The GSMA Mobile 360 Africa conference is fast approaching and will be held in Kigali between the 17 and 19 July 2018. From start-ups to mobile operators, regulators to tech hardware manufacturers, NGOs to banks, the event will bring together over 1,000 mobile industry stakeholders from across the continent to discuss, ‘Who will lead the digital revolution: The people or the technology?.’

The GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator programme will be at the event and we wanted to share a preview of what we will be doing there.

We are very pleased to announce that the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund’s eight round two African start-ups will be present at the event which will be – for the first time – held in Kigali, Rwanda. Beyond attending the event, the teams of the eight start-ups will be speaking on stage during different sessions throughout the three-day event. We thought we’d share the agenda of their respective speaking slots with you in case you’d like to better understand what they do:

• Ensibuuko (Uganda): A cloud-based core banking software customised for savings and credit cooperatives;
  • Gerald Otim, COO & Co-founder of Ensibuuko, will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July between 9.00 and 9.30 on the BetterFuture Stage, ‘Welcome to the Cashless Continent’.

 

• FarmCrowdy (Nigeria): An online platform for individuals and businesses to invest in farming projects;
  • Onyeka Akumah, Co-Founder & CEO, FarmCrowdy, will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July at 11.55 at the ‘Start-up Ignite’ session.

 

• Jamii Africa(Tanzania): A mobile micro-health insurance product for MSMEs and informal socio-economic groups;
  • Lilian Makoi, Founder & CEO at Jamii will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July at 15.45 at the ‘Welcome to Wakanda’ session on the BetterFuture Stage.

 

• LipaMobile (Uganda): mSomesa, a LipaMobile product, is a school fee management and payment system for parents;

 

• Lynk (Kenya): A digital platform that connects households and businesses with verified domestic workers, artisans and blue-collar professionals;
  • Chris Maclay, Lynk’s Head of Growth, will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July between 10.10 to 10.20 on ‘Joining the dots between Entrepreneurs and Employment’ [‘Releasing the Power of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs’].

 

• Musanga (Zambia): A mobile platform to send parcels through a network of independent cyclists, riders and drivers;
  • Njavwa Mutambo, Musanga’s Co-founder and CEO will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July between 9.40 to 9.45 at the ‘Start-up Ignite’ session [‘Releasing the Power of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs’].

 

• maTontine (Senegal): A solution to digitise traditional savings circles (‘tontines’) and facilitate access to credit and financial services; and
  • Bernie Akporiaya, Managing Director at maTontine, will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July at 15.45 at the ‘Welcome to Wakanda’ session on the BetterFuture Stage.

 

• Sudpay (Senegal): A mobile solution for MSMEs to pay taxes to municipal authorities transparently.
  • Samba Sow, CEO of Sudpay, will be speaking on Wednesday 18 July at 14.35 at the ‘Start-up Ignite’ session.

 

You will also get a chance to meet with some of these start-up’s teams as well as the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team if you drop by our pod, in the Innovation Showcase area of the conference. Our Head of Programme, Max Cuvellier will be present, along with Senior Market Engagement Manager  Martin Karanja, Market Engagement Manager Peter Ndichu and Knowledge Manager Josie Middleton, who will be available to share our latest insights with you, present the 24 start-ups of our current portfolio and give you the latest updates about our programme.

Among a lot of exciting sessions and discussions planned at the event, we are particularly looking forward to the discussion on ‘Releasing the Power of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs’ (Wednesday 18 July, 9:00, Main Conference stage) and hearing more about the innovative ways entrepreneurs across the continent are overcoming the challenges and embracing the opportunities that African start-ups face. The panel discussion on the ‘Adoption of digital services in Africa’ (Tuesday 17 July, 12:20, Main Conference stage) with Aurélien Duval-Delort (Orange’s Bizao), Karaniv Singh (Yego Moto), Mahir Sahin (Google Africa) and Ameya Upadhyay (Omidyar Network), Principal, is another session we are eagerly waiting for as it should give some perspective to local digital start-ups on how to push the adoption of their services.

The 2018 edition promises an exciting agenda, engaging panels and prosperous networking opportunities. If you’d like to hear from the GSMA’s Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Akinwale Goodluck, for a hint at what attendees can expect, check out this video. We look forward to seeing you there!

 

The Ecosystem Accelerator programme is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Australian Government, the GSMA and its members.