When the cool arctic meets a rising continent through technology
Ludique Works https://ludique.works/
This is not the typical Europe meets Africa story. You know that times are changing when like-minded individuals from the Nordics and various African countries join hands to create sustainable development virtually. Out goes the preoccupation with foreign aid and in comes mutual respect and understanding.
It is at this special juncture that the Ambitious Africa initiative comes into the picture. The Ambitious Africa initiative is truly a first of its kind. It has so far brought together an array of stakeholders from various African and Nordic countries by organizing online events. All with one mission in mind: to take Africa to the next level. These stakeholders include students, entrepreneurs, and government officials from both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.
The promise of technology adoption was, in many ways, to bring people closer together. Indeed, Ambitious Africa has since April of this year organized eight online events with stakeholders from various African countries. Each of these online events is rightly dubbed as an "Ambitious Africa National Day ". So far, Ambitious Africa National days have been held with the Rwandan, Kenyan, Tunisian, Ghanaian and Cameroonian stakeholders. The online discussions touched on novel entrepreneurial initiatives, education and young people working together in the countries in question.
In the beginning, technical challenges were abound as Maija Luukka, a core and indispensable member of the Ambitious Africa team can attest to.
"The first Kenyan event had some 500 participants (virtually) and because of this huge volume, the server broke down. We were using Deal room, so we changed to zoom right away, and we continued the discussion. " says Maija.
Since that event, the team has been able to improve the communication systems and can now withstand large numbers of participants at a time without crashing.
Ambitious Africa has collaborated seamlessly with the existing entrepreneurship ecosystem found across the continent. The message is crystal clear, the region is open for business and entrepreneurs of this rising continent appreciate the need for bilateral cooperation. Ambitious Africa's point person in Kenya, Douglas Ogeto exalts the exchange of content, knowledge, and expertise for the mutual benefit of all parties involved.
"One thing that I have observed is the need for markets to connect and collaborate with each other. So being part of Ambitious Africa is definitely a good example to showcase how two markets can do this for mutual benefit. " says Douglas.
Douglas Ogeto himself is no stranger to entrepreneurship. He is a co-founder and CEO of Ludique Works, an award winning and Africa's fastest growing game publishing company. Through its partner, Start North, they are providing access to online 5G courses, targeting developers and students across Africa.
Coming soon this month are the Ugandan, Mozambican, and Ethiopian Ambitious Africa National Days. The goal is to eventually cover all the fifty-four countries. Watch out for this space!
