Cheesy title aside you may have heard of AfriLabs before but if you haven’t the entity is a “network organisation” of 150+ innovation centres across 40 countries on the African continent.
The hubs serve as meeting points for entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts and investors and sometimes play host to pitching competitions that see startups and entrepreneurs on the continent secure funding for their businesses.
Last week AfriLabs announced a new board with representatives from 7 African countries and one of the board members is Zimbabwean:
- Secretary: Moataz Helmy (The District, Egypt)
- Treasurer: Kudzai M Mubaiwa (iZone Hub, Zimbabwe)
- Francophone representative: Fatoumata Niang Niox (Jokkolabs, Senegal)
- Board member: Nekesa Were (iHub, Kenya)
- Board member: Daniel Chinagozi (Innovation Growth Hub, Nigeria)
- Board member: Linda Kwamboka (iBiz Africa Strathmore University, Kenya)
We will be getting in touch with Kudzai Mubaiwa the CoFounder and programs Manager of the iZone Hub as she is currently out of the country at the time of writing. We will be catching up with her about her new role at AfriLabs board along with getting an insight on some of the work they are doing at the iZone Hub before the end of this year.
The same event which saw the unveiling of the new board also aligned with the launch of 3 new AfriLabs programmes:
- Catalyst: a new investment solution for African startups, in partnership with the African Business Angels Network (ABAN)
- EdTech Hub: A research project that seeks to develop edtech in developing countries, in partnership with the University of Cambridge, the Overseas Development Institute, Results for Development, Brink, Jigsaw, Open Development and Education, Injini, e-Learning Africa and Brac
- AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme: This is a 36-month intensive capacity building programme for hubs across Africa. The initiative is funded by French development agency (AFD) to the tune of €2-million.
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