AfriLabs Promises More Innovation, Empowerment for African Economy

AfriLabs Promises More Innovation, Empowerment for African Economy

Emma Okonji
Pan-African network organisation, AfriLabs, has promised to continue in its innovation and empowerment initiatives to boost the African economy in today’s digital era.

The company made the promise recently at a virtual press conference, as part of its renewed commitment in celebrating its 10 years anniversary in empowering and inspiring a thriving innovation economy in Africa.
For the past decade, AfriLabs has stayed true to its goal of supporting the growth of technology hubs and their community to raise high potential entrepreneurs that will stimulate economic growth and social development in Africa.

Founded in 2011 with five hubs across four African countries, AfriLabs has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, and the organisation currently stands at over 300 member hubs across 119 cities in 50 African countries. AfriLabs has been at the forefront of enabling innovation in Africa for the past decade, serving as a nexus point for innovation hubs across the continent, providing support to the community of rapidly evolving technology hubs through financing, mentoring, networking opportunities, and other capacity-building initiatives, to produce high-potential entrepreneurs that will positively impact the continent’s socio-economic status.

Speaking about its achievements in 10 years, the Executive Director, AfriLabs, Anna Ekeledo, said “The African tech ecosystem has witnessed increased levels of growth in the past few years and this growth did not happen in a vacuum. It is largely attributed to the innovation ecosystem, particularly support systems via tech/innovation communities like AfriLabs who have played a crucial role in nurturing startups and entrepreneurs. We are proud to celebrate this monumental milestone and we also use this opportunity to thank our team, partners, community members and all stakeholders who have supported our vision of building a thriving innovation economy in Africa. As we ring in the next decade, we are excited about the future and ready to continue the work of accelerating innovation across the continent through our impactful programmes and initiatives.”

The organisation is also set to host its 2021 Annual Gathering conference, the largest convention of brilliant African innovation hub leaders and ecosystem builders on the continent. The theme for this year’s gathering is “AfriLabs at 10: A Decade of Empowering and Inspiring Innovation across Africa” and is scheduled to hold in Abuja, Nigeria from 25th – 27th October 2021.

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