the main reason for conflict and the way forward in achieving sustainable peace,” he added. And he emphasized need to redress government strategy like the call for another major national dialogue and assistance from some peace organizations around the world.

At the event, civic leaders in Cameroon shared ways to achieve peaceful coexistence and end the current conflict, which hinders national development and causes serious human rights violations. HWPL stressed the need for law and institutions; a peace education system, a platform for understanding and coexistence, and the DPCW, which emphasizes peacebuilding, to establish peace.

President of Heritage Higher Institute of Peace and Development Studies, Wilibroad Dze Ngwa shared “It would be important to tackle the conflicts and peace education in Cameroon in holistic manner. Peace education is being taught in some schools in Cameroon. I actually insist that it will be good to establish clubs in different school in order to carry on peace and effective citizenship education. If we multiply this webinar, our context and our strategies, peace would reign in all the corners of Cameroon and the world. Because each of us are supposed to be active factors of peace education.”

HWPL said it will continue to discuss specific action plans with local experts to make the opinions shared in this webinar achievable in Cameroon plan to Peace Walk event with citizens of Cameroon in May.

The bus, carrying Sudanese citizens fleeing the war-torn country, overturned on its way to Cairo, according to a statement by Beni Suef governorate.

Beni Suef Governor Mohamad Hany Ghoneim visited the hospital and called for all necessary healthcare to treat the wounded, said the statement.

Thousands of Sudanese citizens have crossed into neighboring Egypt to flee the ongoing deadly military clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that erupted in mid-April.

According to the Egyptian office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of May 3, Egypt had received about 50,500 evacuees from Sudan, among them 47,000 Sudanese.

The office said it is cooperating with the Egyptian Red Crescent to provide assistance to the evacuees.

Security sources have confirmed that at least six soldiers have died while two others have been “seriously” injured after their vehicle struck a landmine in the region.

“We can confirm that six soldiers died in the terrorist attack. The two other injured soldiers are receiving treatment in the hospital,” a military official in the region, who asked not to be named, told Xinhua by phone.

The explosion occurred on the road between the localities of Bavongola and Zeleved in the region where Boko Haram militants have recently stepped up attacks on civilians and the military, according to local media.

Local officials said the army was in pursuit of the assailants who were suspected to be Boko Haram militants.

According to security reports, this was the deadliest attack by the terrorist group on the army since the start of this year.

Ahmed made the statement in response to allegations that Ethiopian troops have crossed into Sudan’s territory as the country encounters an internal conflict between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“At this critical stage, in which the identity, the shared destiny of the Sudanese people and Ethiopians are facing challenges, there are some parties that are seeking to achieve their lowly political goals by spreading false claims,” state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) quoted Ahmed as saying in a statement issued in Arabic language late Thursday. “It is very unfortunate that these sides are claiming that Ethiopia brought its troops inside the Sudanese border areas.”

He dismissed the “false claims” that Ethiopia brought its military personnel to the Sudanese border.

“It is very unfortunate that these forces are claiming that Ethiopia brought its troops inside the Sudanese border areas. We strongly condemn these allegations, which lead to distorting the good neighborly relations between Ethiopia and Sudan,” he said.

The Ethiopian prime minister underscored the East African country’s belief that the border issue with the neighboring Sudan can only be solved through dialogue.

“We strongly believe that the border issue between the two sister countries will be resolved through dialogue and discussions where Ethiopia values brotherhood, good neighborliness between our two countries, and does not want to exploit the current circumstances in Sudan,” he said. “We fully trust that the brotherly Sudanese people will not heed to such claims, but seek to stand with the Ethiopian people who value good neighbors.”

Ethiopia and Sudan have longstanding competing claims over the Al-Fashaqa border region, an area of fertile land settled with Ethiopian farmers that Sudan claims is within its boundary.

Over the past few years, Ethiopia and Sudan were accusing each other of “provocations” over border incidents. The situation, however, has improved recently.

The Sudanese Ministry of Health reported the grim statistics on April 21.

The clashes, which began on April 15, have mainly taken place in Khartoum, where 130 people have been killed and 1,900 injured. The situation has since slightly improved, with 59 deaths and 200 injuries reported on April 21.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF has caused concern both nationally and internationally. The two sides have accused each other of initiating the conflict. Meanwhile, the civilian population continues to suffer from the violent clashes.

The Sudanese government has yet to release a statement regarding the matter.

However, this development serves as a reminder of the volatility of the situation in Sudan, which has been facing political instability and conflict for years.

It also highlights the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, to prevent further loss of lives and promote stability and progress in the country.

“As part of the fight against the phenomenon of illegal immigration, 11 illegal immigration attempts were foiled late Monday night,” Jbabli said in a statement.

Among the rescued included 20 Tunisians and 549 people of different African nationalities, it said.

Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia has been one of the most popular transit points for illegal immigration to Europe.

The number of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Italy via Tunisia has been on the rise, despite the strict measures taken by the Tunisian authorities to tackle illegal immigration.