The GSMA’s MWC Barcelona and 4YFN events are fast approaching and will be held in Barcelona between 25 and 28 February 2019. The two events bring together mobile operators, start-ups, regulators, tech hardware manufacturers, banks and investors among other stakeholders to discuss this year’s theme: ‘Intelligent Connectivity’. We are excited to announce that 28 of our portfolio start-ups from across 21 countries in Asia Pacific and Africa will be present throughout the week and available to meet at the Ecosystem Accelerator booth at 4YFN. Learn key insights from these start-ups as they join panel discussions and pitch their services on a range of topics including healthcare, education, agriculture, transport, logistics, job matching and public services. It’s set to be a busy week so we wanted to share a preview of what we will be doing there.
Monday, 25 February
4YFN: Join us between 12:30 to 14:00, in the Fira Montjuïc Hall 8 – Agora Stage, to learn about Mobile Innovation in Emerging Markets Powered By GSMA M4D. Max Cuvellier, Head of M4D Utilities & Ecosystem Accelerator, will chair this session featuring a number of mobile operators (MTN, Orange, Vodafone, Airtel) along with the following start-ups Eneza Education (Côte d’Ivoire), Kargo (Myanmar), Ensibuuko (Uganda), Joonak (Cambodia) and Field Buzz (Bangladesh).
MWC: Immerse yourself in the Innovation City to experience first-hand the latest innovations in mobile technology, from Monday, 25 to Thursday, 28 February from 9am to 6pm. Two Ecosystem Accelerator start-ups will be demoing so be sure to allocate enough time to meet:
- eFishery who will showcase their IoT-based smart fish feeding machines for commercial aquaculture in Indonesia; and
- Sehat Kahani who will demonstrate their m-Health service provided by women doctors to marginalised populations through telehealth in Pakistan.
Tuesday, 26 February
4YFN: Discover nine more start-ups using mobile innovation by heading to the Discovery Stage from 13:30 to 14:20 to hear their pitches and as they take questions from the floor. These companies from across Asia Pacific and Africa include Qlue (Indonesia) LipaMobile (Uganda), Lynk (Kenya), Optimetriks (Kenya), Musanga Logistics (Zambia), Neh Thit (Myanmar), Agrocenta (Ghana), Taskymoby (Ethiopia) and Pacific Ads Groups (Papua New Guinea).
Wednesday, 27 February
4YFN: Hear the co-founder of culturally sensitive digital carpooling solution Raye7 (Egypt) on the panel for Making the Case for Fostering Purpose-driven Innovation in Education on the Summit Stage between 10:45 to 11:15.
MWC: The GSMA’s Head of Mobile for Development, Yasmina McCarty, will join the seminar on Mobile for Development: The Next 30 Years – Building an Inclusive Digital Future at 11:00 to 12:30 in the South Entrance CC 1.5. The discussion, including input from government ministries, focuses on how the mobile industry can take lessons from the World Wide Web to bring benefits to all, especially to low-income communities. Showcasing mobile innovations from two start-ups including SkyEye (Samao), which provides localisation and a mapping solution to transportation services and Kea Medicals (Benin), which facilitates a medical identity solution for patients and hospitals.
Health Tech start-ups Sehat Kahani (Pakistan), Jamii Africa (Tanzania), Kea Medicals and GiftedMom (Cameroon) will pitch their respective solutions during the session Partnering for Impact: Health-Tech Innovation Showcase in Hall 4 – Auditorium 4 at 14:45 to 15:45.
Ministerial Programme: Max Cuvellier, Head of Mobile for Development Utilities and Ecosystem Accelerator, will kick-start the conversation on Technology shaping our future, which will then feature the co-founders of respectively eFishery (Indonesia) and Jamii Africa (Tanzania) from 10:00 to 11:00 in Hall 4 – Auditorium A.
The digital revolution is changing the face of agriculture. Three Ecosystem Accelerator start-ups – Farmcrowdy (Nigeria), Greenovator (Myanmar) and Twiga Foods (Kenya) will discuss the Digitisation of agriculture value chains at 11:30 to 13:00 in Hall 4 – Auditorium B.
In parallel, Ministerial Programme delegates will hear about Sudpay (Senegal) and their solution in the session on Transformation of public services from 11:30 to 13:00 in Hall 4 – Auditorium A.
Please note that the Ministerial Programme is invite only.
Thursday, 28 February
MWC: The final day highlights how emerging markets are becoming increasingly digital and how technology is brining social innovation. Four Ecosystem Accelerator start-ups leading the way are:
- eFishery (Indonesia) who will help to answer: Can the First True Digital Societies be ‘Emerging Markets’? 11:15 – 12:15, Hall 4 – Auditorium 3;
- Coliba (Cote d’Ivoire) will discuss Social Innovation and the Disruptive Power of Movements, 12:30 – 13:30, Hall 4 – Auditorium 3;
- Raye7 (Egypt) who in the Women4Tech Summit will help explore the significance of Innovating: The Importance of Diversity in Creativity, 12:30 – 13:15, Hall 4 – Auditorium A, Raye7; and
- oDoc (Sri Lanka) will compete in the Demos: Battle of the Health Apps, 12:30 – 13:30, Hall 4 – Auditorium 5!
You will get a chance to meet our start-ups when you visit our booth (number 54) at 4YFN (Fira Montjuïc). The GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team also looks forward to meeting you!
If you want to find out more about our programme or the start-ups we work with, please take a look at our Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund start-up portfolio booklet.
The Ecosystem Accelerator programme is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Australian Government, the GSMA and its members.
