Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 27 | Page 10

NEWS Innovation competition launched in 5G, IoT and AT MCIT, in collaboration with Ericsson, has held a competition on the uses of 5G, IoT and AT in Egypt World AI Show takes place in Kenya T he World AI Show took place in Nairobi, Kenya last month.The thought leadership-driven, business-focused series of events is part of a world tour that is also taking in Dubai, Singapore, Mauritius, Riyadh and Mumbai this year. It connects top AI experts, enterprises, government representatives, data scientists, technology leaders, startups, investors, researchers, academicians and global AI innovators – all under one roof. Kenya has become one of the leading players in Eastern Africa, in terms of adopting emerging technologies like AI and Blockchain. According to a recent research by the PricewaterhouseCoopers, it is reported that by the end of 2030, the AI market will contribute US$ 15.7 trillion to the world’s GDP, out of which US$1.2 trillion will be from African countries. Kenya has already started its journey to the world of emerging technologies like Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence and is becoming a gateway for technologies to enter the Eastern African countries. T he Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), in collaboration with Ericsson, has held a competition on the uses of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and Assistive Technology (AT) in Egypt. It aims at offering an opportunity to students and fresh graduates of Egyptian universities and youth centres, majoring in communications, electronics and computer science, to develop 5G, IoT, and AT in the Egyptian market, using the latest digital technologies that meet the market’s needs. This is in addition to developing local talents and qualifying them for future technologies, as well as developing a special application on Ericsson accelerator. By the end of the competition, the top three teams will be announced in 10 INTELLIGENTCIO a ceremony to and they will receive summer training at Ericsson Egypt. Another team will get a special training at Ericsson Garage, while one will be awarded by MCIT for innovating an AT idea that helps and supports people with special needs. “The competition comes out of MCIT tendency to serve the Egyptian society and the transition to an inclusive society for all its segments, partnering with different companies through its community responsibility,” said Abeer Shakweer, ICT Minister’s Advisor for Social Responsibility and Services. Recently, the Kenyan Government has appointed an 11-member Distributed Ledger and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce to enforce the President, Uhuru Kenyatta’s ‘Big Four’ strategies for 2022. These are the expansion of the manufacturing sector, affordable housing, affordable healthcare and food security. President Uhuru Kenyatta believes that technology will be a major driver for delivering his Big Four plan for the country’s growing economy. “Youth have been introduced from community centres to ensure their involvement with university students in the competition, to develop their abilities and skills.” www.intelligentcio.com