For some time, the Techweez Team has always wanted to dive into specifics of information and technology gains made in the country, the challenges faced and what it means to be a participant or beneficiary of the space. In line with these goals, the award-winning online publication saw fit to partner with key industry players to celebrate the impact made by all stakeholders involved. This development gave birth to Tech Tamasha, a yearly technology conference that held its first meet on June 28, 2018, at Nairobi-based tech accelerator, Nailab.
Generally speaking, Tech Tamasha aims to source the opinions and insights of the country’s IT, business leaders and technology decision-makers in a bid to fuel innovation across different industries.
As mentioned, the official launch of the conference went live at Nailab. The day’s theme was based on the digital consumer and how such a demographic has changed in the past decade. In attendance was a preliminary panel of three: Anand Mohan who serves as TechnoBrain’s COO, the Project Manager at Google Digital Skills for Africa Ms. Khadija Abdul and Finserve ‘s MD for Digital Lending Mr. Mike Nyaga. The exercise was moderated by Dayvee Ngugi, Founder Paytree/Mzizzi.
To recap, Khadija pointed out the need for revisions on regulations that govern digital consumption as a stepping stone to benefiting the country.
“Regulation is important to create a sense of confidence and privacy for digital consumers,” noted Khadija.
Speaking during the launch, Tech Tamasha’s Executive Producer, Mr. Victor Mutua highlighted the program’s need to strike curiosity and invoke conversations regarding heightened adoption of technology, its associated practices and its impacts on the African economy.
“Tech Tamasha will shine a national spotlight on high growth companies and individuals, which will help establish credibility to raise capital and acquire talent,” he said.
Program
Over the month of July, Tech Tamasha will stage two conferences in Mombasa’s SwahiliBox and Kisumu’s LakeHub on 14th and 28th respectively.
Primarily, regional engagements target to involve additional stakeholders in highlighting, and by extension, shaping the national innovation agenda.
These roundups will precede a national summit that will be staged in Nairobi on August 13. The main conference will cover four primary topics: Blockchain, Security, Privacy and Policy, Digital Consumer and Entrepreneurship.
Furthermore, stakeholders will have an opportunity to demo their products and perform product launches (possibly). Fireside chats will be in tow too.
Tamasha’s climax will entail awards to recognize organizations and people who have spurred notable changed on finance, agriculture, healthcare, energy, education and social impact. Special categories such as startup of the year and founder of the year will be recognized.
A panel of judges (to be announced at a later date) will be tasked with selecting winners. Interested participants are advised to submit their nominations and products at Tech Tamasha’s website.
