To explore new technology ideas that will solve real-life issues.
To further inform and develop sustainable solutions for the African region, AfriLabs, a pan-African network of 225 technology innovation hubs across 47 African countries, announced that it has partnered with Mozilla to convene roundtable discussions with African startups, entrepreneurs, developers and innovators. These roundtable discussions will focus on understanding the local needs, expertise and capabilities of African countries and explore under-served issues and areas that could spur the next generation of innovation in the region.
“The right intervention is very important and for the design to fit, conversations are necessary. We are excited to listen and engage with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa with Mozilla and we are hopeful that this partnership will open the right dialogues for better-fit innovations on the continent,” said Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of AfriLabs.
Mozilla and AfriLabs will be launching exploratory research in the form of round table discussions to better understand the ecosystem, explore and identify new product ideas that solve real-life issues The discussions will be hosted as part of Mozilla’s efforts to reinvest within the African tech ecosystem and support local innovators with scalable ideas that have the potential to impact across the continent.
“Mozilla is pleased to be partnering with AfriLabs to learn more about the intersection of African product needs and capacity gaps and to co-create value with local entrepreneurs,” said Alice Munyua, Director of Africa Innovation Program.
AfriLabs partnership with Mozilla is a boost to a series of initiatives to support the African innovation economy during the pandemic. AfriLabs is awarding grants to host virtual meetups on COVID-19 in partnership with AFD’s sponsored capacity-building programme. AfriLabs is also a partner on DFID’s COVIDaction support programme for local production in Africa, and VC4A’s venture showcase to fund early-stage startups with seed funding up to $1M.
AfriLabs partnership with Mozilla brings together two organisations committed to supporting communities of technologists by putting people first. The partnership will help develop more relevant, sustainable support for African innovators to build scalable resilient products, leveraging honest and candid discussions to identify areas of common interest.
AfriLabs was founded in 2011 to build a community around rapidly emerging tech hubs and innovation spaces that serve as meeting points and communities for developers, entrepreneurs, and investors. Our aim is to empower these hubs by building their capacity to support startups and businesses and build a thriving, innovative economy in Africa. Visit www.afrilabs.com for more information.
Every year, AfriLabs hosts an Annual Gathering of ecosystem stakeholders to plot the way forward for the continent’s entrepreneurial growth. This year’s edition is going virtual and will hold conversations on how Africa’s Tech community can build resilient innovative systems. Learn more and be a part of this year’s Gathering here.
About Mozilla
Mozilla is the not-for-profit behind the popular web browser, Firefox. We believe the Internet is a global public resource, open and accessible to all. We work to ensure it stays open by building products, services and programs that put people in control of their online lives and contribute to a healthier Internet.
Firefox protects people’s privacy and empowers users to make smart choices in their online life. Visit www.mozilla.org for more information. To download Firefox for yourself visit www.firefox.com.
