GEN ALGERIA had the pleasure to attend the very successful first edition of the african startups conference held in CIC Algiers, on DECEMBER 5th and 6th, 2022, Under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, it gathered African delegations from 30 countries, including ministers and officials in charge of innovation, startups and entrepreneurs, and elites of the African ecosystem of experts and actors.
The opening of the conference, in which more than 600 startups are participating, was supervised by the Prime Minister, Mr. Aïmene Benabderrahmane, and a number of government representatives, ambassadors of several African countries, and representatives of various institutions and professional organisations.
The conference, organised by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Startups and Microenterprises, and algeria venture where the African delegation has been received by Mr. Sid Ali Zerrouki the managing director. It aimed to unify government efforts to enhance the role of startups in Africa, and to instil their contribution to economic development by facilitating the spread of startups and their access to regional financing sources.
Officials, ministers and experts in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship from several African countries, including Angola, Kenya, Namibia, Sudan, Chad, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Niger, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Uganda, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso participated in the two-day forum.
The agenda of the forum includes the holding of a meeting of African ministers related to the field of innovation and startups, which will culminate in an “African road map” that will establish a dynamic of cooperation between innovation ecosystems within the continent.
The African conference organised an exhibition for startups from various African countries, as well as thematic sessions dealing with the most prominent problems facing innovative African youth and the future of entrepreneurship in Africa.
“WHEN GEN GLOBAL MEETS GEN ALGERIA”
The conference had allowed the GEN ALGERIA team to meet and connect with Our GEN GLOBAL president Mr Jonathan Ortmans, who came back to our beautiful country for the first time since 2010 as a speaker in the conference, and Matt Smith, Entrepreneurship policy & research, who was visiting for the first time. For GEN Algeria’s new team members, it was an important moment of celebration and pride to have met them.
Jonathan Otmans wrote: “I was deeply honoured to be invited to deliver opening remarks at what was an impressive gathering of 30 startup-savvy African ministers and the Prime Minister of Algeria. The experience showed me that the initiative is about entrepreneurship, not politics, and sent a powerful message to Africa and the world that Algeria means business and has the clout and reputation to lead. This kind of modest “get things done” leadership is needed if economies are to better enable more citizens to dream big and take risks.”
And added “Algeria is a nation for Africa and the world to watch, setting an example for the entire MENA region. We will certainly be expanding our focus there in the coming months. If I were an Algerian living overseas and wondering when to return to my country, I would go now. Algeria has limited resources, but is deploying them intelligently. The country has vast potential and the will to build its own brand of entrepreneurialism.”