The African Energy Chamber (AEC) proud to announce that Rebecca Enonchong, Chair of the African Center for Technology Innovation and Ventures; founder and CEO of AppsTech and I/O Spaces; and Board Chair of AfriLabs, will be speaking at this year’s edition of the African Energy Week (AEW) (www.AECWeek.com) conference and exhibition, Africa’s premier event for the energy sector, which will take place from October 18-21, 2022, in Cape Town. With discussions during the conference largely centered on the need for an Africa-adapted energy transition; implementing Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) with large-scale energy projects; and the role technology plays in making energy poverty history, speaker confirmations made by industry experts such as Enonchong will be critical.
Describing herself as a tech fanatic, Enonchong represents one of Africa’s leading innovators, promoting the transformative potential of technology in Africa. Having founded several businesses, including her first, AfriLabs – a network organization of over 80 innovation centers across 27 African countries, serving as hubs for future entrepreneurs – Enonchong is committed to expanding the penetration of technological solutions across the African economy at large. Similarly, her business ActivSpaces also serves as an incubator, with centers based predominantly in rural areas in order to improve human capital development and expand technology innovation beyond urban borders. Through her businesses, various programs and outreach initiatives, Enonchong continues to drive the technology of the future in Africa.
Her success as an entrepreneur and tech innovator has also been recognized globally, having been listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 10 Female Tech Founders to Watch in Africa in 2014 and named as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans in Science, Tech & Innovation in 2017. As such, backed by a wealth of experience in the technology sector and with a commitment to developing a competitive and tech-driven economy in Africa, Enonchong represents a key speaker at the continent’s premier energy event, AEW 2022.
At a time when the African energy sector is on the cusp of a transformation, owing largely to new oil and gas discoveries translating into large-scale developments; the energy transition calling for the accelerated adoption of renewable energies; and recent commitments to reduce emissions across the entire energy value chain, technological innovation in energy is key. While climate change has become a growing concern, leading to stakeholders calling for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, over 600 million people in Africa are still without access to electricity and over 900 million people without access to clean cooking solutions. Therefore, unlocking new technology will not only ensure climate change is prevented and the energy transition is fast-tracked but that Africa’s socioeconomic development is accelerated.
“Industrializing Africa will require significant innovation within the technological space and stakeholders such as Enonchong are driving success in this regard. With a passion for technology and Africa, Enonchong has and continues to be instrumental in developing Africa’s economies through the widespread adoption of technological solutions. As AEW 2022 moves to make energy poverty history on the back of every energy resource in Africa, having African-led solutions will be key for unlocking a new era of growth and development. This is what AEW 2022 stands for and what experts such as Enonchong will drive at the event in Cape Town,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC).