Kenya has won the bid to host the 2024 Transform Africa Summit (TAS) convened by the Smart Africa Alliance, a Pan-African agency for ICTs.
The announcement of Kenya’s win was made this evening in Barcelona, Spain, on the sidelines of the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC-24).
While accepting the win, Mr. Eliud Owalo, the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, said the achievement was stamp of confidence in Kenya’s unrivalled leadership in the ICT landscape.
‘‘This win is testament to the confidence that the Smart Africa Alliance has on Kenya as an ICT powerhouse, and a leader in championing the region’s efforts to leverage the power of ICTs for socio-economic development,’’ said Mr. Owalo.
He said Kenya accepts the outcome with a great sense of humility and was now embarking on the preparations for delivering a world-class event later in the year.
‘‘We accept this win with utmost humility and joy, as it marks the beginning of a great journey ahead that will culminate in the hosting of the event in August this year,’’ added Mr. Owalo.
He acknowledged the efforts of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) chaired by Prof. Edward Kisiang’ani, the Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications, and the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) for their tireless dedication and commitment in delivery a winning bid for Kenya.
The CA Board Chairperson Ms. Mary Mungai said hosting the event would give the Authority an opportunity to shape conversations on sustainable digital economy on the continent.
‘‘Hosting this event provides us with a front row experience on the future of digital transformation efforts on the continent, and how we must work across borders to forge a sustainable digital economy in the region,’’ she observed.
This is the first time the event will be held in Kenya in the 10 year history of the Smart Africa Alliance, an opportunity that the CA Director General Mr. David Mugonyi says the Authority will leverage to interact and share best practices with peers from the region to address emerging challenges in the dynamic ICT environment.
‘‘Hosting our peers from the region provides us with an opportunity to share experiences and best practices, and most importantly, forge a common and united front in leveraging ICTs for the development of our economies,’’ said Mr. Mugonyi.
The 2024 Transform Africa Summit is now slated to be held from 20th to 30th August in Nairobi.
The Cabinet Secretary is accompanied by the CA Board Chairperson Ms. Mary Mungai, the Director General Mr. David Mugonyi, Board Directors Ms. Tonia Mutiso and Sarah Kabira, Dr. Vincent Ngundi, the Ag Director, Cyber Security and Ms. Stella Kipsaita, the Ag. Deputy Director, International Relations and Events at the Authority.
The Transform Africa Summit is held annually by the Smart Africa Alliance as the continent’s leading forum bringing together global and regional leaders from government, business and international organizations to collaborate on new ways of shaping, accelerating and sustaining Africa’s on-going digital revolution.
The TAS brings together over 5,000 delegates from Africa and the world to shape the future of Africa’s digital transformation.
