As part of Africa Tech Summit London build up on May 16th, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Africa and the Royal African Society will host a fringe event at the House of Commons. The debate will inform the APPG for Africa’s new inquiry into digital trade with and within Africa.

Digital trade opens-up a range of new opportunities for African countries to promote inclusive growth, job-creation, reduced gender gaps, investment attraction and increased inter-African trade within a new African Free Trade Area. However, bridging prevailing digital divides, both within and between countries, is key to translating the scalable potential of new technologies into tangible and inclusive trade opportunities. To effectively address challenges and foster an enabling environments both regionally and internationally, policy makers need to understand how the ICT ecosystem works in practice so they can drive well-informed and future-orientated policy approaches that encourage value capture for Africa, ICT access, investment and innovation.

This meeting of the APPG for Africa and the Royal African Society is a fringe event in advance of the Africa Tech Summit in London (Wednesday 16th May) and will inform the APPG for Africa’s new inquiry into digital trade with and within Africa. The event aims to stimulate discussion to explore the emerging role of policy makers and parliamentarians in the design and implementation of regulation which enables inclusive digital trade ecosystems to bridge digital divides.

Chair: Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of the APPG for Africa

Speakers:

Barbara Birungi Mutabazi- Founder/Director of Women In Technology, Uganda

‘Bosun Tijani- Chief Executive Officer of Co-Creation Hub, Nigeria

Other speakers TBC

Following presentations from the panel, there will be interactive discussions and Q&A with the chair and audience.