AfriLabs at 10: Celebrating A Decade of Empowering and Inspiring Innovations across Africa
After going virtual for the first time last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering which coincides with AfriLabs 10th year anniversary will be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 25th-27th October, 2021. The theme for this year’s Gathering is “AfriLabs at 10: A Decade of Empowering and Inspiring Innovation across Africa” and Douar Tech, an AfriLabs Member Hub based in Morocco, will be a co-host of the event.
The history of the African Innovation Ecosystem is a story of resilience, growth, collaboration and creativity. More than before, Africans are developing scalable solutions to their problems and one factor that is contributing to this is the growth of the support systems like innovation hubs (incubators, accelerators etc.) in the entrepreneurship space.
AfriLabs has for a decade played an important role in the empowerment of innovation hubs across the continent. In our 10th year of existence, we reflect on the journey so far in providing support to the ecosystem. We celebrate our strides and that of our community and plan for the future with the dream of a thriving innovation economy in Africa.
A YEAR OF GOLDEN CELEBRATIONS
“AfriLabs will be 10 this year and we will be celebrating and reflecting on the strides of the Innovation Ecosystem in Africa. If you have been part of our story, we would like to invite you to celebrate with us in Morocco. If you haven’t worked with us or any of our community members yet in building the Africa of our dreams, still join us and let us all set the tone and ambitions for the next 10 years!” said Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director, AfriLabs.
For this year’s Gathering, we are riding strongly with our community and for the first time, they were actively involved in the selection of the theme, and their choice is a reflection of our impact in empowering hubs and driving innovation across the continent. The 6th edition of the AfriLabs Annual Gathering will be highlighting 10 years of our existence and we will be hosting a series of exciting events throughout the year which climaxes at Morocco in an effort to share the successes and challenges of the last decade while looking forward to a future of more collaborations and opportunities.
Looking back at all our previous Gatherings, this year’s event will spotlight the impact of innovation in Africa in the last decade, drive more strategic collaborations and we look forward to engaging more stakeholders in the African Tech Ecosystem as well as building sustainable capacity for hubs on the continent.
“ This year, we look forward with the utmost anticipation to a post-pandemic world with fervent hopes to convene the Ecosystem in Morocco. 2021 will cumulate to the 10th year anniversary of the founding of AfriLabs; which will be the focus of most of the year’s events leading to a Finale at AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2021.” our Ecosystem Event Manager, Jennifer Okeke Ojiudu said. “Hosting the AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Marrakech is promised to be a unique and world-changing experience. More information to follow shortly.”
“This gathering will be a unique momentum for the African innovative ecosystems narrative. It will allow us to reflect on the lessons learned in the last decade of ecosystem development, co-create and elevate our common vision for the upcoming one – by bringing ecosystem players together in Morocco, we also hope it sends a strong and clear signal that by its youth, innovators and entrepreneurs, Africa is one, ready to continue building together, growing together.” Hanae Bezad, Founder, Douar Tech on hosting the Gathering in Morocco.
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